# Azoulay

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'''Azoulay''', sometimes spelled '''Azoulai''', '''Azulai''' or '''Azulay''' ({{langx|he|אזולאי}}),<ref>minus the Aleph before the Yud, which is how [Chaim Yosef David Azulai](/source/Chaim_Yosef_David_Azulai) spelled it</ref> etc. is a [Sephardi Jewish](/source/Sephardi_Jews) [surname](/source/surname), common among Jews of [Moroccan](/source/Moroccan_Jews) 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".{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}. Prostitute, while a literal translation, may refer to general immoral behavior such as adultery.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} Despite this long-standing tradition, a member of the family Abraham Azoulay of [Marrakesh](/source/Marrakesh) (not to be confused with the Kabbalist, [Abraham Azulai](/source/Abraham_Azulai) of [Hebron](/source/Hebron)) protested this association vehemently, going so far as to excommunicate those who propagated that acronym<ref>See Shem HaGedolim (by Rabbi [Chaim Yosef David Azoulay](/source/Chaim_Yosef_David_Azulai)), Aleph 16.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Posner |first1=Menachem |title=What Does the Jewish Last Name Azoulay Mean? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5052512/jewish/What-Does-the-Jewish-Last-Name-Azoulay-Mean.htm |website=Chabad |access-date=January 22, 2026}}</ref>.

According to [Mohamed Chafik](/source/Mohamed_Chafik), "Azoulay" ({{langx|ar|أزولاي}}, {{langx|ber|ⴰⵣⵓⵍⴰⵢ}}) is a common Moroccan Jewish family name, and has the straightforward meaning "hairy", "whose body is full of hair" in Berber languages.<ref>{{Cite book |title=الدارجة المغربية مجال توارد بين الأمازيغية والعربية |last=Chafik |first=Mohamed |publisher=[Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco](/source/Academy_of_the_Kingdom_of_Morocco) |year=1999 |location=[Rabat](/source/Rabat) |pages=47 |language=ar,ary |author-link=Mohamed Chafik |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617212956/https://www.freemorocco.com/eddarija.pdf}}</ref> 

==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](/source/Alhambra_Decree){{citation needed|date=September 2021}} and following decades, settled in the city of [Fez, Morocco](/source/Fez%2C_Morocco). The family includes:
* [Abraham Azulai](/source/Abraham_Azulai) ({{circa|1570}} – 1643), Kabbalistic author and commentator best known for his ''Chessed le-Avraham''
* [Chaim Yosef David Azulai](/source/Chaim_Yosef_David_Azulai) (1724–1807), a rabbinical scholar and a noted bibliophile, who pioneered the history of Jewish religious writings<ref>{{cite web | last=Mindel | first=Nissan | title=Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai — The Chida (circa 5484-5567; 1724-1807) | website=Chabad.org | date=1 July 2004 | url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111929/jewish/Rabbi-Chaim-Joseph-David-Azulai.htm | access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref>
* [Raphael Isaiah Azulai](/source/Raphael_Isaiah_Azulai) (died 1830), rabbi and writer

===Others===
* [André Azoulay](/source/Andr%C3%A9_Azoulay), Senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco
* [Ariella Azoulay](/source/Ariella_Azoulay), Israeli scholar and documentarian, see [Herzliya Biennial](/source/Herzliya_Biennial)
* [Aryeh Azulai](/source/Aryeh_Azulai), Israeli politician
* [Audrey Azoulay](/source/Audrey_Azoulay), French Minister of Culture
* [Blanche Azoulay](/source/Blanche_Azoulay), Algerian lawyer
* [Daniel Azulay](/source/Daniel_Azulay), Brazilian visual artist, comic book artist, and educator
* [Hanna Azoulay Hasfari](/source/Hanna_Azoulay_Hasfari), Israeli actress and filmmaker
* [Jean-Luc Azoulay](/source/Jean-Luc_Azoulay), French filmmaker, see [AB Disques](/source/AB_Disques)
* [Jom Tob Azulay](/source/Jom_Tob_Azulay), Brazilian film producer and director
* [Shay K. Azoulay](/source/Shay_K._Azoulay), Israeli writer
* [Simon Azoulay Pedersen](/source/Simon_Azoulay_Pedersen), Danish footballer
* [Yinon Azulai](/source/Yinon_Azulai), Israeli politician

==See also==
* ''[Azoulay v The Queen](/source/Azoulay_v_The_Queen)'', 1952 [Canadian Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_Canada) case, wherein Dr. Leon Azoulay was accused of murder after the death of a patient receiving an abortion
* ''[The Policeman](/source/The_Policeman)'', Hashoter Azoulay was the original title of the Israeli film ''The Policeman''

{{surname|Azoulay}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Sephardi surnames
Category:Surnames of Moroccan origin
Category:Kohenitic surnames

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Azoulay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azoulay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azoulay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.