Asenath Barzani - Life and Work

Life and Work

Asenath Barzani was the daughter of Rabbi Samuel HaLevi Barzani, a rabbinic scholar in Kurdistan, whose authority was absolute though he held no official position. He had founded several yeshivot and was head of the yeshivah in Mosul. He lived in great poverty and was regarded as a saint. He had no sons, and he was his daughter's primary teacher. A master of Kabbalah, he was said to have taught his daughter the secrets of Kabbalah. Barzani adored her father, and regarded him as a King of Israel. In a letter, she described her upbringing:

“I never left the entrance to my house or went outside; I was like a princess of Israel ... I grew up on the laps of scholars, anchored to my father of blessed memory. I was never taught any work but sacred study.”

Barzani was married to one of her father's best students, Rabbi Jacob Mizrahi, who promised her father that she would do no domestic work and could spend her time as a Torah scholar. After her fathers death, her husband became head of the yeshivah in Mosul. He was so involved in his studies that she essentially taught the yeshivah students and provided them with rabbinic training. Following her husband's death, the leadership of the yeshivah passed to her naturally, and eventually she became known as the chief teacher of Torah in Kurdistan. As neither her father nor her husband had been successful fundraisers, the yeshivah was always in financial difficulties, and Barzani wrote a number of letters requesting funds in which she described her and her children's difficult situation. Her home and belongings had been confiscated, including her books, but she felt that as a woman it was inappropriate for her to travel in search of financial support. Barzani wrote:

“And he made my husband swear that he would not make me perform work, and he did as he had commanded him. From the beginning, the Rabbi was busy with his studies and had no time to teach the pupils; but I taught them in his stead, I was a helpmate for him... the sake of Father... and the Rabbi... so that their Torah and names should not be brought to naught in these communities; for I remain the teacher of Torah...”

In spite of the financial problems, she successfully ran the yeshivah which continued to produce serious scholars, including her son, whom she sent to Baghdad, where he continued the dynasty of rabbinic scholars.

In letters addressed to her, one can see the respect and admiration of fellow scholars from far and near. Her few extant writings demonstrate a complete mastery of Hebrew, Torah, Talmud, Midrash, as well as Kabbalah, and her letters are not only erudite, but also lyrical. After her death, many Jews made pilgrimages to her grave in Amadiyah in Northern Iraq, where her father is also buried.