The Teaching, Work and Legacy of Rabbi Chaim ben Attar: The Holy Or ha-Chaim in Historical and Theological Perspective
20 min read3,946 words
Summary
This article surveys the life and teaching of Rabbi Chaim ben Attar, known by his honorific epithet "the holy Or ha-Chaim," focusing on his geographical and spiritual journey from Morocco and Italy to his formative settlement in Jerusalem. The text stresses the harmonious combination of the revealed and the hidden in his work, as expressed in the founding of the "Midrash Knesset Yisrael" yeshiva and in his Torah works, which fuse halakhic ruling with Kabbalistic depth. A central layer of the text deals with his active messianic theology, which saw Torah study and the holiness of the Land of Israel as instruments for hastening the redemption, alongside the fascinating metaphysical bond between him and the Baal Shem Tov. In conclusion, the source seeks to show how his figure became an inter-communal spiritual bridge that is an enduring treasure for the world of Torah and Hasidism to this day.
Biographical Background and Geographical Milestones
Rabbi Chaim ben Attar, renowned throughout the Jewish diaspora by the heavenly epithet "the holy Or ha-Chaim" after his formative work on the Torah, was born in 5456 (1696) in the port city of Salé (Sala) in Morocco.[1, 2, 3] He grew up in a family of "Megorashim" - descendants of the exiles from Spain who settled in North Africa and preserved a distinctive cultural and halakhic identity, while their family name "Attar" hints at their traditional occupation as perfume peddlers.[3] His childhood was shaped in the shadow of the figure of his grandfather, Rabbi Chaim ben Attar "the Elder," who was one of the great sages of Morocco and the initiator of the founding of the family beit midrash "Ben Attar" in Salé.[1, 3] This grandfather served as his foremost teacher and imparted to him the foundations of the study of both the revealed and the hidden.[1, 3] His father, Rabbi Moshe ben Attar, who was a gifted preacher and a man of exceptional kindness, gave his son a deep connection to the world of aggadah and mussar.[1, 3]
Living conditions in Morocco at that time, under the unstable rule of King Moulay Ismail, were saturated with national persecutions and severe economic crises.[3] These upheavals forced the ben Attar family to wander twice to the city of Meknes.[3] During the second wandering, in 5465 (1705), the family stayed in the home of Rabbi Moshe de Avila, a family tie that was strengthened when Rabbi Chaim's sister married the host's son, Rabbi Shmuel de Avila, who later became one of his close companions and a renowned author in his own right.[3] On their return to Salé in 5468 (1708), Rabbi Chaim married Fatsonia, the daughter of his relative, the communal activist and wealthy donor Rabbi Moshe ben Attar.[3] This marriage enabled Rabbi Chaim to devote his time to tremendous diligence in Torah in his father-in-law's home, to head a local yeshiva for outstanding students, and to develop an ascetic way of life entirely withdrawn from this world, characterized by fasts, mortifications and prolonged fast days.[1, 3]
Rabbi Chaim's personality was shaped by a conception of holy mission revolving around a vow from his youth to restore the crown of Torah to its former glory and to strive tirelessly toward the redemption of the Shekhinah.[1, 4] Already in his youth he was known as a wonder-worker whose holiness was recognized even by the non-Jewish population in Morocco, a reputation strengthened by the story of his miraculous rescue from a lions' den into which he had been thrown, and by his unique custom of buying every week a choice calf in honor of the holy Shabbat, slaughtering it and distributing its meat to needy Torah scholars.[1]
