Ma’agal tov ha-shalem (The Good Journey)

Born in Jerusalem to a Sephardic rabbinical family, Ḥayim Joseph David Azulai was a prominent rabbinic scholar, proficient in Talmud, Kabbalah, and Jewish history. He was sent as an emissary to Europe and North Africa starting in 1753 or 1755, to raise funds for the small and beleaguered Jewish communities of Palestine. This did not stop him from visiting zoos, palaces, and gardens as he traversed Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and recorded the details of each place and its people.  Interested in the history of rabbinical literature, he wrote prolifically; his works included a literary diary, in which he recorded ideas in Jewish history, scholarship, and folklore that occurred to him on his travels. From 1778 (after one of his missions) until his death, he lived in Livorno (Leghorn), Italy.