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 t ...

and author.

Biography

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

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. In the 1950s, his family immigrated to Israel and lived in a "

ma'abara Ma'abarot (, singular: Ma'abara ) 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. The ma' ...

" (transit camp) in Kiryat HaYovel,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He studied at a Talmud Torah in Bayit Vegan, 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, 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 fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, at the age of 21, led him to write ''Adjusting Sights''. After the war, Sabato spent the next few years at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav, the spiritual home of religious Zionism. After receiving rabbinical ordination, Sabato co-founded Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in

Ma'aleh Adumim Ma'ale Adumim (; ) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council (Israel), city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city council (Israel), city status in 1991. In 2015, its popula ...

, 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 (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

has won him numerous fans and made him a symbol of the "pitfalls" of translating literary works from one language to another. 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, 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 Writers from Jerusalem Clergy 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