Rabbi Eliʿāzer Farḥī (1851-1930) was a Tunisian Jewish Zionist writer, poet, journalist, printer and activist.
He grew up and studied in Tunisia. Between the years 1871-1883, he traveled three times to visit his uncle, the writer Yūsuf Šabtī Farḥī, in Livorno, Italy, and lived there for several years. During his stay in Livorno, he was ordained as a rabbi. After his return to Tunis from his third trip, he opened a bookstore in the city.
Farḥī wanted to spread the ideas of enlightenment and modernity among Tunisian Jews. To this end, he founded a periodical in Tunis in 1884 called the Herald. A little later, he also founded a weekly magazine in Judeo-Arabic under the name (Almubaššir). Literature and poetry were mainly published in these magazines. In 1885, he established an independent printing house called Mteva Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Printing). Later, Farḥī founded another printing house called Alanser Mint with his son. In this printing house he published several issues of a periodical edited by him called Al-Nisr (The Eagle).
Farḥī's literary activity began with the publication of a translation from Hebrew into Tunisian Judeo-Arabic of a collection of short stories compiled by his uncle Yūsuf Šabtī Farḥī.
Later, he also composed works, some of which were published in the magazines he edited, and some in the many books (more than 20) he published during his lifetime. A small part of his compositions are in Hebrew and the rest in Judeo-Arabic, with the intention that they be distributed among the members of the local Jewish community. His books are characterized by a rebellion against conservatism and exalt the miracle of the individual's freedom of choice.
Farhi's most famous literary work is an epic in Judeo-Arabic, consisting of four volumes and 1642 pages, which tells the stories of a fictional adventurer named Sayf al-Azal. The epic was printed in the years 1885-1887 under the name Sīraẗ al- Azaliyyaẗ: Sīraẗ al-Malik Sayf (also known as Sīraẗ al- Azaliyyaẗ, Ḥakāit al-Malik Sayf Al-Azal). More than 1000 copies were printed in its first edition, and it was printed in several editions thereafter, and was a very popular book among Tunisian Jews.
Farḥīalso composed poems. Among others a lament in Tunisian Judeo-Arabic in memory of Rabbi Navel, Rabbi Yom-Tov Guez and his three sons murdered in 1891.
Farḥī was also involved in charitable activities and was responsible for helping patients on behalf of a local philanthropic association that operated in Tunis. After leaving the association, he opened and operated a small traditional medicine store in the Garana market in Tunis.
Throughout his life, he made numerous speeches at various forums in Tunis in support of Zionist ideas.
One of his assistants at the pharmacy he managed was the journalist and writer Daniel Ḥaǧāǧ , who later became a famous writer.
Farḥī died in Tunis in 1930, and is remembered as one of the pioneers of literature in the local dialect of Jewish Arabic in Tunisia. At that time, other writers, journalists and printers considered as his partners or successors began to operate, including Šālom Falāḥ, Yaākov HaCohen , Daniel Ḥaǧāǧ , Yaākov Šemlā and many others.
متحف التراث المكتوب - 2022