Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar ( ar, حاييم بن موشي بن عطار, he, חיים בן משה בן עטר; b. - 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

, was a

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 cente ...

ist and Kabbalist. He is arguably considered to be one of the most prominent

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 ...

s of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and is highly regarded in

Hassidic Judaism Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...

Biography

Born in Salé,

in 1696, Chaim was the son of Rabbi Moshe Ben-Attar and the grandson of Rabbi Chaim Ben-Attar (the Elder), whom he learnt with in his early years. When he was nine years old, his family fled to Meknes, Morocco, escaping the local antisemitic

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

. He soon married a relative of his, named Fatzunyah, whose father supported him, letting him study

without the burden of supporting a household; he did not end up having any children with her, so he later would marry a second wife named Esther Bibas, with whom he had only daughters. He studied with them every Friday night the Torah portion of the week with explanations that was later written down and developed into his famed commentary 'Or ha-Hayyim al ha-Torah.' When his father-in-law died in 1724, his financial situation worsened, although the burden of support shifted to his father. At this time, he also ran a yeshiva in Salé. When a famine hit Morocco, he decided to leave his native country and settle in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

, then part of the

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...

. En route, he was detained in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

by the rich members of the Jewish community who established a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

for him. This was in 1739. Many of his pupils later became prominent and furnished him with funds to print his ''Or ha-Ḥayyim'' ( he, light of life). Chaim was received with great honor wherever he traveled because of his extensive knowledge and keen intellect. Before permanently settling in the Land of Israel, he went to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

where he recruited students for a yeshiva he was planning on opening in the Land of Israel. He soon arrived at the

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

port in the Land of Israel with his two wives and thirty students. However he could not immediately proceed to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, due to an epidemic. In the middle of 1742 he arrived in Jerusalem, where he founded Yeshivat

Knesset Yisrael Knesset Yisrael ( he, כנסת ישראל, Ashkenazi pronunciation ''Knesses Yisroel'', lit. "Community of Israel"), also known as Knesset, is the name of a group of three former courtyard neighborhoods in central Jerusalem. Known as Knesset Ale ...

. One of his disciples there was

Chaim Yosef David Azulai Haim Yosef David Azulai ben Yitzhak Zerachia (1724 – 1 March 1806) (), commonly known as the Hida (the acronym of his name, ), was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious ...

, who wrote of his master's greatness: "Attar's heart pulsated with Talmud; he uprooted mountains like a resistless torrent; his holiness was that of an angel of the Lord,... having severed all connection with the affairs of this world." On July 7, 1743, less than a year after his arrival in Jerusalem, Chaim died; it was on a

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

. It is said that that week in Europe, the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

was sitting at Seudah shlishit, and before anyone in the area could have found out about Chaim's death, he exclaimed, “The light from the West has been extinguished!” He is buried in the

Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. It is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century. ...

in Jerusalem, Israel.

Works

#''Ḥefetz Hashem'' (God's Desire), Amsterdam, 1732—dissertations on the four Talmudic treatises ''Berakhot,'' ''Shabbat,'' ''Horayot,'' and ''Ḥullin.'' #''Or ha-Ḥayyim'' (The Light of Life), Venice, 1742—a commentary on the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...

after the four methods known collectively as Pardes; it was reprinted several times. His renown is based chiefly on this work, which became popular also with the

Hasidim Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

. #''Peri Toar'' (Beautiful Fruit), ''novellae'' on the ''

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 Is ...

,'' '' Yoreh De'ah,'' dealing especially with Hiskiah de Silva's commentary ''Peri Ḥadash,'' Amsterdam, 1742; Vienna and Lemberg, 1810. #''Rishon le-Zion,'' Constantinople, 1750—consisting of ''novellae'' to several Talmudic treatises, on certain portions of the ''Shulḥan Arukh,'' on the terminology of

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

, on the five '' Megillot,'' on the Prophets and on ''

Proverbs A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phra ...

.'' #Under the same title were published at Polna, 1804, his notes on ''

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

,'' ''

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

,'' ''

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

,'' and ''

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

.''

Bibliography

* Michael, Or ha-hayyim, No. 894; * Benjacob, ''Otzar ha-Sefarim'', p. 541; * Luncz, in ''Jerusalem'', i.122 (epitaphs); * Nacht
''Mekor Chayyim''
Hebrew biography of 'Attar, Drohobycz, 1898; * Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim''; * Franco, ''Histoire des Israélites d'Orient'' *

References

External links

Or haHayyim: Creativity, Tradition, and Mysticism in the Torah Commentary of R. Hayyim ibn Attar

Ohr ha-Chaim book in text files
in Hebrew. {{DEFAULTSORT:Attar, Chaim Ibn 1696 births 1743 deaths Bible commentators 18th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Moroccan people of Spanish-Jewish descent People from Salé Kabbalists 18th-century Moroccan rabbis Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives People from Meknes Exponents of Jewish law

Biography

Works

See also

Bibliography

References

External links