Gota, Moses Zerahiah ben Shneur

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GOTA, MOSES ZERAHIAH BEN SHNEUR

GOTA, MOSES ZERAHIAH BEN SHNEUR (d. 1648), Turkish rabbi. Gota studied under Jehiel Basan and Joseph di Trani. After spending most of his life in Constantinople, he moved to Jerusalem and from there, to Hebron; financial difficulties compelled him to leave for Cairo, where he remained for the rest of his life. His contemporaries describe him as a great posek and as expert in Kabbalah. Apart from some responsa, all his works have remained in manuscript. They are: Zeraḥ Ya'akov on the Beit Yosef of Joseph *Caro; a commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah; a supercommentary on Rashi's Pentateuch commentary; collected responsa and sermons. Some of his responsa are to be found in the Bodleian Library together with those of Eliezer Arha (rabbi in Hebron from 1634) and David *Habillo. Others appear in various works, among them in the collection of responsa Zera Anashim (1902). Gota's remains were interred on the Mount of Olives in 1650.

bibliography:

Conforte, Kore, 51; Frumkin-Rivlin, 2 (1928), 31; Fuenn, Keneset, 337.

[Simon Marcus]