Jacob Chagiz

Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov ben Shmuel Chagiz was a 17th-century rabbi born into a Moroccan rabbinic family that was expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. As a young adult, Chagiz emigrated to Italy, where he published several books. In 1658, he moved to Jerusalem and, with the support for benefactors from his former Livorno, established Yeshivat Beit Ya’akov, the largest and most influential Jerusalem yeshiva of the century. Chagiz was a fierce and vocal opponent of Shabbetai Tzvi, the leader of a failed messianic movement, and led a successful charge to excommunicate him as a false messiah.