While certain sources point to 5493 (1733) as the time of his initial departure from Morocco [5], well-founded historical studies date Rabbi Chaim's final and official departure from the city of Salé to 5499 (1739), accompanied by his two wives and a small group of loyal disciples, among them Rabbi Chaim David Shmuel Hassan and Rabbi Shem Tov Gabbai.[3, 6] During his journey in Italy he passed through the cities of Livorno, Venice, Ferrara, Modena, Mantua and Casale.[6] The Livorno community pressed him to remain there, and he even established a temporary beit midrash there, but his aspiration to immigrate to the Land of Israel remained unchanged.[5, 6] In Italy he founded the "Va'ad Knesset Yisrael" - a philanthropic mechanism intended to raise regular funds for the maintenance of his future yeshiva in the Holy Land - and printed his great works, which made him a known and revered figure throughout Europe.[3, 5, 6]
The sea voyage to the Land of Israel was fraught with dangers and included a dramatic event in which the ship on which he sailed sank in the open sea, from which Rabbi Chaim was miraculously saved after clinging to a wooden plank from the wreckage of the ship.[1] At the end of 5501 (1741) the members of the group arrived in the city of Acre.[6] A severe plague raging in Jerusalem prevented them from entering it immediately, and they remained in Acre, where they opened a temporary yeshiva on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan 5502.[6] During this period the members of the group made journeys to prostrate themselves at the graves of tzaddikim in the Galilee and prayed on Yom Kippur in the Cave of Elijah the Prophet on Mount Carmel.[6] During their stay in the north, Rabbi Chaim met in Tiberias the renewer of the Jewish settlement in the city, Rabbi Chaim Abulafia, who tried to persuade him to establish his yeshiva in Tiberias under the economic patronage of the ruler Daher al-Omar.[3, 6] Rabbi Chaim was inclined to agree and even applied for approval from the Livorno committee, out of a Kabbalistic outlook that saw Tiberias as the starting point of the physical redemption.[3, 6] However, severe losses that the group suffered in Acre - among them the death of his foremost disciple Rabbi Shmuel Nachmani and of another Italian young man - moved them to leave Acre and move temporarily to Peki'in in the months of Sivan and Tammuz.[3, 6] When news arrived of the weakening of the plague in Jerusalem at the end of the month of Tammuz 5502, the group went up to the Holy City, where it was received with great honor and gained full economic independence.[3, 6]
Midrash Knesset Yisrael: The Organizational Structure and the Scholarly Methodology
Upon settling in Jerusalem, Rabbi Chaim ben Attar established the "Midrash Knesset Yisrael" yeshiva in a courtyard belonging to the Kabbalist Rabbi Emmanuel Chai Ricchi, today identified as the Or ha-Chaim synagogue in the Old City.[3, 6, 7] The yeshiva did not function merely as a classical educational institution, but served as a metaphysical-messianic nucleus whose members strove to bring about the redemption through a combination of intensive study and self-mortification.[6] Its existence was based on regular independent funding that came from Livorno, thereby avoiding economic pressure on the local "halukka."[3, 6]
The yeshiva's study structure was divided systematically and methodically into two parallel and complementary tracks: one yeshiva was devoted to the study of the revealed Torah and a second yeshiva to the study of the hidden and Kabbalah.[3, 6] The regime of study was shaped meticulously, with complete avoidance of neglect of Torah study and the creation of harmony between different levels of scholarship. The body of learners was divided into two main groups that functioned within the institution. The first group included about ten senior scholars called "ma'ayanim," who sat every day around Rabbi Chaim and engaged in the systematic deciphering and explanation of the method of Maimonides in his book "Mishneh Torah."[6] The fruit of this group's shared study and pilpul was set down in writing, carefully proofread by his disciple Rabbi David Chaim Shmuel Hassan, and later printed in Constantinople in the famous book of novellae "Rishon le-Zion."[6] The second group was made up of beginning students who engaged in study by the method of "bekiut" (breadth of knowledge), which was intended to give them a broad range of Mishnayot, tractates of the Babylonian Talmud and basic halakhic books, with the aim of accustoming them to the quick Talmudic way of thinking.[6]
