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Yosef Chaim (1 September, 1832 – 30 August, 1909) (Hebrew: ???? ???? ??????) was a leading Hakham
Hakham

Hakham is a term from Judaism, meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. The word is generally used to designate a cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise thing is called a wise man ["hakham"], even if he be not a Jew" ....
 (Sephardic
Sephardic Judaism

Sephardic Judaism is the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews....
 Rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
), authority
Posek

Posek is the term in Halakha for "decider"?a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
 on Jewish law (Halakha
Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
) and Master Kabbalist
Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mysticism aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that are meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator deity with the finite and mortal universe of His creation....
. 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.

am Yosef Chaim was born in Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
 where his father, Hakham Eliyahu, was the active leader of the Jewish community.






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Yosef Chaim (1 September, 1832 – 30 August, 1909) (Hebrew: ???? ???? ??????) was a leading Hakham
Hakham

Hakham is a term from Judaism, meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. The word is generally used to designate a cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise thing is called a wise man ["hakham"], even if he be not a Jew" ....
 (Sephardic
Sephardic Judaism

Sephardic Judaism is the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews....
 Rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
), authority
Posek

Posek is the term in Halakha for "decider"?a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
 on Jewish law (Halakha
Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
) and Master Kabbalist
Kabbalah

Kabbalah is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mysticism aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that are meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator deity with the finite and mortal universe of His creation....
. 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.

Biography

Hakham Yosef Chaim was born in Baghdad
Baghdad

Baghdad is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous. With a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq, and the second largest city in the Arab World....
 where his father, Hakham Eliyahu, was the active leader of the Jewish community. Yosef Chaim's talents were evident from a young age (composing an anonymous responsum
Responsa

Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them....
 at age 14).When he was 7 years old he fell into a pit. He was very close to dying but there was a miaracle and he was saved. When he got out evrybody realized that it was a miracle so he decided to dedicate his life to Torah As a child, he spent most of his time studying in his father's library. At the age of 10, he left midrash
Midrash

Midrash is a Hebrew language term referring to the not exact, but comparative method of exegesis of Biblical texts, which is one of four methods cumulatively called Pardes ....
 ("school room") and began to study with his uncle, david hai ben meir . (Hakham David later founded the famed "Shoshannim LeDavid" Yeshiva
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
 located in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
.) In 1851, he married Rachel, the daughter of Hakham Ovadia Somekh. They had together a daughter and two sons; Hakham Yosef Chaim also studied under his brother in law, Abdallah Somech
Abdallah Somech

Hakham Abdallah Somekh was a rosh yeshiva and posek of History of the Jews in Iraq. He was born in Baghdad to Abraham Somekh, himself a descendant of Nissim Ben Jacob; he was the eldest of eight brothers and eight sisters....
.

When 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 as the leading rabbinic scholar of Baghdad, though he never filled the official position of Hakham Bashi
Hakham Bashi

Hakham Bashi is the Turkish name for the Chief rabbi of the nation's Jewish community....
. He was widely accepted as an authority on Jewish law throughout the Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
, and his decisions were considered to be of religious legal significance, even outside Sephardi communities. The highly respected Sephardic yeshiva
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
, Porat Yosef
Porat Yosef Yeshiva

Porat Yosef Yeshiva is a leading Sephardi Jews yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood....
 in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
, was founded on his advice by Joseph Shalom, of Calcutta, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 — one of Rabbi Chaim's patrons.

Yosef Chaim was buried in Baghdad, but there is also a grave attributed to him on the Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in east Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters ....
 in Jerusalem. His son, Rabbi Yaaqov `Haï, continued his legacy. His main student was Rabbi Yehuda Fatiyah
Yehuda Fatiyah

Rabbi Yehuda ben Moshe ben Yeshou`ah Fatiyah, also pronounced Fetayah was born in Baghdad and died on ZaKh Menahem Av in Jerusalem....
.

Works

The Ben Ish Chai (?? ??? ??) is a standard reference in Sephardi
Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews are a subgroup of Jews originating in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, usually defined in contrast to Ashkenazi or Mizrahi Jews....
 homes (functioning as "a Sephardi
Sephardic Judaism

Sephardic Judaism is the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews....
 Kitzur Shulchan Arukh") and is widely studied in Sephardi yeshivot
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
. Due to the popularity of this book, Hakham Yosef Chaim came to be known as "Ben Ish Chai", by which he is referred to by many today. The book is a collection of homilies he gave over two years discussing the weekly Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 portion
Parsha

This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Portal:Judaism/Weekly Torah portion box...
. Each chapter begins with a mystical discussion, usually explaining how a Kabbalistic interpretation of a certain verse relates to a particular halakha
Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
, and then continuing to expound on that halakha with definitive rulings.

