The Monsonego family (originally spelled and pronounced Monsonyego) belonged to the intellectual aristocracy of Moroccan Jewry for generations. Originally from Spain, probably the Aragonese town of Monzón (Monson, Montisson), the family settled in Fez after the 1492 expulsion. The first mention of a Rabbi Monsonego dates to the early eighteenth century. The members of the family in the following generations comprised a distinguished lineage of religious leaders, scholars, and poets.

Ephraim ben Abraham Monsonego (1710–1790) was ordained by Rabbi Jacob Aben Ṣur (1673–1752). A…