The daily schedule of the yeshiva did not stop at sunset; at night the learners gathered in small groups and engaged in the study of tractates of the Talmud, the halakhot of the Rif and Maimonides, and the Shulchan Arukh.[6] The uniqueness of the institution stood out especially in its practices on Shabbat and at the close of Shabbat. Every Shabbat the members of the yeshiva used to hold a festive communal prayer at the Western Wall.[6] On Saturday night a regime of Kabbalistic study was instituted that lasted throughout the night and was divided into four fixed "watches," in which they studied Mishnah, Zohar, Talmud and Shulchan Arukh, combined with the recitation of Tikkun Chatzot with Kabbalistic kavanot and deep spiritual yichudim.[6]
After Rabbi Chaim's early death, the yeshiva continued to be a central Torah beacon in Jerusalem throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.[6] Its students and heads served in rabbinic and religious leadership roles throughout the Jewish world and left an indelible mark on the world of halakhic ruling and Kabbalah.[6]
His Torah Teaching: Interpretive Hermeneutics and Halakhic Ruling
The interpretive methodology of Rabbi Chaim ben Attar is based on a judicious and integrative use of the four levels of traditional Jewish interpretation called PaRDeS: peshat (plain meaning), remez (allusion), derash (homiletic interpretation) and sod (secret).[8] He starts from the assumption that while every verse in Scripture has countless ways of theoretical understanding - 600,000 ways for peshat, 600,000 for remez, and so on - when matters reach practical halakhic ruling there is only one absolute and monolithic truth, expressing the absolute will of God.[8] This harmonious approach is expressed in his work "Or ha-Chaim" on the Torah, which was printed in some editions of "Mikraot Gedolot" (such as the Vilna edition of 5659, which included forty-two commentaries on the page) and was received with holy awe in all Jewish communities.[3, 9]
This systematic combination of Scripture, Mishnah, Gemara, halakha and Kabbalah also finds clear expression in the structure of the daily study known as "Chok le-Yisrael."[10] This order of study, which originates in the teaching of the holy Ari, received significant encouragement from the spiritual teaching of Rabbi Chaim, which seeks to give every Jew a daily order combining all parts of the Torah and creating an inner harmony between the levels of the revealed and the hidden.[10] In addition, Rabbi Chaim instituted a special prayer intended to be recited as part of the Musaf prayer of Yom Kippur, expressing anxiety for the fate of the Shekhinah and longing for redemption: "Remember our love and our affection, and return Your Shekhinah to our holy house... for Your separation from us is as hard as the separation of our soul from our body."[4] This prayer, which combines Kabbalistic terms with intense emotional expressions, reflects the constant movement in his teaching between halakhic aspects and the relationship of beloved and bride between the Congregation of Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He.[4]
His halakhic teaching is clearly presented through his analysis of the Torah portion Toldot, which dealt with the complex question of the observance of the commandments by the Patriarchs before the Torah was given at Sinai.[12] While some of the Rishonim and Acharonim struggled with the question of whether the Patriarchs defined themselves as Noahides or as Israel, Rabbi Chaim offers an original insight: the Patriarchs chose to be stringent with themselves and to be judged as Israel in all their affairs, out of an understanding that the commandments are not merely dry legal decrees but actions that bestow refinement and metaphysical benefit on the soul.[12] According to the "Or ha-Chaim," the Patriarchs observed the Torah "to gain the benefit of the commandments and the occupation with Torah," and therefore they were meticulous in all the laws of the Torah and even in future rabbinic decrees: Abraham was careful about the prohibition of the bread of idolaters and their ordinary wine, Rebecca refrained from gossip, and Jacob our father was meticulous in the laws of "betrothal by means of a loan" and in the laws of bailees.[12]
