Raphael Meldola was descended from an old, Sephardi family originating in the 13th century from Toledo, Spain, and numbering many rabbis and scholars through the generations. His father was a rabbi and also professor of oriental studies at the University of Paris. His grandfather was a haham in Piza. Raphael received a thorough university training, both in theological and in secular studies, and displayed such remarkable talents that when only 15 years old, he was permitted to take his seat in the rabbinical college in Livorno. He received his semicha in 1796 from Rabbi 'Hida' Azulay, and in 1803 became a dayan.
Rabbinic career
In 1805, Meldola was elected haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of Great Britain. He arrived there following a long journey from Livorno on the eve of Rosh Hashana. In his first days, Meldola immediately and energetically embarked on a number of goals. Among them was improved collaboration and cooperation between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, and he persuaded the two communities to set up a joint board for shechita. Another area he soon took up was to counteract the activities of missionaries. He looked as well to ensure the dignity and proper execution of synagogue prayers—and he introduced what has become one of the most distinctive and appreciated qualities of the Spanish and Portuguese service: its choir. "As an Italian," notes one biographer, "Meldola had been fond of music and had been the first person to introduce a choir into the London synagogue." Strong in his beliefs and passionate in his expression of them, Meldola was remembered as "kind-hearted man, ever ready to lend a willing ear to tales of distress and to do his utmost to procure assistance." His name will ever be indissolubly associated with that of Bevis Marks Synagogue.
Publications
Possessed of a remarkably virile mind, Meldola was a dominant factor in the British Jewry of his generation. He was the author of Qorban Minhah on the duties of the High Priest; Kuppat Hatanim, an instruction manual to bridesgrooms; and Derekh Emunah, published by his son after his death. He left 10 manuscript works, including an exposition of Jewish doctrine, rites, and beliefs. His scholarship attracted around him a circle that included some of the great men of his day, among them Benjamin Disraeli and Isaac D'Israeli; and it is noteworthy that he opposed the policy which produced the famous rupture between the latter and the mahamad. He also maintained a correspondence with many of the most prominent Christian clergymen and scholars of his time; and his acquaintance with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Canon of Windsor led to his being received by King George III.
