Today, the 16th of Av, is the 125th anniversary of the death of Sir Moses (Moshe Chaim) Montefiore, a former Sheriff of London who devoted himself to philanthropy and alleviating Jewish distress all over the world.
Born in Italy in 1784 to descendants of Jews exiled from Spain three centuries earlier, he grew up in England, where he became very wealthy relatively quickly and even became a member of London’s aristocracy. At the same time, he became increasingly religiously observant, until he made sure to travel only with his own personal shochet (ritual slaughterer) and at least nine other Jews so that he could always pray with a minyan (prayer quorum).
In 1812, he married Judith Cohen, whose sister was the wife of Nathan Meyer Rothschild, one of the wealthiest Jews in Europe at the time. The two brothers-in-law became business partners - but not for long; in 1824, Montefiore retired from his many business ventures in favor of Jewish philanthropic affairs. In 1837, he was appointed Sheriff of London, in which position he served for a year, having made clear that he would be excused from working on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, and from entering churches on non-Jewish holidays. In the same year, Queen Victoria benighted him, and nine years later, he was elevated to the rank of Baron.
Among the many famous ventures in which he had an important role in helping Jews was the blood libel in Damascus in 1840. After 13 prominent Jews were arrested and tortured, some “confessed” to having killed a monk for his blood. The affair received international attention – 15,000 American Jews protested in six American cities, and several governments lodged official protests – but was not resolved until Sir Montefiore led a delegation to Syria, and apparently paid the Syrian rulers to release the nine Jews who were still alive. Montefiore also persuaded Sultan Abdülmecid in Constantinople to issue an edict against further blood libel accusations in the Ottoman Empire. Despite this, at least 40 massacres of Jews by Muslims in some 20 cities occurred in the ensuing decades.
He also traveled to Rome in 1858 to try and free a Jewish youth who had been baptized by his Catholic nurse and later kidnapped by the Catholic Church, and also went to Russia (twice), Morocco, and Romania to help persecuted Jews in those countries.
Montefiore made seven trips to the Holy Land, which was a focal point of his Jewish philanthropic activities. He donated large sums of money to promote Jewish industry, education and health there, in anticipation of the establishment of a Jewish homeland. He built a windmill, printing press and textile factory, and helped finance several agricultural colonies. In Jerusalem, Montefiore built the first neighborhood outside the Old City, the still-thriving Mishkenot Shaananim, as well as two more Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Sir Moses also renovated Rachel's Tomb, south of Jerusalem, and built the upper layers of the Western Wall.
Montefiore’s 99th and 100th birthdays were celebrated publicly and officially in London. Though the Montefiores died childless, “they left behind a legacy of tzedaka (charity) and chesed (kindness) that endures to this very day,” sums up yahrtzeits expert Manny Saltiel.
Excerpts from a popular song sung by Yehoram Gaon and written by Chaim Chefer:
And when Sir Montefiore turned 80
The white angels arrived at his home.
They stood before his bed and said:
“The Holy One Blessed be He wants you to come to Him.”
And Sir Moses answered precisely as follows:
“Excuse me, gentlemen, but I really am very busy.
Our brothers around the world have many troubles.
For instance, there is a pogrom in Russia; how can I not go there?
Who will help them all, if not me?”The complete Hebrew version can be seen here.