The Alfandari family originated in Spain. During the centuries following the expulsion, it produced numerous communal leaders, rabbis, and halakhists in the Ottoman Empire, particularly in Istanbul, Smyrna (Izmir), Bursa (Prousa), Egypt, and Palestine. A few members of the family lived in Portugal as anusim.

The first known member of the family was Isaac ben Judah in Toledo (d. 1241). He was followed by Jacob ben Solomon of Valencia, who (together with Solomon Zarza) translated Sefer ha-Azamim, attributed to Abraham ibn Ezra, from Arabic into Hebrew. Other members include the mercha…