Moreover, Rabbi Chaim extends this approach also to the nations of the world who were active in that period, such as Laban, Abimelech and the king of Sodom, and explains that their actions were conducted according to the upright rules of "Choshen Mishpat" and "Yoreh De'ah."[12] This understanding coincides with the words of Rabbeinu Nissim Gaon and Nahmanides (Ramban), according to which all human beings have been obligated since the day of Creation in the rational commandments and in monetary laws by virtue of common sense and the understanding of the heart ("ovanta de-liba").[12] The oaths and vows that the Patriarchs made before the giving of the Torah are defined by him as a "rational commandment" that every person of understanding is obligated in, a conception consistent with the words of Rabbi Shimon Shkop, according to which the Torah's monetary laws are based on the laws of universal human reason.[12]
The Messianic Theology of Active Redemption
The messianic theology of Rabbi Chaim ben Attar is based on the belief that redemption is not an eschatological event that will occur passively, but a dynamic historical process conditional on active deeds of the people of Israel.[6, 13] In his well-known commentary on the verse "A star shall step forth from Jacob and a scepter shall rise from Israel" (Numbers 24:17), Rabbi Chaim develops a deep methodical distinction between two alternative scenarios of redemption, parallel to the Talmudic concepts of "achishenah" ("I will hasten it") as against "be-itah" ("in its time") [13]:
Redemption (historical paths)={
A star shall step forth (achishenah - open miracle and repentance above nature)
A scepter shall rise (be-itah - natural process and gradual political rule)
The first path, called "a star shall step forth," represents a situation in which the people of Israel are worthy and repent fully.[13] In this situation the redemption will take place by way of open and swift miracles, and the figure of the Messiah will appear as a shining star illuminating reality suddenly and supernaturally.[13] By contrast, the second path, called "a scepter shall rise," describes a reality in which the people of Israel are not worthy and the redemption takes place at its fixed time ("be-itah").[13] In this case the redemption will develop out of natural political and social processes, accompanied by struggles and a complex and harsh earthly reality.[13]
Rabbi Chaim saw his immigration to the Land of Israel and the founding of his yeshivot in Jerusalem as an active attempt to move the fate of the generation onto the miraculous path of "achishenah."[6] He believed that establishing a spiritual center of Torah study in holiness and mortification in the heart of Jerusalem would constitute a spiritual anchor that would arouse the Shekhinah and prevent the scenario of a natural and painful redemption.[6] This conception of concrete messianism is founded on absolute commitment to tradition and halakha, in contrast to false messianic movements (such as Sabbateanism, or the messianism mentioned in the words of Maimonides, whose end was failure and the diversion of the masses from the path of Torah).[14] Testimony to his messianic standing in the eyes of his generation is found in his work on the Torah, in which the phrase "the anointed of the Lord, his name is Chaim" is alluded to, expressing the direct connection his disciples saw between their master's soul and the messianic spark of the generation.[2, 15]
The Metaphysical Bond Between the Besht and the Or ha-Chaim
