בס״ד SHAAREI ORAH NEwSlEttER The Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck • 1425 Essex Road, Teaneck NJ, 07666 • 201-833-0800 • www.sephardicteaneck.org Zmanim & Services Rabbi Haim Jachter PARASHAT MATOT-MASEI A Brief Sketch of Yemenite Halachic History AUGUST 3, 2019 Friday Night One does not appreciate the full spectrum of Halachic practice unless he takes in account the practices of Yemenite Jews. However, one can understand Yemenite Halacha only if one learns the basics of its history. Shir Hashirim 6:50 pm Candle Lighting 7:53 pm Geonic Period: A key aspect of Yemenite (Temoni) Jewish life is that Yemenite Jews, in contrast Minha 7:00 pm with other Jewish communities located at the outskirts of the Exile (such as Ethiopian Jews) kept in touch with Jews worldwide throughout its many centuries in Yemen. This means that the Jews in Yemen were followed by Kabbalat Shabbat / Arvit aware of and fully observed Hanukah and Purim and were fully aware and practices that which is set forth in the Mishna and Gemara. Shabbat Day There is evidence to this already dating to the time of the Geonim. Shaarei Teshuva (a collection of Geonic responsa; number 99) records that the Geonim in Babylon received inquiries regarding Pre-Shaharit shiur 8:30 am observance of Halacha from Jews all over the world. The places listed include Temon (Yemen) and Spain. Shaharit 8:45 am Latest Shema 9:21 am This means that despite geographic distance, the Jews of Yemen maintained themselves as full- Pre-pre Minha Shiur 6:15 pm fledged members of the Jewish Halachic mainstream. This explains why no Halachic authority has ever Pre-Minha Shiur 6:55 pm questioned the Jewish status and Kashrut of the Jews of Yemen. Minha 7:35 pm Arvit 8:37 pm The Rambam: The peak of Yemenite interaction with Jews outside its adopted land is the loving Havdala 8:47 pm connection with the Rambam. The Rambam records in his famous Igeret Temon how Jewish travelers report the very warm welcome they receive when they visit Yemen. The Rambam records that the travelers Weekly Schedule report that the Jews of Yemen are learned in Torah, fully observant of all the Mitzvot and thoroughly committed to both the written and Oral Law. Shaharit Sunday 8:00 am In this letter the Rambam offered much needed encouragement to the Jews of Yemen who were Mon/Thu 6:20 am facing a crisis. They were being persecuted by their Islamic rulers and they were coping with a Jew Tue/Wed/Fri 6:30 am claiming to be the Mashiah. Minha/Arvit The Rambam in his letter showed them how Islam is false on the one hand and that the Jew claiming to be the Messiah is false as well. The Rambam struck the perfect balance between Sunday 7:50 pm encouragement and realistic appraisal of their situation. In doing so, the Rambam won the wholehearted devotion of the Jews of Yemen. The Rambam wrote many Halachic responsa to the Jews of Yemen. In fact, the Rambam’s grandson Rav David HaNagid reports that the Rambam received more questions from the Jews of Yemen than any other community. The Ramban in a letter records how the Rambam used his political connections to relieve the Jews of Yemen from terribly burdensome taxes. The Jews of Yemen, continues the Ramban, loved the Rambam so much that they (famously) added a line to the Kaddish praying (during the lifetime of the Rambam) for the welfare of the Rambam “B’Hayei D’Rabbana Moshe ben Maimon”. Needless to say, at this point the Jews of Yemen unreservedly embraced the Rambam as their Halachic authority at this point. The Mawza Exile: The Jews of Yemen struggled but maintained their Jewish life with stability and success until catastrophe struck. The Exile of Mawza of 1679–1680, is (as described at Wikipedia) “considered the single most traumatic event experienced collectively by the Jews of Yemen, in which Jews living in nearly all cities and towns throughout Yemen were banished by decree of the king, Iman al-Mahdi Ahmad, and sent to a dry and barren region of the country named Mawza to withstand their fate or to die”. Galut Mawza, as it is referred to by Yemenite Jews, caused a severe disruption in Jewish life. Approximately half of the Jews died as a result of this horrific experience, including