Isaac Sacca

Argentinean rabbi

Rabbi Isaac Antebi Sacca

Title	Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires
Personal
Born	Isaac Antebi Sacca Buenos Aires, Argentina
Religion	Judaism
Nationality	Argentine
Children	6 children
Denomination	Orthodox
Alma mater	Porat Yosef Yeshiva; Yechave Daat Bet Midrash

Other	President of Menora
Residence	Buenos Aires
Semikhah	Ovadia Yosef

Rabbi Isaac Antebi Sacca (Hebrew: יצחק ענתבי סקה (born 1964) is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires,^[1] as well as the founder and president of Menora, an organization for Jewish youth.^[2]

Biography

Early life and education

Rabbi Sacca was born in Buenos Aires into a Jewish family from Aleppo and Eastern Europe. He studied at Yesod Hadat, a community in Buenos Aires that keeps Aleppo's Jewish traditions. There, he became a distinguished student of Chacham Yitzhak Chehebar, the Chief Rabbi of Argentina.

From 1981 to 1984, Rabbi Isaac Sacca studied at Porat Yosef Yeshiva, located in the Old City of Jerusalem. From 1985 to 1989, he studied at Yechave Daat Beit Midrash -within the first group of students it has ever had- directed by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who afterwards granted him rabbinical ordination.^[3] Rabbi Sacca is considered one of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's closest students.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Rabbinical career

From 1989 to 1997, he led the youth department at Yesod Hadat and taught at Beth David Yeshiva within the same community.^[7]

In 1996, he founded Menora Organization, with the aim of strengthening the Jewish identity and spreading religious values among the Argentinian Jewish youth.^[8]

Since 1997, Rabbi Sacca has been the Sephardi Chief Rabbi in Buenos Aires.^[9]

In 2019, he started and promoted a joint university program with the University of Palermo (Buenos Aires), catered for Orthodox Jews, unique in Latin America, Menora-UP.^[10] Since then, more than 140 Jewish students studied on this program, on at least four different careers.^[11]

Interfaith work

He often meets and discusses different topics with multiple religious and political leaders.^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16] Among them is Pope Francis, with whom he has met many times since the period the Pope was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.^[17]^[18]^[19]

Published works

Books compiled by Rabbi Isaac Sacca

Otzarot Chachme Aram Tzova Al HaRambam: it contains interpretations and commentaries on the Rambam's Mishneh Torah- Sefer haMada- written by the greatest sages from Aleppo in all generations. (Published by Machon Aram Tzova-Yerushalaim, 1989)

Michtabe Halacha Yitzhak Yeranen: it includes halachic writings and answers by Rabbi Yitzhak Chehebar, Chief Rabbi of the Jews from Aleppo in Buenos Aires. (Published by the Sephardi Community in Argentina, Yesod Hadat- 1992)

Books translated by Rab Isaac Sacca

Chazon Ovadia: Pesach's Laws and Haggadah, written by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. (Published by Midrash Sepharadi-1989)

Torat Hamoadim: Halachic resolutions on the Jewish festivities written by Rabbi David Yosef. (Published by Yechave Daat Beit Midrash-1990)

References

^ https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/argentinas-sephardi-chief-rabbi-meets-with-pope-francis-in-vatican-city-599845 The Jerusalem Post, August 26, 2019.
^ http://kikarhashabat.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%92%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94.htmlKikar HaShabbat (website), August 7, 2012.(in Hebrew)
^ "מסיבת סמיכה לרבנות הרב יצחק סקה - בית מדרש יחוה דעת - ירושלים תשמ"ט" – via www.youtube.com.
^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDZS1vq_a6Q%7C Rabbi Itzhak Yosef about the relationship between Rabbi Isaac Sacca and his father Rabbi Ovadia Yosef(in Hebrew)
^ https://beta.hebrewbooks.org/reader/reader.aspx?sfid=64820#p=3&fitMode=fitwidth&hlts=&ocr%7C Aprobation of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef of the book "Otzarot Chachme Aram Tzova al HaRambam" by Rabbi Isaac Sacca(in Hebrew)
^ https://agenciaajn.com/noticia/la-maxima-autoridad-rabinica-mundial-visita-la-argentina-3130(in Spanish)
^ "Bio". Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
^ https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/367781 Israel Hayom, March 25, 2016.(in Hebrew)
^ https://www.radiojai.com/index.php/2020/04/26/51324/conociendo-al-rabino-dialogamos-con-isaac-sacca/ (in Spanish)
^ https://itongadol.com/comunidad-en-accion/apertura-de-menora-up-2023(in Spanish)
^ https://visavis.com.ar/2022/12/15/ceremonia-de-entrega-de-diplomas-de-las-carreras-universitarias-de-menora-up-en-el-palacio-san-martin/(in Spanish)
^ http://madridvivo.org/democraciayreligionwlc/(in Spanish)
^ https://visavis.com.ar/2020/08/25/el-gran-rabino-sacca-eduardo-duhalde-y-lideres-religiosos-llamaron-a-un-dialogo-social-amplio/, March 25, 2020(in Spanish)
^ "2013 Madrid Joint Declaration on the theme: "Challenges for Religion in Contemporary Society"". www.christianunity.va.
^ https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/cooperacion-mutua-del-cncps-y-organizacion-de-la-comunidad-judia-argentina-ante-el-0 , June 1, 2020.(in Spanish)
^ https://www.casarosada.gob.ar/component/djmediatools/?view=item&cid=45601&id=0&tmpl=component (in Spanish)
^ "Pope reunites with Buenos Aires chief rabbi" – via www.youtube.com.
^ "Catholic.co.il". www.catholic.co.il.
^ https://itongadol.com/noticias/70586--rabino-argentino-se-reunio-con-el-papa-francisco-en-el-vaticano April 25, 2013.(in Spanish)