In 1830 he was appointed as a "shadar" to raise funds on behalf of the Safed Jewish community. He traveled to Jewish communities in Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Livorno, Italy. He was in Livorno at the time of the devastating Safed earthquake of 1837, and decided to return to his native Tripoli. He served the Tripoli Jewish community as a rav, "dayan", "av beit din", and rosh yeshiva over the next 30 years. He was regarded as the senior rabbi in Tripoli.