Haim Sabato is an Israeli

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 ...

and author.

Biography

Haim Sabato was born to a family of Aleppan- Syrian descent in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. In the 1950s, his family

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel and lived in a "

ma'abara Ma'abarot ( he, מַעְבָּרוֹת) were immigrant and refugee absorption camps established in Israel in the 1950s, constituting one of the largest public projects planned by the state to implement its sociospatial and housing policies. ...

" (transit camp) in

Kiryat HaYovel Kiryat HaYovel ( he, קריית היובל) is a neighborhood in southwestern Jerusalem on Mount Herzl. It was built in the early 1950s to house new immigrants. Today, Kiryat HaYovel has a population of 25,000 residents. Kiryat HaYovel is located ...

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

. He studied at a Talmud Torah in

Bayit Vegan Bayit VeGan ( he, בית וגן, lit. ''House and Garden'') is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. Bayit VeGan is located to the east of Mount Herzl and borders the neighborhoods of Kiryat HaYovel and Givat Mordechai. History Bronze Age A 4 ...

, in the vicinity, and after it attended the "Netiv Meir" yeshiva-high school, also in Bayit Vegan. Rabbi Aryeh Bina, Rosh Yeshiva of "Netiv Meir", was one of his key influences. After graduation, he joined the "Hesder" program at

Yeshivat Hakotel Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...

, in the old city of Jerusalem, which combines yeshiva studies with military service. His experiences during the

Yom Kippur war The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

, at the age of 21, led him to write ''Adjusting Sights''. After the war, Sabato spent the next few years at Yeshivat

Mercaz Harav Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...

, the spiritual home of religious Zionism. After receiving rabbinical ordination, Sabato co-founded Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in

Ma'aleh Adumim Ma'ale Adumim ( he, מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים; ar, معالي أدوميم) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. ...

, near Jerusalem, in 1977.

Literary style

Sabato's lyrical writing, with sentences studded with phrases drawn from, and referring to, passages in the Bible and

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 ...

has won him numerous fans and made him a symbol of the "pitfalls" of translating literary works form one language to another.Lost in translation?, BENJAMIN ROSENDAHL, April 7, 2009, Jerusalem Pos

/ref> He has published four novels in addition to Rabbinical works.

Published works

Sabato's first book, ''Emet Mi Eretz Titzmach'', (published in English as ''Aleppo Tales''), is a collection of short stories relating to his family's ancestral home and community of Aleppo, Syria. Sabato was awarded the

Sapir Prize The Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel is a prestigious annual literary award presented for a work of literature in the Hebrew language. The prize is awarded by Mifal HaPayis (Israel's state lottery), and is a part of the organization's cultural ...

for Literature in its inaugural year, as well as the

Yitzhak Sadeh Prize The Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature is an annual award literary award given in Israel for the finest book on a military topic. It is named in honor of Yitzhak Sadeh. Winners * 1976, ''The Emissary: The Life of Enzo Seren'' by Ruth Bo ...

, for his second work, ''Teum Kavanot'' (''Adjusting Sights'' in the English translation), a moving account of the experiences of a soldier in the Yom Kippur war. The book has also been made into a film. His third publication, ''Ke-Afapey Shachar'' (published in English as ''Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale''), tells the story of Ezra Siman Tov, a religious Jerusalemite coming to terms with a changing world. Sabato's next work, ''Boyi Ha-Ruach'' (published in English as ''From the Four Winds''), describes his experiences as an "oleh chadash" (a new immigrant) in the Israeli "ma'abarot" (typical transit camps of the 1950s). In his most recent book, ''Be-Shafrir Chevyon'', Sabato returns again to his childhood in " Beit Mazmil", Jerusalem, as a newcomer, with memories from Cairo intermingling with adventures in the monastery of Ein-Karem, and the annual Independence Day exhibition in Jerusalem. Again we meet both the Piutim (religious poetry) and Torah study that dominate Sabato's spiritual world, along with his Yom Kippur War memories, all tied together in a constant search of God, Who often hides from the human eye, when the latter needs him most.

Works translated into English

* ''Adjusting Sights'' * ''Aleppo Tales'' * '' The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale'' * '' From the Four Winds''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabato, Haim 1952 births Religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis People from Jerusalem Israeli settlers Jewish writers Living people Egyptian emigrants to Israel Israeli Orthodox rabbis Mercaz HaRav alumni Israeli male short story writers Israeli short story writers Israeli novelists Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works