Azoulay, sometimes spelled Azoulai, Azulai or Azulay (Hebrew: אזולאי),1 etc. is a Sephardi Jewish surname, common among Jews of Moroccan descent. It is assumed that the family name Azulai is an acronym of the biblical restriction on whom a Kohen may marry: אשה זנה וחללה לא יקחו (Leviticus, 21:7) and, thus, indicating priestly descent. The Hebrew phrase ishah zonah ve'challelah lo yikachu means "a prostitute or divorced [Israelite woman] shall they [the Kohen] not take".. Prostitute, while a literal translation, may refer to general immoral behavior such as adultery. Despite this long-standing tradition, a member of the family Abraham Azoulay of Marrakesh (not to be confused with the Kabbalist, Abraham Azulai of Hebron) protested this association vehemently, going so far as to excommunicate those who propagated that acronym23.
According to Mohamed Chafik, "Azoulay" (Arabic: أزولاي, Berber languages: ⴰⵣⵓⵍⴰⵢ) is a common Moroccan Jewish family name, and has the straightforward meaning "hairy", "whose body is full of hair" in Berber languages.4
People
Azoulay family of Fez
Azoulay, is the name of a notable Jewish family descended from Spanish exiles who, after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and following decades, settled in the city of Fez, Morocco. The family includes:
- Abraham Azulai (c. 1570 – 1643), Kabbalistic author and commentator best known for his Chessed le-Avraham
- Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724–1807), a rabbinical scholar and a noted bibliophile, who pioneered the history of Jewish religious writings5
- Raphael Isaiah Azulai (died 1830), rabbi and writer
Others
- André Azoulay, Senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco
- Ariella Azoulay, Israeli scholar and documentarian, see Herzliya Biennial
- Aryeh Azulai, Israeli politician
- Audrey Azoulay, French Minister of Culture
- Blanche Azoulay, Algerian lawyer
- Daniel Azulay, Brazilian visual artist, comic book artist, and educator
- Hanna Azoulay Hasfari, Israeli actress and filmmaker
- Jean-Luc Azoulay, French filmmaker, see AB Disques
- Jom Tob Azulay, Brazilian film producer and director
- Shay K. Azoulay, Israeli writer
- Simon Azoulay Pedersen, Danish footballer
- Yinon Azulai, Israeli politician
See also
See also
- Azoulay v The Queen, 1952 Canadian Supreme Court case, wherein Dr. Leon Azoulay was accused of murder after the death of a patient receiving an abortion
- The Policeman, Hashoter Azoulay was the original title of the Israeli film The Policeman
References
References
- minus the Aleph before the Yud, which is how Chaim Yosef David Azulai spelled it
- See Shem HaGedolim (by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azoulay), Aleph 16.
- Posner, Menachem. "What Does the Jewish Last Name Azoulay Mean?". Chabad. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
- Chafik, Mohamed (1999). الدارجة المغربية مجال توارد بين الأمازيغية والعربية (PDF) (in Arabic and Moroccan Arabic). Rabat: Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. p. 47.
- Mindel, Nissan (1 July 2004). "Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai — The Chida (circa 5484-5567; 1724-1807)". Chabad.org. Retrieved 26 September 2023.