Hakham Yosef Chaim authored over thirty other works, and there are many published Iraqi rite
Nusach

Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted....
 siddurim
Siddur

A siddur is a Judaism prayer book, containing a set order of List of Jewish prayers and blessings. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as we know it today has developed....
 (prayer books) based on his rulings, which are widely used by Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews are a subgroup of Jews originating in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, usually defined in contrast to Ashkenazi or Mizrahi Jews....
. Amongst the best known of his works are:

  • Me-Kabtziel (Miqqab?iël): an esoteric exposition of Jewish law — which he refers to often in Ben Ish Chai — providing a more detailed explanation of the reasoning underlying certain decisions. It has been speculated that Hakham Yosef Chaim's insistence on having all his works printed in Palestine prevented this essential work from being published.


  • Ben Yehoyada (Ben Y?hoyada?) and Benayahou: his commentary on the Talmud
    Talmud

    The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
    , considered a basic resource in understanding the Aggada (narrative sections of the Talmud).


  • The Responsa
    Responsa

    Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them....
      Rav Pe'alim (Rab P??alim) and Torah Lishmah.


The names Ben Ish Chai, Me-Kabtziel, Rav Pe'alim and Ben Yehoyada derive from 2 Samuel
Books of Samuel

The Books of Samuel are part of the Tanakh and also of the Christianity Old Testament. The work was originally written in Hebrew language, and the Book of Samuel originally formed a single text, as they are often considered today in Hebrew bibles....
 . He chose these names because he claimed to have been a reincarnation of Benayahu ben Yehoyada
Benaiah

Benaiah, son of the priest Jehoiada, was David's general for the army of the Kingdom of Israel and his chief bodyguard . In Hebrew language, his name means "God has built."...
 (described as Ben Ish Chayil, the son of a valiant man); the man in whose merit, it is said, both the first and second Holy Temples
Temple in Jerusalem

The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to a series of structures located on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Historically, two temples were built at this location, and a The Third Temple features in Jewish eschatology....
 stood.

Hakham Yosef Chaim was also noted for his stories and parables. Some are scattered through his halachic
Halakha

Halakha ? also Hebrew transliteration Halocho and Halacha ? is the collective body of Judaism religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
 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. His Qânûn-un-Nisâ (????? ??????) is a wonderful, inspirational book filled with beautiful parables, concerning self-improvement. The book, directed towards, but not limited to women, is rare since it was composed in Judeo-Arabic. It was last published in Palestine in the 1940s.

See also

  • Kaf HaChaim
    Kaf hachaim

    Kaf Hachayim is the title of two widely cited codes of Jewish law. It may refer to the Kaf Hachayim by Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer or an earlier work by Rabbi Hayim Palaggi....
     — a more discursive, and contemporaneous, Sephardi
    Sephardic Judaism

    Sephardic Judaism is the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews....
     work of Halakha by Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer
    Yaakov Chaim Sofer

    Yaakov Chaim Sofer was an Orthodox Judaism rabbi, Kabbalist, Talmudist and posek . Sofer is author of the work of halakha titled Kaf hachaim, by which title he is also known....
    .
  • Yalkut Yosef
    Yalkut Yosef

    Yalkut Yosef is an authoritative, contemporary work of Halakha, providing a detailed explanation of the Shulchan Aruch as based on the posek of the former Chief_rabbi#Sephardi_2 Rav Ovadia Yosef....
    , a contemporary Sephardi work of Halakha, based on the rulings of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
    Ovadia Yosef

    Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is a Sephardi Jews Haredi Judaism rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and recognized halakha authority. He is the former Sephardi Jews Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the current spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli Knesset....
    .
  • Yehuda Fatiyah
    Yehuda Fatiyah

    Rabbi Yehuda ben Moshe ben Yeshou`ah Fatiyah, also pronounced Fetayah was born in Baghdad and died on ZaKh Menahem Av in Jerusalem....
     — a student of the Ben Ish Chai.


External links

References
  • , ou.org
  • , Yated Neeman
  • , Eliezer C. Abrahamson
  • , tzemachdovid.org
  • , benishhai.org
  • , torah.net
  • , ascent.org.il


Resources
  • (Hebrew
    Hebrew language

    Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
    ), shechem.org
  • (MP3
    MP3

    MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a digital audio Encoder format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, as well as a de facto standard encoding for the transfer and playback of music on digital audio players....
    )
  • , farhi.org
  • The Halachot of the Ben Ish Hai, transl. S. Hiley, Philipp Feldheim. ISBN 1-58330-160-7
  • Golden Apples: Parables Of The Ben Ish Chai , Y. Kahn, Artscroll. ISBN 0-89906-404-3