The concept of an official rabbi performing administrative duties and acting as an intermediary existed as far back as the 13th century in the kingdoms of
Castile,
Aragon, and
Portugal and elsewhere in the Iberian peninsula. The crown rabbi was one of the chief ways for the kingdoms in the peninsula to exert power over their Jewish communities. Those officials fulfilling this position often acquired significant secular power over their communities, and sometimes over provinces or even kingdoms.
Castile and Aragon In Castile, the Court Rabbinate extended as an institution from 1255 until
Expulsion in 1492. They were often laymen, not rabbis, and had near dictatorial authority of their flock. They presided in appeals cases and international synods, and might also be a court physician, as well as tax collector over both the Jewish as well as the Christian community. The last one to hold the office of crown rabbi of Castile was
Abraham Seneor who became a
converso rather than be expelled. In 1386 in the
Kingdom of Aragon for example, King
John I in the context of a time of political reform, issued edicts defining the functions and duties of the as intermediary between the power of the kingdom and that of the
aljama, or Jewish community. There were various requirements as to the good character and faith of the person holding this charge, as well as a requirement that he live among the entourage of the Court, and thus away from his community, and in constant contact with the Christian majority population. His powers and authorities over the of Castile, economic, judicial, and otherwise, were specified.
Portugal In Portugal, the
arrabi was a Jewish official who acted as a private municipal judge in a locality, chosen from among the community. Presiding above the
arrabis was a high functionary of the crown known as the
arrabi mor (or arrabi-môr;
chief rabbi) and reporting to the King. and presided over the
ouvidores (auditors) of the kingdom. The position of
arrabi mor emerged in Portugal as a result of efforts begun in the 12th century to centralize the legal and fiscal system in the country. By the late 13th century this effort extended to all of Portuguese Jewry, as manifested by the creation of a network of Jewish officials in each locality. The head of this network was the
arrabi mor (chief rabbi) who acted as the royal tax collector similar to the position of the
almoxarife mayor) in Castile. Under him were seven officials also called
arrabis or
ouvidores (auditors) who were responsible for taxes in their region (''
); the local arrabis'' were assigned to individual communities after the model in Castile and Aragon. Such a man was Moses Navarro under King
John I of Portugal. Following the carnage and forced conversions in the
1391 massacre of Jews in Seville and its aftermath in other kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, the devastation threatened to spill across the border into Portugal, but Moses Navarro exercised his power and influence with the monarch and his knowledge of edicts from the
Vatican by Popes
Boniface IX and
Clement VI friendly to Jews to prevent any harm from coming to Portuguese Jewry. King John upon hearing of the edicts, immediately promulgated a law on July 17, 1392, prohibiting any persecution, which was obeyed gladly by his subjects due to the extent of his popularity in the land. As a result, Portugal became a safe haven for Jews escaping persecution in Spain. == Notable crown rabbis ==