Ben Ish Chai

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Yosef Chaim (1832 - 1909) (Hebrew: יוסף חיים מבגדד) was a leading Hakham (Sephardic Rabbi), authority on Jewish law (Halakha) and Kabbalist. He is best known as author of the work of Halakha Ben Ish Chai ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), by which title he is also known.

Image:Benishhi.jpg
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, author of Ben Ish Chai

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[edit] Biography

Chacham Yosef Chaim was born in Baghdad where his father was Rabbi. Yosef Chaim's talents were evident from a young age (composing an anonymous responsum at age 14). As a child, he spent most of his time studying in his father's library. At the age of 10, he left cheder ("school room") and began to study with his uncle, Rabbi David Chai Nissim. (Rabbi David later founded the famed "Shoshanim LeDavid" Yeshiva located in Jerusalem.) He married Rachel, the daughter of Rabbi Yehudah Somech, in 1851 - they had a daughter and two sons; Hakham Chaim also studied under his brother in law, Abdallah Somech.

When Rabbi Yosef Chaim was only twenty-five years old, his father died. Despite his youth, the Jews of Baghdad accepted him to fill his father's place and Rabbi Yosef Chaim became Rabbi of Baghdad. He was widely accepted as an authority on Jewish law throughout the Middle East, and his decisions are considered to be of halachic significance, even outside Sephardi communities. His main disciple was the kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Moshe Petaya. The highly respected Sephardic yeshiva, Ben Porat Yosef, was founded in Jerusalem by Joseph Shalom, of Calcutta, India - one of Rabbi Chaim's patrons.

[edit] Works

The Ben Ish Chai (בן איש חי) is a standard reference in Sephardi homes (functioning as "a Sephardi Kitzur Shulchan Aruch") and is widely studied in Sephardi yeshivot. Due to the popularity of this book, Chaim came to be known as "The Ben Ish Chai", by which he is referred to universally today. The book is a collection of homilies he gave over two years discussing the weekly Torah portion. Each chapter begins with a mystical discussion, usually explaining how a Kabbalistic interpretation of a certain verse relates to a particular halakha, and then continuing to expound on that halakha with definitive rulings.

Rabbi Chaim also wrote:

  • Me-Kabtziel: an esoteric exposition of Jewish law - which he refers to in Ben Ish Chai - providing a more detailed explanation of the reasoning underlying certain decisions.
  • Ben Yehoyada, his commentary on the Talmud, considered a basic resource in understanding the Aggada (narrative sections of the Talmud).
  • The Responsa (Hebrew: Sheelot U-Teshuvot) Rav Pe'alim and Torah Lishmah.

The names of the above works - Ben Ish Chai, Me-Kabtziel, Rav Pe'alim, Ben Yehoyada - derive from 2 Samuel 23:20.

In addition to the above, Rabbi Chaim authored over thirty other works. Today there are many published Iraqi rite siddurim (prayer books) based on his rulings, which are widely used by Sephardi Jews.

Rabbi Chaim was noted for his stories and parables. Some are scattered through his halachic works, but have since been collected and published separately; others were published as separate works in his lifetime, as an alternative to the European-inspired secular literature that was becoming popular at the time.

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