Every child is exposed at some point in his life to the stories of heroism and fighting of the pirates, who are branded as violent and aggressive, those who are willing to throw their lives away in order to carry out their plot.
These figures seemed to us as figures without values and without vision and for the most part we hoped that we would not have a part with them.
This rests, among other things, on the prohibition on stealing, which appears in the Torah in a number of contexts, both in everything related to plagiarism, that is, not to deceive those around you intentionally in the first place and on the other hand an order to refrain from stealing money from others by any amount.
One of the most unknown and least known in the stories of our people is the phenomenon of pirate Jews.
Ancient records of this phenomenon can be seen as early as the Hasmonean period, after in earlier periods of the Kingdom of Israel and Judea most Jews lived in the mountains of Judea and Samaria, re-conquered a number of port cities such as Jaffa, Ashdod and Gaza, and many became seafarers and sailors.
As the fighting intensified by the Romans, the Jews used the naval supremacy in the area to sabotage and impede the flow of goods in the Sea of Alexandria and Rome.
Finally, the stubborn fighting of the Roman army commander Vespasian about two years before he was appointed emperor of the empire led to the conquest of the port cities.
In order to prevent the reoccupation of the city by the Jewish pirates for the third time, Vespasian built a fortress.
The Romans glorified their victory over the pirates of Jaffa and commemorated it by issuing a large number of coins with the inscription "navalis Judea" (Naval Judea).
There is another version in which Victoria, the goddess of victory, is seen with the caption "Victoria Navalis" ("Naval Victory").
Pirate (illustration photo), Photo: AP
But it seems that the sea pirates received their prestige during the expulsion from Spain.
The exile of the Jews and their expulsion from Spain after many years of prosperous community life and spirit and the definition of the Jews as "enemies of the Spanish kingdom" led to feelings and a need for revenge.
The vital advancement in navigation that was developed at the School of Cartography in York was a Jewish institution and the great knowledge of the Jews in the field of maritime navigation was for the sake of the world.
The most up-to-date data of the Ephemeris (table of celestial bodies and current astronomy) were from the desk of the Portuguese Jewish astronomer and Jewish historian Rabbi Avraham Ben Shmuel entitled a neighborhood called Zakoto (August 12, 1452–1514).
These data were used in the Age of Discovery by Christopher Columbus who consulted many times with Rabbi Zakut before embarking on the historic voyage in which the Americas were discovered, as well as other seafarers in their search for sea routes to transport goods between continents and countries and continents undiscovered.
The works of Rabbi Avraham Zakut who lived most of his life in Spain and Portugal and in his old age immigrated to Eretz Israel.
He has been world-renowned for his in-depth knowledge of astronomy.
These calculation methods and tables also formed the basis for the first computer calculations in history and are used to this day in space projects in the field of launch and navigation.
He also developed the first metallic mechanical astrolabe in Western Europe which was the most accurate of them - (Ancient Greek: ἀστρολάβος), an instrument by which the angles of celestial bodies relative to the horizon can be determined.
Zagot Crater on lunar soil has been named after him for his significant contribution to space exploration and astronomy.
Rabbi Avraham Zakut testified more than once that his work in astronomy was solely for the sake of knowing the Torah and that thanks to its publication he brought honor to his people (genealogy, first article, alphabet, alphabet): School of Astronomy).
And I have permission to boast about it, as the sages said: 'This is not wisdom that the sages considered in the eyes of the peoples - oh, I mean it is an account of periods and zodiac signs.' "To and the laws written in it."
The vast knowledge assisted the Jews in their revenge against the rule of the Inquisition.
After their exile many of the Jews settled in the Islamic lands on the shores of the Mediterranean and cooperated with the locals who were also expelled from Spain and Portugal during these years.
At first they shared the political, military and strategic secrets and later Jewish pirate units were set up to attack the ships of the Spanish kingdom, and to prevent the transfer of ammunition and treasures to the royal palace.
Among the greatest Jewish pirates was Don Shmuel Palagi (Palacha), a member of a family of rabbis deported from Spain who lived in Fez, Morocco.
Don Samuel was a rabbi in Amsterdam and the founder of the first synagogue in the city, was known as a great benefactor who established a special fund for the redemption of Jewish prisoners sentenced to death, as well as served as a diplomat and ambassador of the King of Morocco in the Netherlands. -16 The fleet of pirate warships of the Sultanate under the auspices of the Sultan, who also acted in coordination with the Dutch government, whose task was to manage the piracy of Spanish ships returning laden with goods from the American continent.
Assisted by Jews.
Christopher Columbus, Photo: From Wikipedia
It is said that his flagship had a tiny synagogue and despite his violent occupation, Palaca kept it as light as a donkey and often said that he did not make a living from robbing the passers-by, but acting with the intention of avenging the Spanish crown for expelling Spain.
To those who would seek to remove his sword before entering the synagogues he would say: "My sword will not come down from my waist until I avenge the King and Queen of Spain for all they have done to my Jewish brethren."
The Jews' preoccupation with warfare during these years was rare, but seems to have stemmed from a motivation for carrying a national and value head, as can be deduced from Don Shmuel's ship's flag, on which the figure of the phoenix, which symbolizes eternity in Jewish culture, is quoted in Genesis. ): "A chicken named Sand and was not fined (i.e. sentenced) to death, which did not taste of the tree of knowledge and finally a thousand years is renewed and returns to its youth."
Don Samuel expressed in this the eternal statement in the eyes of the nations of the world who tried to destroy us - you can not tell us that "the people of Israel live forever."
Rabbi Shraga Natan Dahan is an officer in the Res. And holds a master's degree in management and technology and is certified as a rabbi and judge. Serves as a consultant and lecturer in public, security, educational and scientific bodies on Halacha, technology, medicine, science and space.
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