Ben Ish Chai
Yosef Chaim (
1832 -
1909) 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.
|
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, author of Ben Ish Chai |
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 Someich, in
1851 - they had a daughter and two sons.
When Rabbi Yosef Chaim was only twenty-five years old, his father died. Nevertheless, the Jews of Baghdad accepted him to fill his fathers place and Rabbi Yosef Chaim became Rabbi of Baghdad. He became widely accepted as an authority on Jewish law throughout the
Middle East. His
decisions are considered to be of
halachic significance - even outside of the Sephardi communities. The highly respected
Sephardic yeshiva,
Ben Porat Yosef, was founded in
Jerusalem by one of Rabbi Chaim's patrons at the rabbi's insistence. His main disciple was the kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Moshe Petaya.
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:
MeKabtziel: 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,
MeKabtziel,
Rav Pe'alim,
Ben Yehoyada - derive from
2 Samuel 23:20.
In addition to the above, Rabbi Chaim authored over thirty other works including his
siddur that is widely used by
Sephardic Jews.
*
Kaf HaChaim - a more discursive, and contemporaneous,
Sephardi work of Halakha.
References*
The "Ben Ish Chai" Chacham Yosef Chaim (1834 " 1909), ou.org
*
The Ben Ish Chai, Yated Neeman
*
Great Jewish Leaders, Eliezer C. Abrahamson
*
Ben Ish Chai, tzemachdovid.org
*
Rabbenu Hakham Ribbi Yoseph Hayyim, benishhai.org
*
Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, torah.net
*
Benaihu Ben Yehoyada, ascent.org.il
Resources*
Ben Ish Chai full-text (
Hebrew), shechem.org
*
Ben Ish Chai audio lectures (
MP3)
The Halachot of the Ben Ish Hai, transl. S. Hiley, Philipp Feldheim. ISBN 1583301607
Golden Apples: Parables Of The Ben Ish Chai , Y. Kahn, Artscroll. ISBN 0899064043
