David Hanoch Yitzchak Bar-Hayim (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: דוד חנוך יצחק ב"ר חיים; born Mandel; born 24 February 1960) is an Israeli Orthodox

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

who heads the Shilo Institute (''Machon Shilo''), a

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

-based

rabbinical court A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

and institute of Jewish education dedicated to the Torah of Israel.

Biography

David Bar-Hayim was born in Sydney, Australia. After moving to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1977, he initially studied in Yeshivat HaKotel, and subsequently in Merkaz Harav Kook in

. He studied under Rabbi Moshe Zuriel, and received

rabbinic ordination Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

from Rabbi

Yosef Kapach Yosef Qafiḥ ( he, יוסף קאפח , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a dayan of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Israel, and o ...

. For a number of years, Bar-Hayim taught

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

, and Jewish philosophy in Yeshivat Nahalath Tzvi. Bar-Hayim lives in Neve Daniel with his wife and eight children.

Rabbinic career

Bar Hayim lectures in the greater Jerusalem area, and publishes articles in English and Hebrew on various web sites. Though he is Orthodox, Bar-Hayim prefers the terms "Halakhic" or "Torah" Judaism, explaining that the term "

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

” is flawed by its very definition. Bar-Hayim has proposed the re-establishment of the customs of Israel, religious observances and practices that reflect those of the pre-exile Jewish communities in Israel, rather than those of Babylon or

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. For this purpose, he has published a

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

intended to reflect the original composition of early Israel, based upon the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

. Since 2001, Bar-Hayim has been working along with Machon HaYerushalmi to publish a new and elucidated edition of the

. In 2006, Bar-Hayim founded the Shilo Institute for the research, elucidation, and dissemination of the Torah of Israel. Bar-Hayim established the Beth HaWa'ad

to focus on actualizing the Torah of Israel and serve as an address for

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

s, particularly the growing

Noahide Noahidism () or Noachidism () is a monotheistic Jewish religious movement based upon the Seven Laws of Noah and their traditional interpretations within Orthodox Judaism. According to the Jewish law, non-Jews ( Goyim) are not obligated to conv ...

community.

Halachic rulings and positions

In light of the fact that

is yet again a sovereign Jewish state, with Jerusalem as its capital, Bar-Hayim has argued for increased utilization of the

, which in his opinion, in regard to Torat Eretz Yisrael and Minhagei Eretz Yisrael, contains more lucid rulings than the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

, which was given supremacy in "exile-mode" Judaism. This has led him to issue a number of highly controversial rulings, some of which are listed below: * In a very controversial ruling, Bar-Hayim announced that any Jew worldwide, regardless of origin, and despite the practice of their forefathers, may eat kitniyot (" legumes") on

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

, as most

Sefardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

do, for it is a practice rejected as an unnecessary precaution by some Halachic authorities as early as the time of its emergence. This position has been widely rejected by other rabbis, including

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthod ...

. * When the first day of Sukkot falls on Shabbat, Israeli Jews should follow the

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

and Jerusalem Talmud's ruling, and perform the

lulav ''Lulav'' (; he, לולב) is a closed frond of the date palm tree. It is one of the Four Species used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The other Species are the '' hadass'' ( myrtle), '' aravah'' (willow), and ''etrog'' (citron). When ...

ritual. * Hallel should be recited on Israeli Independence Day. * Stainless steel utensils do not absorb dairy or meat, and may therefore just be washed with soap and water between dairy and meat use. * Bar-Hayim claims that the rulings of the

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...

were intended as a resource and depiction of common practice in certain areas, and that the author never intended that his rulings become compulsory for Jewry. * The size of an olive in Jewish law is roughly the size of an olive. Those commentators who over-estimated the size of the olive were unfamiliar with olives, for they had lived in lands which lacked them. * The process of

conversion to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...

should be one that welcomes sincere converts and allows them the right to choose a rabbi and community which they identify with. * Jewish law requires one to follow the most convincing position which is truest to the sources. One need not uphold a tradition which can be shown to have been conceived in error. * The common form of reclining on

nowadays does not convey the aristocratic nobility it was intended to, and may often defeat its very purpose. * The main purpose of

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the '' mitzvah'' ("com ...

is to create a holy nation that obeys the law, and not merely withdrawn individuals seeking personal gain. * A blessing is to be recited when removing phylacteries. * One may eat poultry followed by dairy without a waiting period. * Torah sages can err, just as the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ...

could (Leviticus 4:13). * Married women should wear a headNumbers 5:18
/ref> covering that is not a wig, since a wig is an invalid form of head covering. It is preferable for a married Jewish woman to expose her hair than to don a

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

, for the wig actually increases attraction in the public domain and encourages the notion that

is both irrational and intellectually dishonest. * One may change his nusach

tefillah Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...

at any time, because the idea that a Jew should not change his ''nusach tefillah'', and has to continue to pray in the way of his forefathers, is an invented Halacha of the galut (''diaspora'', "scattering, dispersion").

References

External links

Shiloh Institute

Rabbi Bar Hayim – Who or what is Machon Shilo?

Siddur Nusaḥ Ereṣ Yisrael – Minḥa, Birkat HaMazon, Tefillat HaDerekh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar-Hayim, David 1960 births 21st-century rabbis in Jerusalem Australian emigrants to Israel Australian Orthodox rabbis Australian Zionists Chardal Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli people of Australian-Jewish descent Clergy from Sydney Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis Mercaz HaRav alumni Living people Israeli settlers

Biography

Rabbinic career

Halachic rulings and positions

References

Further reading

External links