Ḥayyim ben Shabbethai (

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 ...

: רבי חיים בן שבתי), commonly known by the acronym Maharhash (Hebrew: מהרח"ש, MArenu HA-Rav ḤAyyim SHabbethai, literally translating to "Our teacher, the Rabbi Hayyim Shabbethai"; 1557 - 1647) was a Sephardic

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

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 cen ...

ist, who is considered to be one of the great sages of

Greek Jewry The history of the Jews in Greece can be traced back to at least the fourth century BCE. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as "Greek Jews." The term "Greek Jew" is pred ...

, serving as the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') 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. Since 1911, through a ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

Early life

Born in Thessaloniki, , his father Rabbi Shabbethai may have been a minor community leader. In his early years he studied under Rabbi Aaron Sason, Rabbi Joseph Escapa, Rabbi Shlomo HaCohen and Rabbi Samuel de Medina. At the age of thirty seven, he subsequently became the

Rosh Yeshivah Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

of the "Shalom" community. Thousands of students came to his Yeshiva from surrounding Balkan communities and he had several illustrious pupils such as; Yehoshua Khandali, and

David Conforte David Conforte (c. 1618 – c. 1685) () was a Hebrew literary historian born in Salonica, author of the literary chronicle known by the title ''Ḳore ha-Dorot.'' Biography Conforte came of a family of scholars. His early instructors were rabbis ...

. In 1607 he succeeded Samuel Florentine as the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki.

Rabbinic position

During his time as the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki, Shabbethai exemplified himself as a leading ''

halakhic ''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 comman ...

'' authority of his time. His tenure was defined not only by excellent local leadership but also by an extensive relationship to other diasporic communities, (notably the Sephardic Jews of

Dutch Brazil Dutch Brazil ( nl, Nederlands-Brazilië), also known as New Holland ( nl, Nieuw-Holland), was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the America ...

, headed by

Moses Raphael de Aguilar Moses Raphael de Aguilar ( – 15 December 1679) was a Sephardic-Dutch rabbi, Hebrew Grammatician and scholar, who wrote some 20 books on a series of talmudic and Hebrew language topics. He was also an important lecturer at the Amsterdam Talmud To ...

and Isaac Aboab da Fonseca). In fact one of the three volumes of his responsa ''Sefer Torat Hayyim'' relates to a question asked by the Jews of Brazil, regarding whether they should pray for rain, due of the reversal of seasons south of the equator. This ultimately ended up being the first recorded responsa of the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. In addition, he had close relationships with the communities of

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

, who would often approach Shabbethai for ''halakhic'' direction. He devoted himself assiduously to congregational matters, introducing many important ''halakhic'' regulations, which are relevant to this day.

Works

Some of his most famous works are as follows: * Sefer Torat Ḥayyim (ספר תורת חיים) - widely considered his

Magnum Opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, published in 1713, 1715, 1722 in Thessaloniki. A three volume responsa (שאלות ותשובות), mostly on

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 ...

Even Ha'ezer ( “The Stone of Help” or “The Rock of the ”) is a section of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), ''Arba'ah Turim''. This section treats aspects of Jewish law related to marriage, divorce, and sexual conduct. Later ...

Choshen Mishpat Choshen Mishpat is the Hebrew for "Breastplate of Judgement". The term is associated with one of the four sections of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher's compilation of halakha (Jewish law), Arba'ah Turim. This section treats aspects of Jewish law pertinent ...

and laws relating to

agunot An ''agunah'' ( he, עגונה, plural: agunot (); literally "anchored" or "chained") is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by ''halakha'' (Jewish law). The classic case of this is a man who has left on a journey ...

as well as several other different topics. * Torat ha-Zevaaḥ (תורת הזבח) - on the laws of kosher ritual animal slaughter and inspection. * Moda'ah ve-Ones (מודעה ואונס) - published in 1628 in Thessaloniki, and once again in 1798 in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

, with commentaries of

Jeremiah Mattersdorf Jeremiah ben Isaac Mattersdorf (Hebrew: רב ירמיהו בן יצחק ממטרסדורף; born Rosenbaum; died 1805) was a Polish Jewish rabbi and author, who served as the Chief Rabbi of Mattersburg, Austria and Abaújszánto, Hungary. Biogr ...

and his son

Joab Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - de ...

. On laws regarding contracts entered into under duress. He also wrote several commentaries on the talmudic tractate ''

Ta'anit A ta'anit or ta'anis (Mishnaic Hebrew: תענית) is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for sins: Fasting is not consi ...

'' as well as others, which were printed in "Sefer Torat Moshe" written by his son Mosses Shabbethai.

References

{{Authority control 1550s births 1647 deaths Greek rabbis Jewish Greek history Jews from Thessaloniki 17th-century rabbis