Azoulay

Azoulay, sometimes spelled Azoulai, Azulai or Azulay (Hebrew: אזולאי), 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 acronym. 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.