The Four Families of Rome: From Temple Destruction to Torah Legacy

Among Italian Jewry—one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe—there is a cherished and ancient tradition. It holds that when Titus destroyed the Second Temple, he exiled four noble families from Jerusalem, descendants of the tribe of Judah. These families were known as the Anavim (the humble), the Tapuchim (the apples), the Edomim (the reds), and the Ne’arim (the youths).

According to the tradition, Titus marched the elders of these families in his grand Roman triumph, parading them through the Arch of Titus, past the sacred Temple vessels and the golden Menorah, down the Via Sacra to the Roman Forum. Yet after the spectacle, the four elders were released, and they went on to establish proud dynasties that produced Torah greatness for generations.

Four Families, One Synagogue

A medieval Roman machzor (prayer book) preserves this story, recording the testimony of Rabbi Mordechai Dato:

“I heard from the great sage Rabbi Mordechai Dato, may he live and be well, that he received from earlier generations that four families came from Jerusalem to Rome with Titus: the Anavim, the Ne’arim, the Edomim, and the Latifim (a variation of Tapuchim). A mnemonic for them is Ana'el. They founded the synagogue in Rome known as Beit HaKnesset MeHaArba Roshim—‘The Synagogue of the Four Heads’—where Rabbeinu HaKadosh of blessed memory prayed.”

Although some names vary in other versions, the tradition remains firmly rooted in the memory of Italian Jewry.

One notable figure who bore the name of one of these families was Rabbi Azariah dei Rossi (“dei Rossi” meaning “of the reds”). But long before him, Jewish scholars proudly identified with these families. The author of Shibbolei HaLeket introduced himself as “Rabbi Binyamin ben Avraham from the family of the Anavim,” and the Leiden manuscript of the Jerusalem Talmud was copied by “Rabbi Yechiel the physician, of the family of the Anavim.”

Rabbi Natan of Rome and the Birth of the Aruch

Among the Tapuchim family was Rabbi Natan ben Yechiel, a towering Torah scholar of the 10th century. He studied under two of the greatest sages of the generation, Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan and Rabbeinu Gershom Meor HaGolah, both of whom were frequently cited by Rashi.

Rabbi Natan exchanged responsa with distant communities and even with Rashi himself. Rashi’s grandson, the Rashbam, later made extensive use of Rabbi Natan’s monumental work: the Aruch.

What was the Aruch? In an age with no dictionaries, let alone organized glossaries, Rabbi Natan compiled an alphabetical lexicon of difficult words in the Talmud and Midrash, covering both Hebrew and Aramaic. As the Jewish world shifted from Babylonia to Europe, and Aramaic was no longer the spoken language, many Jews struggled to understand the Talmud. Rabbi Natan created a groundbreaking tool to bridge that gap.

But Rabbi Natan wasn’t just a linguist. He was a great Torah scholar. His Aruch wasn’t simply a dictionary; it provided authoritative interpretations grounded in oral traditions from the giants of the previous generation. His insights are still cited in halachic (Jewish legal) rulings. Rabbi Natan also had a command of multiple languages, drawing comparisons to Latin, Spanish, Arabic, and more.

Greatness Through Grief

Before devoting his life to Torah, Rabbi Natan worked as a fabric merchant. Eventually, he built a synagogue, a mikveh (ritual bath), founded a yeshiva, and even commissioned a special Torah scroll. Despite all his accomplishments, he endured devastating personal loss.

In a moving poem appended to the introduction of the Aruch, Rabbi Natan mourned the deaths of his four sons:

“My grief is multiplied by the loss of four—
Gifted and strong, signs of a house full of children.
Yet none survived.
The first, Yechiel, lived thirty days;
The second, Binyamin, passed away at eight years old;
The third, Shabtai, died at three;
The fourth, I never merited to bring to brit milah (circumcision)…
My spirit is crushed in their absence.”

Still, Rabbi Natan was blessed with one surviving son, Reuven, who continued in Torah and rose to greatness. His own son, Rabbi Yechiel, became so esteemed that, according to the famous traveler Rabbi Binyamin of Tudela, he was entrusted with overseeing the estate of the pope, an astonishing role for a Jew in 12th-century Europe.

From the ruins of Jerusalem to the libraries of Rome, the story of the Four Families is one of survival, resilience, and eternal dedication to Torah. Their legacy, preserved in manuscripts, scholarship, and tradition, continues to shape Jewish life and learning to this day.