Ezra ben Ezekiel Ha-Bavli

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EZRA BEN EZEKIEL HA-BAVLI

EZRA BEN EZEKIEL HA-BAVLI (1660–after 1742), rabbi and poet in *Baghdad. Ezra was vehement in his criticism of the Jews of Baghdad. In his Tokheḥot Musar ("Moral Reproofs," 1735), written in rhymed prose, both in Hebrew and Aramaic, he severely took them to task for their low moral standards. He reproved them for wasting time on drink and frivolity, for their lack of support of the poor, and for their disregard of Torah. The sharpness of his criticism led to his persecution by the community and he was either imprisoned or expelled from the community. Ezra also wrote Netivot Shalom (1742), homilies on the Pentateuch.

bibliography:

Benjacob, Oẓar, 617; A. Ben-Jacob, Yehudei Bavel (1965), 97, 309.