Chaim Hezekiah Medini
Encyclopedia
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...
work, Sdei Chemed- was a rabbinical scholar during the nineteenth century. His name was originally Hezekiah, Chaim, "life", was added during a period of serious illness. This led to his initials spelling Chacham
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"...
, appropriately a play on words that also means a sage, although spelled differently it was pronounced similarly.
His parents were Jerusalem Rabbi Raphael Asher Eliyahu Medini and his wife Kalu Vida. He married his first wife Rivka at the age of eighteen, and studied Torah under the Rishon L’Tzion (Sephardic Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
) Yitzchak Kubo and Rabbi Joseph Nissim Burla, the head of the Jerusalem rabbinical court. He received his ordination (semichah) at the age of nineteen. His father's sudden death in 1853 compelled Rabbi Haim Hezekiah to move to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
where he and his family were supported by wealthy cousins, happy to have the great scholar amongst them. Even though his cousins were generous, he did not want to overburden them, so he also began to tutor children for a number of hours a day to make some income, devoting most of his time to Torah study. Although recognized as a scholar and offered a position on the city's rabbinical court, he refused, preferring to devote his time to study and writing. It was in Constantinople that he published his first work, Michtav L'Chizkiyahu in 1865 (5625). His recognition spread and eventually took its toll. He longed for peace and quiet to study and write.
When traveling Jewish merchants from the Crimea offered him the rabbinate there, he accepted and moved to Kara-Su-Bazar (modern day Bilohirsk
Bilohirsk
Bilohirsk , formerly Karasubazar is a town in Crimea, Ukraine, situated 25 miles east-northeast of Simferopol on the Biyuk Karasu river. Both Russian and Ukrainian names mean "white mountains", and original Crimean Tatar name Qarasuvbazar means "bazaar on the Karasu river".The site is low, but...
), in Crimea, where he served from 1867 until 1899, establishing a yeshiva and raising the level of observance of the community that had been without a rabbi for many years. He had one son and three daughters. His only son died in 1868 (5628) and Chaim Chizkiyahu wrote a sefer in memory of his son and called it Or Li ("Light Unto Me"), and published it in Smyrna in 5634 (1874.) In humility the author published the book anonymously. It contains responsa and Talmudic interpretations. He also wrote a halachic work entitled Paku'ot Sadeh (Jerusalem, 1900,) and Sefer Bakashot (Odessa, 1879,) containing piyutim (liturgical poems) which Oriental Jewish communities included in their services on Shabbat and festivals. The latter was republished in an enlarged edition under the name Ne'im Zemirot (Warsaw, 1886.) He is also the author of several collections of responsa which appeared in various books by other authors.
During his 33 years in KaraSubazar he wrote the greater part of his chief work, the Sede Chemed, corresponding with sages around the world to clarify the laws as stated. This work is in form an encyclopedia of 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...
, and was, together with Isaac Lampronti
Isaac Lampronti
Isaac Lampronti was an Italian rabbi and physician, best known as author of the rabbinic encyclopedia Paħad Yitzħak....
's Pachad Yitzchak, the main indexing resource for responsa until the emergence of modern resources such as the Talmudic Encyclopedia and the Otzar ha-Poskim database.
In 1889 Medini returned to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, staying at first in Jerusalem for two years. Upon hearing that he was suggested as Rishon Letzion, Sephardi Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
, he moved to Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
in 1891, hoping to be allowed to study in peace. However, shortly after his arrival Hebron's two major Torah scholars, Eliyahu Mani and Yosef Franco, died and a search for a new chief rabbi of Hebron had begun. At first, Medini rejected all offers but eventually relented and served as chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
there until his death in 1904.
Works
- Miktav le-Hizkiyahu — TalmudTalmudThe 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....
ic studies and responsaResponsaResponsa 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...
; Part 1, Part 2 (SmyrnaSmyrnaSmyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, 1865). - Or Li — responsa; (SmyrnaSmyrnaSmyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, 1874). - Paku'ot Sadeh — (Jerusalem, 1900).
- Sede Chemed — his chief work, a 9 volume encyclopedic collection of laws and decisions in alphabetical order (WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, 1890). Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7, Vol. 8, Vol. 9.
Pi'ot Hasadeh and Shiyurei Hapayah are the author's glosses on Sdei Chemed and are included in that work.
Sedar Birchat Hachamah and the author's living will were also published in Sdei Chemed