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

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () 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 capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Biography

Hayim David HaLevi was born in

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 under Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva. When R. Uziel was appointed Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, he hired HaLevi as his personal secretary. HaLevi served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) during

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

Rabbinic career

He was appointed chief rabbi of Rishon Le-Zion 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 (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...

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

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'', particularly relating to the Jewish state. Though unquestionably tied to Sephardi '' minhag'', liturgy and ''halakha'', HaLevi also included

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

''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 The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, for Rabbinical studies. A street in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in Jerusalem is named after him

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 ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

. *''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