Rav Sholom Hedaya of Aram Sova

Early years

Rav Sholom Hedaya zt"l was born in Aram Tzova, Syria, in 1864. His father, Rav Moshe Chaim Hedaya, traced his lineage back to Rav Saadya Gaon. His mother, Rebbetzin Sabatya, was the granddaughter of Rav Yitzchok Attia, author of the Zera Yitzchok.

Rav Sholom's father passed away when he was only three, and his mother and grandmother raised him. Poverty and loneliness weighed on him so heavily that he thought of abandoning Torah study to make money. Help eventually came from Rav Shlomo Safdeye, Rav Ovadiah Moshe Antebi, Rav Shmuel Silvera and Senor Aharon Silvera.

In his youth he learned from the great mekubal Rav Moshe Swed, from Rav Yitzchak Bechor Mizrahi, the Av Bais Din (head of the court) of Aram Tzova, and from Rav Rafael Yaakov Chaim Israel Alfia. Later he also learned from Rav Shaul Sitton, who later led the rabbinical court of Buenos Aires. Already at the age of eighteen he was corresponding on Torah matters with the rabbonim and dayonim of his generation, such as Rav Eliyahu Hamway and Rav Yeshaya Dayan, the Av Bais Din of Aram Tzova. He was also close to Rav Shlomo Zafadia and Rav Shaul Suhon.

Torah and leadership

At the age of twenty he married Sora, the daughter of Rav Yitzchok Labaton, one of the most outstanding rabbonim and dayonim of Aram Tzova and a grandson of Rav Chaim Mordechai Labaton. When Rav Yitzchok moved to Eretz Yisroel in 1888, he took Rav Sholom and his family with him. During this time Rav Sholom was a guest of the Rishon LeTzion, Rav Yaakov Shaul Elisher.

In 1891 Rav Sholom had to return to Aram Tzova. There he was stricken with an eye ailment and nearly lost his eyesight, and for a time he had to learn Torah from memory. He traveled to Alexandria, Egypt, for surgery, and his sight was partly restored. Despite his difficulty, he wrote a sefer, Sholom La'Am, on the importance of Torah study, of tzedoka and chessed, and of supporting Torah students and scholars. He also worked to transform the Jewish community of Aram Tzova, establishing new rules and arrangements that served the community and especially its poor.

In 1896 Rav Sholom moved to Eretz Yisroel permanently, first settling in the Bucharian Quarter and then in the Ohel Moshe neighborhood, and he was widely respected in Yerushalayim. In 1904 he was appointed Moreh Tzedek (halachic judge) in the Bais Din of Rav Vidal Anjel and Rav Boruch Elnekava. At one point he became very ill and journeyed to Amman for treatment and recovered there.

In 1927 the chief mekubal of Yerushalayim and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Bais Keil, Rav Mas'ud HaKohen Elchaded, was niftar, and Rav Sholom was appointed his successor. He became the Rabbi of the Bais Keil synagogue and received the title Harav Hachasid. In 1930 he was appointed Raavad (Rosh Av Bais Din) of all the Sefardi communities in Yerushalayim.

Teachings and seforim

Rav Sholom's best-known sefer is Sholom La'Am (Aleppo, 1896), which focuses on the issues of tzedoka and chessed, particularly on behalf of Torah students and scholars. His other seforim include Dover Sholom, responsa on the Arba'a Turim; HaChaim v'HaSholom, a series of Torah extrapolations; Degel Ephraim, in which he expresses gratitude to Hashem for the wonders performed on his behalf; and Kisay Shlomo (Yerushalayim, 1924). Sholom v'Tzedek came out in 1948, and his son, Rav Ovadya, wrote its final two chapters.

Later years and passing

Rav Sholom passed away in Yerushalayim on 13 Kislev 5705 (1944).

Legacy

Rav Sholom and Sora's children were Mazal and Rena, their daughters, and four sons: Rav Yitzchok, Rav Ovadya, Moshe and Ezra. Rena became the wife of Rav Moshe Ezra Mizrahi and died young. Mazal's husband was Rav Yaakov S. Kassin, who in 1933 was named Chief Rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn.

His son Rav Ovadya was a prominent Rosh Mesivta in the Porat Yosef Yeshiva. When the Jordanians conquered the Old City, Yeshivas Bais Keil was destroyed, and Rav Ovadya reestablished it in his own home in the new city. After the Six-Day War, he reestablished the yeshiva in the Old City.