David Pardo

Who is David Pardo?

David Pardo was an 18th-century Italian rabbi and liturgical poet who lived for some time in Sarajevo and Jerusalem. Among other things, he authored a commentary on the Sifra on Leviticus and Maskil le-David, a super-commentary on Rashi on the Torah.

Pardo was born in Venice on March 29, 1719 and died in Jerusalem 1792. He was the son of Jacob Pardo of Ragusa, rabbi of Venice. After finishing his studies, Pardo left Venice and went to Ragusa. He then lived for some years in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where he devoted himself to teaching. From Sarajevo was to Spalato, Dalmatia, where Rabbi Abraham David Papo engaged him as teacher at the yeshibah. After the death of Papo's successor, Isaac Tzedakah, Pardo was elected chief rabbi of the city. Among his disciples were Shabbethai Ventura, David Pinto, and Abraham Curiel. In 1752 Pardo began to publish, his first work being Shoshannim le-David, a commentary on the Mishnah.

In 1764 Pardo accepted the position of chief rabbi at Sarajevo, where he succeeded Joshua Isaac Maggioro. He employed his leisure time in writing and publishing various works. Toward the end of his life he went to Jerusalem, where he died.