KARMI

KARMI (Crémieux), French rabbinic family of the 18th century, consisting of Mordecai and Solomon Ḥayyim, the sons of Abraham, a learned merchant, and Moses, son of Solomon Ḥayyim and son-in-law of Mordecai. MORDECAI KARMI (1749–1825) was born in Carpentras. When Ḥ.J.D. Azulai was there in 1777 as an emissary of the Ereẓ Israel community, he became friendly with the Karmi family. Toward the end of his life Mordecai served as rabbi in Aix-en-Provence. He is the same Mordecai Crémieux who financed the edition of Seder ha-Tamid, the first prayer book of daily and Sabbath prayers according to the Provençal rite. He wrote Ma'amar Mordekhai, in two parts (Leghorn, 1784–86), an extensive commentary on the Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim. At the beginning of the work there is a poem by the author's father in honor of his son and prefaces by his brother Solomon Ḥayyim and Solomon's son Moses. The work also contains hassagot ("criticisms") on Azulai's Birkei Yosef. This gave rise to a sharp rejoinder by Azulai in his Maḥazik Berakhah (Leghorn, 1785), in which he remarked that it was not fitting that he should reply and was doing so only out of fear that his silence would be taken as a justification of Karmi's strictures. Karmi again replied in a special work entitled Divrei Mordekhai (Leghorn, 1787). His brother SOLOMON ḤAYYIM was born in the middle of the 18th century in Carpentras, where he served as rabbi after the death of his father. At the age of 18 he compiled Ḥeshek Shelomo, a supercommentary on Rashi's commentary to the Pentateuch. Solomon Ḥayyim's son MOSES (1766–1837) was born in Carpentras, but in 1790, together with his father and his uncle, moved to Aix, where he was appointed rabbi. He wrote Ho'il Moshe Be'er, a supercommentary in 12 volumes to Abraham ibn Ezra's commentary to some of the books of the Pentateuch and to Proverbs, Job, and the Five scrolls (only vols. 1–6 and 12 were printed; Aix, 1833–36). He also published, under the same title, a commentary to the prayer book according to the Provençal rite (six volumes, Aix, 1829–35). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ghirondi-Neppi, 241–3; Gross, Gal Jud, 263; M. Benayahu, R. Ḥayyim Yosef David Azulai (1959), 118–21, 367–78; Roth, in: Journal of Jewish Bibliography, 1 (1939), 103f.; S. Wiener, Kehillat Moshe, 1 (1918), 359–62. (Yehoshua Horowitz)