Ben Ish Chai
Encyclopedia
Yosef Chaim or in Iraqi Hebrew Yoseph Ḥayyim (1 September 1832 – 30 August 1909) (Hebrew: יוסף חיים מבגדאד) 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 law and customs means the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazim...

 Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

), authority
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....

 on Jewish law (Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

) and Master Kabbalist
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

. He is best known as author of the work on Halakha Ben Ish Ḥai (בן איש חי) ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), by which title he is also colloquially known.

Biography

Yosef Chaim was born in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 where his father, Hakham Eliyahu Chaim, 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.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...

 at age 14). When he was 7 years old he fell into a pit. He was very close to dying but a miracle saved his life. When he got out the community believed it was a miracle so he decided to dedicate his life to Torah.

He initially studied in his father's library, and, at the age of 10, he left midrash ("school room") and began to study with his uncle, David Chai Ben Meir who later founded the Shoshanim LeDavid Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 in Jerusalem. In 1851, he married Rachel, the daughter of Hakham Ovadia Somekh. They had a daughter and two sons together; Yosef Chaim also studied under his brother in law, Abdallah Somech
Abdallah Somech
Hakham Abdallah Somekh was a rosh yeshiva and posek of Iraqi Jewry. He was born in Baghdad to Abraham Somekh, himself a descendant of Nissim Gaon; he was the eldest of eight brothers and eight sisters. He studied under Rabbi Yaakov Harofe...

.

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.-History:The institution of the Hakham Bashi was established by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, as part of the millet system for governing exceedingly diverse subjects according to their own laws and authorities...

. He was widely accepted as an authority on Jewish law
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....

 throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, and his decisions were considered to be of religious legal significance, even outside Sephardi communities. The Sephardic Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Porat Yosef Yeshiva is a leading Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood.-History:...

 in Jerusalem, 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 seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 — one of Rabbi Chaim's patrons.

Chaim clashed with the reformist Bavarian Jewish scholar Jacob Obermeyer
Jacob Obermeyer
Jacob Obermeyer was a Bavarian Jewish oriental researcher, scholar and a traveler, and the grandfather of the Israeli agent Meir Max Bineth.-Early years:...

 who lived in Baghdad from 1869 to 1880, and excommunicated him. Part of the contention was due to Obermeyer and Chaim's conflicting views on promotion of the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...

.

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 . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...

 in Jerusalem. His son, Rabbi Yaakov Chai, 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. He was the main student of the Ben Ish Chai. Rabbi Fatiyah was a leading Kabbalist and authored many works of Kabbalah, among which three are well known: Yayin...

.

Works

The Ben Ish Chai (בן איש חי) is a standard reference in Sephardi
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...

 homes (functioning as "a Sephardi
Sephardic Judaism
Sephardic law and customs means the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazim...

 Kitzur Shulchan Arukh") and is widely studied in Sephardi yeshivot
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

. 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
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

 portion
Parsha
This article is about the divisions of the Torah into weekly readings. For this week's Torah portion, see Torah portionThe weekly Torah portion |Sidra]]) is a section of the Torah read in Jewish services...

. Each chapter begins with a mystical
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 discussion, usually explaining how a Kabbalistic interpretation of a certain verse relates to a particular halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

, 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 siddurim (prayer books) based on his rulings, which are widely used by Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...

. Amongst the best known of his works are:
  • Me-Kabtziel (Miqqabṣiël): 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 Yəhoyadaʻ) and Benayahou: his commentary on the Talmud
    Talmud
    The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

    , 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.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...

      Rav Pe'alim (Rab Pəʻalim) 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 in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...

 23:20. 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 . The stories of him follow that he once killed a Egyptian with the Egyptian's own spear and a club. He was also said to have killed a lion in a snowy pit.He was one of David's...

 (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 one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...

 stood.

Hakham Yosef Chaim was also noted for his stories and parables. Some are scattered through his halachic
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 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 (قانون النساء) 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 Israel 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:*a work by Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer*a work by Rabbi Hayim Palaggi...

     — a more discursive, and contemporaneous, Sephardi
    Sephardic Judaism
    Sephardic law and customs means the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazim...

     work of Halakha by Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer
    Yaakov Chaim Sofer
    Yaakov Chaim Sofer was an Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist, Talmudist and posek . Sofer is author of the work of halakha titled Kaf Hachayim, 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 halachic rulings of the former Rishon LeTzion Rav Ovadia Yosef...

    , a contemporary Sephardi work of Halakha, based on the rulings of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
    Ovadia Yosef
    Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...

    .
  • 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. He was the main student of the Ben Ish Chai. Rabbi Fatiyah was a leading Kabbalist and authored many works of Kabbalah, among which three are well known: Yayin...

    — a student of Yosef Chaim.
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