Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim הרב יצחק נסים

A Baghdadi, student of Rabbi Sadqa Hussein; born in 5656. In 5685 he came to Jerusalem—with no post and no money—and for years learned on his own, living on what he could. His volume of responsa, Yein ha-Tov, appeared before he held any office at all, and that office he earned by the book rather than by connections.

Rishon LeZion. From 5715 to 5732 he was Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, between Rabbi Uziel and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

The Bene Israel. The community from India that came to Israel was put in doubt: some rabbis refused to recognise its Jewishness and would not allow marriages. Rabbi Nissim went through the question and said plainly: they are Jews. For thousands of people that settled their lives.

The kibbutzim. He went out to the kibbutzim—at that time almost wholly Ashkenazi and secular—which few rabbis of his standing did. A rabbi, he held, goes to people rather than waiting for them to come.

Plain dealing. In 5724, when Pope Paul VI came to Israel and declined to visit the heads of other religions, requiring that they come to him, Rabbi Nissim did not go to the meeting. He died in 5741.