One of the most fascinating and influential chapters in the history of modern Jewish thought is the deep spiritual and metaphysical bond between the founder of the Hasidic movement in Ukraine, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (the Besht), and Rabbi Chaim ben Attar.[15, 16] Although the two leaders never met face to face physically, their spiritual ties were extremely close and were perceived as a cosmic connection between Eastern Europe and the Maghreb and the Land of Israel.[15, 16] According to established Hasidic traditions, the two held two parts of the soul of King David - the Besht was in the aspect of "the ruach of David" while the Or ha-Chaim was in the aspect of "the nefesh of David."[15] The spiritual union between them was perceived as the sole key to bringing the complete redemption and returning the Shekhinah to its dwelling.[15]
This mutual esteem found expression in a number of events and historical testimonies that left a deep mark on the development of the Hasidic movement:
The Besht's vision in the Palace of the Messiah: the Besht testified before his intimates that he had seen with his holy spirit Rabbi Chaim ben Attar sitting on the throne of the Messiah in the Palace of the Messiah and studying his book "Or ha-Chaim."[15] When the Besht's brother-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Gershon of Kitov, conveyed these words to Rabbi Chaim upon arriving in Jerusalem, the Or ha-Chaim answered him that this was already known to him and there was nothing new in it.[15]
The meeting with Rabbi Gershon of Kitov: during Rabbi Gershon's visit to the Or ha-Chaim, the latter expressed himself about the Besht in the words: "I have seen your master, and behold, he is a great sage," drawing out very long the pronunciation of the word "great" and expressing deep admiration for his spiritual method.[15]
The explanation of the method of drawing the distant near: when Rabbi Gershon asked the Or ha-Chaim why he devoted time to studying with people of simple and lowly souls, Rabbi Chaim answered him: "This is my way, to bring forth the precious from the vile."[15, 17] This conception accords with the method of the Besht, which focused on love of Israel, finding points of light in every Jew and turning failures into spiritual successes.[18]
The vision of the dominion of Samael over Poland: Rabbi Chaim shared with Rabbi Gershon his spiritual vision concerning the struggle against the forces of evil, and described that he saw Satan standing with one foot on Poland and his other foot on the rest of the world, an expression of his fear of the spiritual and physical troubles about to befall European Jewry.[15]
The revelation of the death at the third Shabbat meal: on Saturday night, the night before 15 Tammuz 5503, while the Besht was eating the third Shabbat meal in Mezhibozh, he went to wash his hands.[2, 15, 17] Suddenly he stopped, sighed in deep pain and said to those present: "The western lamp has gone out."[2, 17] He explained that there is a lofty secret of the washing of the hands that is transmitted only to the tzaddik of the generation.[15] Until that moment the holy Or ha-Chaim had held this secret, and when he died in Jerusalem the secret was transferred from Heaven to the Besht, and thereby he understood that Rabbi Chaim's soul had ascended to the treasuries on high.[15] The Besht rent his garment as a sign of mourning, and when the sages of his generation (among them the "Noda bi-Yehuda") challenged him about a rending done not in the presence of the deceased, contrary to the plain rules of halakha, the Besht answered: "What could I do, when I was there?"[15]
The influence of the Or ha-Chaim on the Hasidic world remained enormous.[3, 16] The Besht worked a great deal to spread the holiness of the book in Poland, and the Chida notes in his book "Shem ha-Gedolim" that the veneration of the book in the lands of Ashkenaz arose as a direct result of the revelations the Besht disclosed about the greatness of Rabbi Chaim's soul.[15] In many Hasidic courts the study of the book "Or ha-Chaim" became an integral part of the preparation for Shabbat and of the fixed weekly study, and it is regarded as a central theological foundation that gives those who study it the strength to withstand life's trials out of devotion to the Creator and the faith that "there is none else besides Him."[16, 18, 19]
