Ḥayyim Shabbethai

Ḥayyim ben Shabbethai (Hebrew: 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 and Talmudist, who is considered to be one of the great sages of Greek Jewry, serving as the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki, Greece.[1][2]

Ḥayyim Shabbethai
Front page of his responsa on Even Ha'ezer
TitleThe Maharhash (המהרח"ש)
Personal
Born
Hayyim Shabbethai

1557
Thessaloniki, Ottoman Empire
Died1647
Thessaloniki, Ottoman Empire
ReligionJudaism
ChildrenMoses Shabbethai
Parents
  • Rabbi Shabbethai (father)
Signature

Early life

Born in Thessaloniki, c. 1557, 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 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. In 1607 he succeeded Samuel Florentine as the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki.[3][4]

Rabbinic position

During his time as the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki, Shabbethai exemplified himself as a leading halakhic 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, headed by Moses Raphael de Aguilar 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.[5] This ultimately ended up being the first recorded responsa of the New World. In addition, he had close relationships with the communities of Safed , Venice , Sofia and Rhodes, 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.[1][6]

Works

Some of his most famous works are as follows:

  • Sefer Torat Ḥayyim (ספר תורת חיים) - widely considered his Magnum Opus, published in 1713, 1715, 1722 in Thessaloniki. A three volume responsa (שאלות ותשובות), mostly on Shulchan Aruch, Even Ha'ezer, Choshen Mishpat and laws relating to agunot 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, with commentaries of Jeremiah Mattersdorf and his son Joab. On laws regarding contracts entered into under duress.

He also wrote several commentaries on the talmudic tractate Ta'anit as well as others, which were printed in "Sefer Torat Moshe" written by his son Mosses Shabbethai.[4]

References
  1. Heller, Marvin J. (2011). The Seventeenth Century Hebrew Book (2 Vols). BRILL. p. 697. ISBN 978-90-04-18638-5.
  2. Jarvis, Judith K.; Levin, Susan L.; Yates, Donald N. (2018-05-10). Book of Jewish and Crypto-Jewish Surnames. Panther`s Lodge Publishers. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-9858-5656-1.
  3. "ḤAYYIM SHABBETHAI - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  4. "Ḥayyim (ben) Shabbetai | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  5. "Jewish History 1550 - 1559". www.jewishhistory.org.il. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  6. Stessel, Zahava Szász (1995). Wine and Thorns in Tokay Valley: Jewish Life in Hungary : the History of Abaújszántó. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-8386-3545-2.
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