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 Haji Hayim says, 'Hachamim Akbar'
Rabbis of our generations, and of generations that have passed | Rambam - Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon - One of the greatest Torah scholars of all time, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon was born in Cordova, Spain in 1138, After Spain was invaded by a fanatic Muslim tribe, Rambam's family escaped and settled in Morocco, in 1160. His Commentary on the Mishnah, written in Arabic, was his first work that earned him international fame. In Morroco, after his brother died and could no longer finance his learning, he studied medicine and earned his livelihood as a physician. In 1165, his entire family left Morocco and moved to Israel where difficulties subsequently forced the family to leave for Egypt. Rambam's many-faceted activities included serving as chief rabbi, head of the rabbinical court, and head of the Jewish community. In addition, he taught, wrote, and served as personal physician to the sultan Saladin. Rambam was familiar with every branch of contemporary science and philosophy and every realm of Jewish knowledge - Talmud and halachah, philosophy and ethics . He also authored the Guide to the Perplexed, a philosophical treatise which attempts to reconcile Jewish belief with contemporary philosophy, and is still studied by non-Jewish academics today. Rambam also authored Mishneh Torah , which summarizes the entire oral law clearly, concisely, and in organized fashion, the first of it's kind. Another work by Rambam, Sefer Hamitzvot, lists the 613 commandments and presents systematic criteria for the enumeration of these commandments. He died in Egypt in 1204. _______________________________________________________________________ |  | Ramban - Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman- Born in Spain in 1194, Ramban and like RAMBAM he was both a physician and a great Torah scholar. However, unlike the rationalist Maimonides, RAMBAN had a strong mystical bent. He wrote a Commentary of the Chumash which were the first of its kind to incorporate the mystical teachings of kabbalah. He could be described as one of history's first Zionists, because he declared that it is a mitzvah to take possession of Israel and to live in it (relying on Num. 33:53). Nachmanides fulfilled this commandment, moving to the Holy Land during the Crusades after he was expelled from Spain for his polemics. He found devastation in the Holy Land and eventually worked hard to create a vibrant Jewish community in Jerusalem. He died there in 1270 ______________________________________________________________________ |  | Maran - Rabbi Yosef Caro- A Kabalist and Halachic Master, Rabbi Joseph ben Ephraim Caro was born in Toledo, Spain in 1488. He is also called Maran ("our master") In 1536, he emigrated to Israel and became the chief rabbi of Safed (Zfat), an important center of Jewish learning and industry. Caro's halachic decisions were codified in his Shulchan Aruch. This work quickly became accepted throughout the Jewish world as halachically authoritative, and is still used as the halachic base of observant Jewery. He died in Safed in 1575. ______________________________________________________________________ |  | Ben Ish Hai - Rav Yosef Hayim was born in Baghdad, circa 1835. The Ben Ish Hai never served as official rabbi of Baghdad, although he was a popular preacher, and his sermons were attended by thousands of people. He wrote many works, about both halachah and Kabbalah. One of these books, Ben Ish Chai, a brief summary of practical halacha (comparable to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch popular among Ashkenazic Jews), remains very popular among Sephardic Jews to this day, and is the main halachic book in Iran today. Rabbi Joseph Chaim also edited the text of the Sephardic prayer book, in which he included kabbalistic elements. His responsa include answers to queries from Baghdad, Iraq, and all over the Far East - India, Singapore, Ceylon, Kurdistan, and elsewhere. Rabbi Joseph Chaim visited Israel, where he was received with great honor by the local rabbis. He died in 1909. ______________________________________________________________________ |  | Baba Sali - Rabbi Yisrael Abuchatzira [1890 - 4 Shvat 1984], known as Baba Sali, was born in Tafillalt, Morocco to one of Jewry's most illustrious families. Rav Yisrael Abuchatzeira was the scholar of a family of great Talmidei Chachamim (Torah Scholars) and Balei Mofet (individuals who have the ability through prayer of performing miracles). The father of the Abuchatzeira dynasty was Rav Shmuel Abuchatzeira, who was described by the "Chida" as an Ish Elokim Kadosh, a holy man of G-d. Shmuel's son, Masud (Moshe in Arabic), became the Rav in the Moroccan City of Tafelatlech, and was followed in this position by his son, Yaakov, known as the Abir Yaakov, Prince Yaakov. His eldest son, named Masud after his grandfather, was the father of Rav Yisrael, the Baba Sali, who soon distinguished himself by his devotion to the study of Torah and service of HaShem. In 1964 he moved to Eretz Yisrael and while living in Tzfat, he cleansed the Ari Zal's synagouge of evil spirits. He eventually settled in 1970 in the Southern development town he made famous, Netivot.
