Hayim David HaLevi (24 January 1924 – 10 March 1998) (), was

Sephardi 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 ...

Chief Rabbi of

Tel Aviv-Yafo Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

Biography

Hayim David HaLevi was born in

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 under Rabbi

Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel (, born 23 May 1880, died 4 September 1953), sometimes rendered as Ouziel, was the Sephardi chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine from 1939 to 1948, and of Israel from 1948 until his death in 1953. Biography Ben-Zion Meir Ha ...

at the

Porat Yosef Yeshiva Porat Yosef Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פורת יוסף) is a Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood. The name Porat Yosef means "Joseph is a fruitful tree" after the biblical verse Genesi ...

. When R. Uziel was appointed Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, he hired HaLevi as his personal secretary. HaLevi served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Rabbinic career

He was appointed chief rabbi of

Rishon Le-Zion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan a ...

in 1951. In 1964, he became a member of Israel's Chief Rabbinate Council. He became chief rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo in 1973, taking over from R.

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 ...

. HaLevi was known for his clear-headed approach to ''

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 ...

'', particularly relating to the Jewish state. Though unquestionably tied to Sephardi '' minhag'', liturgy and ''halakha'', HaLevi also included Ashkenazi ''halakhic'' positions and customs in his books and responsa. HaLevi is said to be the first rabbi to issue a Halachic prohibition on smoking.

Awards and recognition

In 1997, HaLevi was awarded the Israel Prize, for Rabbinical studies.

Published works

*''Mekor Hayim haShalem'', a five-volume account of Jewish law and practice with reasons, in easy language. *''Kitzur Shulchan Arukh Mekor Hayim'', a one-volume digest of the above code giving practical conclusions only. *''Aseh L'kha Rav'', a collection of responsa. *''Dvar HaMishpat'', a commentary on Maimonides's Hilchot Sanhedrin. *''Torat Hayim'', 3 volumes of essays about the weekly parasha and the Jewish holydays. *''Mayim Hayim'', responsa *''The life of Rabbi Ben Zion Meir Chai Uziel'' *''Dat Umidina,'' (Religion and state) an approach of how to balance religion and state (Published 1968)

Biography

Rabbinic career

Awards and recognition

Published works

See also

References

Further reading