Mekubel Yichye Tzalach

Early years

Rav Yichye Tzalach zt"l, known as the Maharitz (Moreinu HaRav Yichye Tzalach), was born in Cheshvan 5474 (1713) in Yemen, the son of Rav Yosef Tzalach. His grandfather, Rav Tzalach, who passed away in 1749, had lived through the Mawza Exile and went on to found the Tzalach shul in Sanaa, where he served as a dayan and a shochet. The family traced its descent to Oved, a descendant of Peretz, the son of Yehudah.

Little is known of his father, Rav Yosef, except that he learned under his own father-in-law, Rav Dovid Kafach (Qafih). The Maharitz's brother, Rav Suleiman, compiled Zevach Pesach, a work on the laws of preparing for Pesach.

From his youth Rav Yichye had a fine memory, and his learning advanced quickly. He studied with his father and grandfather, and for a time with Rav Dovid Mishreki (1696–1771), the leading rav of Sanaa and author of Shtilei Zeisim, a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim and Yoreh Deah). Rav Dovid left a deep mark on him, and the Maharitz cites him in his responsa. Rav Yichye earned his living as a blacksmith until he turned thirty, then spent time as a sofer (scribe of sacred texts), and eventually became the head judge of the beis din in Sanaa.

Torah and leadership

By 1795 he sat on the Beis Din of Sanaa, and he later served as Av Beis Din and president of the court. Yet through most of his years, two towering figures of his time overshadowed him. One was Rav Dovid Mishreki. The other was Rav Shalom Iraqi HaKohen (1685–1780), known as al-Ousta (the artisan). Rav Shalom oversaw the customs revenues and the king's buildings and gardens, enjoyed the favor of two kings in turn, and was removed from his post in 1761.

The Maharitz was a contemporary of Rav Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai, the Chida, and corresponded with him while the Chida lived in Egypt. A responsum addressed to the Maharitz by the Chida appears in the Maharitz's Eitz Chaim.

In 1761 the Jews of Sanaa suffered a time of persecution. King Al-Mahdi Abbas ordered that twelve of the city's fourteen shuls be torn down. The community's respected leader, Rav Shalom Cohen al-Iraqi, held the title of Nasi and held that title through the reigns of two kings, from 1733 until 1761. He was the go-between for the king and the Jews, and he was thrown into chains until a large ransom was paid. Royal decrees also barred Jews from raising their homes above fourteen cubits (about 7.5 meters). The Maharitz appears to have stayed out of the public eye during these troubles.

In his earlier years the Maharitz decided halachah by the Shulchan Aruch and kept the Sephardic customs that had been brought into Yemen. Around 1776 (somewhere between 1775 and 1779), he changed course. He returned wholeheartedly to the old Yemenite traditions and liturgy, and his halachic rulings now leaned toward the Rambam. In this he was shaped by the rabbanim of the generation before him, Rav Yehudah al-Sa'adi and Rav Pinchas Iraqi HaKohen. They had struggled to keep the old Baladi rite of prayer, the Tiklal, from giving way to the Spanish rite, and they issued proclamations that the customs of the fathers, set down according to the Geonim and the Rambam's code, must not be altered.

Following the path of Rav Dovid Abudirham, the Maharitz composed a lengthy commentary on the synagogue service and the old Yemenite siddur. For the most part he defended the traditional practices recorded there, such as reciting a single Mussaf on Rosh Hashanah, but he also made concessions, adding material drawn from the seforim of the mekubalim and from the Shulchan Aruch. He frequently spoke warmly of the old Yemenite customs and urged people to hold on to them. He also quoted a responsum of Rav Pinchas HaKohen Iraqi against altering the Baladi rite, written in exceptionally forceful terms. Because he accepted certain rulings of the Shulchan Aruch, some Yemenite prayer customs fell away completely, and customs of the mekubalim were introduced in their place.

Teachings and seforim

Rav Yichye is remembered as among the greatest rabbanim and halachic authorities that Yemen ever produced. His Pe'ulas Tzaddik contains his questions and responsa, and Eitz Chaim is a brief yet thorough commentary on the Baladi siddur. He also compiled Cheleq HaDikduk, on the spelling and punctuation of the biblical text, and wrote many other works.

Later years and passing

The Maharitz passed away on Shabbos, 28 Nissan 5565 (1805), in Sanaa. His son, Rav Avrohom, succeeded him as Av Beis Din and president of the court.