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|  | Hacham Yedidia Shofet - Descended from twelve generations of Persian rabbis, Hacham Shofet was a remarkable rabbi that promoted unity and acceptance to all Persian Jewish people. He was a pious individual that indeed maintained the traditional Persian Jewish culture, religion, and identity while living in America. He served as Chief Rabbi of Iran during the reign of the Shah in the 70's and 80's, acting as religious leader and liaison, representing Iran's jewish community before the government. He was the uncontested Spiritual Leader of the worldwide Persian Jewish Community and was respected by Jews and Muslims alike. After his passing in June of 2005, his admiration could be felt when thousand lined the streets of Beverly Hills, California to attend his memorial services. ______________________________________________________________________ |  | Rav Ovadia Yosef - A true genius, this great rabbi was born in Baghdad in 1920. He immigrated to Israel at age four and studied in yeshivot in the Old City of Jerusalem and became ordained a rabbi at the young age of 20. In 1947, Yossef became chief rabbi and head of the rabbinic court of Cairo. In 1950, he returned to Israel, where he served as rabbi of Tel Aviv, and later as the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel. The phenomenal breadth of his knowledge and his total recall of relevant material from rabbinic and post-rabbinic literature endow his responsa with an encyclopedic quality. Learn more about this great Hacham _____________________________________________________________ |  | Rabbi Yusef Cohen- Born in the small town of Yazd in Iran, Rabbi Yusef was the town's main shochet, ritual slaughter. With the advent of the Islamic Revolution, their was a vacuum left of religious leaders which left for Israel and America, Mula Yusef filled that vacuum and is now the current Chief Rabbi of Iran. He officiates at almost every Jewish wedding and Brit Millah in Tehran in which most of the 30,000 Iranian Jews live. He also has an active presence in the Islamic Assembly of Iran in which he guides the political, social and religious activity of the Jews living in present day Iran |
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Comments
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al tishkaaH masha rabbiinnu ha Saddiq hag-gdwaal hoo seeHoo l ha iil fannii il faannii we 'owd Hawath le taalmidh aabtiinnu ha Hooqiyym ham-mishfaattiyym we ham-miSwaath
Shaalam 'aliikem
Posted by Daweedh ibn Daweedh, on Thursday, 21 December 2006 at 3:38
Hi i think that we dont have to put pictures up to show how great our chachamim are.
Posted by jackie, on Tuesday, 22 August 2006 at 9:49
Humm I dont' think that they could Possibly list all the great Rabbis. Then I would think one would need another Website dedicated to all the wonderful Rabbis mentioned and unmentioned.
Thats a thought
Posted by Almaz, on Saturday, 12 August 2006 at 12:59
hello dear iranians. i am a muslim but i am proud of the iranian jews. because they are the most brilliant jews in israel. thanx
Posted by hossein, on Saturday, 29 July 2006 at 1:41
I think it would be fair if you add Hacham Oriel Davidi to the list of the Rabbis above for he contributed a lot to Iranian Jewish community in Iran after the Islamic revolution acting as a Chief Rabbi of Iranian Jews.
Posted by David Yadegar, on Thursday, 27 July 2006 at 8:51
What about rabbi Kaduri?
Posted by Imonuel, on Sunday, 16 July 2006 at 2:23
What about Rabbi Moses De Leon?
Posted by Gerardo Rodriguez, on Saturday, 24 June 2006 at 1:03
I just wanted to suggest that there should be a picture and biography of our great techer Hacham Ben-Sion Abba Shaul ZSQ'L of Iranian descent and one of the greatest Jewish sages of our time.
Posted by Yonatan Mottahedeh, on Friday, 07 April 2006 at 11:14
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Hachamim