Summary and Conclusions
The figure and work of Rabbi Chaim ben Attar, the holy Or ha-Chaim, represent an exceptional religious and historical phenomenon of spiritual leadership that crosses geographical, communal and cultural boundaries.[2, 3, 16] The course of his life - from Salé and Meknes in Morocco, through the influential communities of Italy, to Acre, Peki'in and Jerusalem - reflects a rare combination of Talmudic scholarship and stringent halakhic ruling with holiness, piety and metaphysical asceticism.[1, 2, 6]
His Torah teaching, founded on an inner harmony between the levels of PaRDeS, proves that halakha and Kabbalah are not separate systems but complementary expressions of the same absolute divine truth.[8] His public contribution, expressed in the founding of the "Midrash Knesset Yisrael" yeshiva in Jerusalem and in the formation of a unique model of study combining the revealed and the hidden, left a spiritual infrastructure that continued to influence the Jewish community in the Land of Israel for many generations.[3, 6]
Rabbi Chaim's active messianic conception, which saw Torah study and the holiness of the Land as practical instruments for hastening the redemption and moving onto the miraculous path of "achishenah," gave him the standing of leader of the generation and Messiah of his generation in the eyes of the great sages of his time, foremost among them the Besht.[2, 13, 15] The deep spiritual connection between the Besht and the Or ha-Chaim highlights the inner unity of Jewish thought in the period of exile, and explains why his work "Or ha-Chaim" became an enduring treasure and a source of inspiration, devotion and salvation for all the Jewish diaspora to this very day.[3, 15, 16]
Sources19
- 1.תולדות אור החיים הקדוש, orhachaim.co.il/תולדות-אור-החיים-הקדוש/
- 2.רבי חיים בן עטר - אור החיים הקדוש - ברסלב סיטי, breslevcity.co.il/הילולת-הצדיקים-רבי-חיים-בן-עטר-אור-החיי/
- 3.חיים בן עטר - ויקיפדיה, he.wikipedia.org/wiki/חיים_בן_עטר
- 4.תפילת האור החיים הקדוש - אתר הרב מרדכי אליהו, harav.org/torat-harav/or-hachim-hakadosh/
- 5.Chaim ben Attar | Sources from the Sefaria library, Chaim ben Attar | Sources from the Sefaria library
- 6.ישיבת כנסת ישראל (מיסודו של רבי חיים בן עטר) – ויקיפדיה, he.wikipedia.org/wiki/ישיבת_כנסת_ישראל_(מיסודו_של_רבי_חיים_בן_עטר)
- 7.יום ההילולא של ה'אור החיים' הקדוש: שמונה עובדות וסיפורי המופת על רבי חיים בן עטר - ערוץ 2000, tv2000.co.il/article/61243
- 8.כיצד מפרשים את התורה - ומדוע יש לתורה פירושים רבים כל-כך? - BeitChabad.com - בית חב"ד, he.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1442749
- 9.אור החיים - ויקיטקסט, he.wikisource.org/wiki/אור_החיים
- 10.חפץ ה' וראשון לציון ב' כרכים / לרבינו חיים בן עטר זיע"א בעל ה'אור החיים' הקדוש - אוצר הספרים, sefer.org.il/items/5634069-חפץ-ה-וראשון-לציון-ב-כרכים-לרבינו-חיים-בן-עטר-זיע-א-הוצאה-לאור-יריד-הספרים
- 11.אוסף ספרי ה"אור החיים" הקדוש – "ראשון לציון" ו"חפץ השם" | קדם בית מכירות פומביות בע״מ, kedem-auctions.com/he/אוסף-ספרי-האור-החיים-הקדוש-–-ראשון-לציון-וחפץ-השם
- 12.פרשת תולדות – משפטי התורה קודם שניתנה (אור החיים) - עולמות, olamot.net/shiurim/פרשת-תולדות-משפטי-התורה-קודם-שניתנה-א/
- 13.כך גאולתן של ישראל? - צריך עיון, iyun.org.il/sedersheni/is-this-how-israels-redemption-unfolds/
- 14.מהי "תנועה משיחית"? יישום למקרה של הציונות - הרב מיכאל אברהם, mikyab.net/כתבים/מאמרים/מהי-תנועה-משיחית-יישום-למקרה-של-הציונ/
- 15.חיים בן עטר – חב"דפדיה, chabadpedia.co.il/index.php?title=חיים_בן_עטר&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop
- 16.האור החיים הקדוש הוא ה"רבי" של כלל ישראל. ממש. תשאלו כל ילד חסידי, לאיזה חוג השתייך רבינו ה"אור החיים" הקדוש. האור החיים הקדוש הגיע ממרוקו, אבל הספר שלו, הדמות שלו, היא של רבי חסידי, עם כל יסודות החסידות שנמצאים בספרו הקדוש. - דרשו, dirshu.co.il/381101-2/
- 17.הסוד שהעביר ה'אור החיים' לבעל שם טוב / עמירן דביר - כיכר השבת, kikar.co.il/parshas/rxeykl
- 18.נקודות עיקריות בדרך החסידות - דרך הבעש"ט זיע"א - שער ברסלב, breslev.org/breslev-articles/נקודות-בתורת-הבעשט/
- 19.כשהבעל שם טוב קיבל מסר מהאור החיים - כיכר השבת, kikar.co.il/hasidism/395147