Visit to Rabbi Eliezer Papo’s Tomb

The route: Travel south from Bucharest, including a border crossing. A ferry is often used to cross the Danube. After crossing the ferry, which is an experience in itself (but you can get out of the car and have a Danube cruise on the way).

Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Yitzhak Papu was a Poske and Kabbalist. He wrote books, the best known of which was the book of morals – “Peleh Yoetz”, which is why the rabbi is sometimes called by his name. He served as the rabbi of the Sephardic community of Silistra in Bulgaria and for a time also headed the Sephardic community in the capital of Wallachia, Bucharest. He also wrote the books “Alef HaMagen”, “Chesed LaAlfim” and “Beit Tefila”.

He was born to Yitzhak and Blanca Papu, one of the oldest families of Sarajevo Jewry in Bosnia (then Sarai-Bosna, in the Ottoman Empire). He studied in yeshiva and his teachers were Rabbi Eliyahu Hayon and Rabbi Moshe Danon. He acquired great knowledge of Torah and in Sarajevo he also wrote his first book “Moshet HaAviv”.
After he married, he moved to Silistra, and became the head of the local Jewish community. In 1819, he arrived in Bucharest and managed and reorganized the Sephardic Jewish community in the city, based on the original regulations established In 1811. A short time later he returned to Silistra.

Rabbi Eliezer Papu wanted to immigrate to Eretz Israel, but in 1826 – 1827 he fell ill. For his recovery, he was given the name Yehezkel, but on the 20th of Tishrei 1828, at the age of 42, he was taken to his earthly home and buried in Silistra.