many of its great Rabbanim and leaders. The Jews’ homes were confiscated by their Arab neighbors. Jewish manuscripts were lost and the community had to rebuild itself nearly from scratch both materially and spiritually. The Galut Mawza constituted a severe disruption in the Torah traditions of the Yemenite community and in the following decades Yemenite Jews endeavored to restore its equilibrium. Congregation Shaarei Orah is an inclusive kehillah, all are welcome regardless of edah or level of observance. בס״ד SHAAREI ORAH NEwSlEttER The Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck • 1425 Essex Road, Teaneck NJ, 07666 • 201-833-0800 • www.sephardicteaneck.org The Shetile Zetim vs. The Maharitz: Soon after the return from Exile, the community spawned two of its greatest Halachic leaders. There are Rav David Mishrequi, the author of the Shetile Zetim and the Ravid HaZahav, and Rav David’s student Rav Yihyeh Tzalah, known as the Maharitz. The Maharitz authored important responsa and commentaries and is regarded as the primary Halachic authority for Yemenite Jews. The Shetile Zetim and the Maharitz, however, had a fundamental disagreement regarding the primary Halachic authority of Yemenite Jews. The Shetile Zetim felt that since Jews worldwide had accepted the authority of Rav Yosef Karo and the Shulhan Aruch, Yemenite Jews should follow suit and remain in the Halachic mainstream. The Maharitz, though, argued for maintaining traditional Yemenite customs and fidelity to the Rambam’s rulings. Both the Shetile Zetim and the Maharitz were not rigid in their respective approaches. The Maharitz was willing to accept some new customs accepted in the worldwide Jewish mainstream and the Shetile Zetim sometimes advocated for retaining some specific traditional Yemenite practices. Baladi, Shami and Dor Da’im: This led to the famous split among Yemenite Jews. Baladi Jews follow the Maharitz and the Shami faction follow in the footsteps of the Shetile Zetim. A third group emerged in the nineteenth century which called for renewed strict adherence to the Rambam. Rav Yosef Kapah was the most famous member of this group. Rav Ovadia Yosef vs. Rav Ratzabi: Further debate emerged in twentieth century upon the blessed return of Yemenite Jews to Eretz Yisrael. Rav Ovadia Yosef (Teshuvot Yehave Da’at 1:27) argues that now that they are in Eretz Yisrael, Yemenites should follow the rulings of the Shulhan Aruch. An example of a disputed matter is the Yemenite practice to follow the Rambam and not recite a Bracha on the lighting of Yom Tov candles. Rav Ovadia argues that now Yemenites should follow the Shulhan Aruch’s ruling (Orah Haim 263:5 and 514:11) to recite a Bracha before lighting Yom Tov candles. The leading Yemenite sage Rav Yitzhak Rasabi in his work Ner Yom Tov, strongly argues with Rav Ovadia concerning this specific point and his overall agenda to convince Yemenite Jews to abandon their practices in favor of the rulings of Rav Yosef Karo. Conclusion: Yemenite Minhagim are incredibly rich and fascinating. They add the final touches to the full picture of Jewish practice. Yemenite Jews tenaciously maintained their practices in face of enormous pressure throughout the centuries. Fortunately, this precious component of our people has been preserved and with Hashem’s help remain a vibrant community whose practices add a special flavor and dimension to the full Halachic spectrum. Announcements Reminder: The deadline for all submissions to the weekly newsletter is Thursday at 10 am. Thank you for your cooperation. Kiddush this week is sponsored by the kiddush fund. To contribute to the kiddush fund, please visit https://www.sephardicteaneck.org/form/kiddush-fund-donation.html Seudah Shelisheet this week is co-sponsored by co-sponsored by Rivka and Sahba Azar for the yahrzeits of Malka bat Yekutiel z'l, Esther bat Meir z'l(Sahba's aunts) and Pinchas ben Meir z'l, (Rivka's father) and Shuli and David Shakarchi and the extended family for the yahrzeit of their mother, Ahuva bat Chacham David Yosef z'l. To sponsor seudah shelisheet please visit https://www.sephardicteaneck.org/form/seudah. We are excited to announce that as of today, Friday, August 2nd, we are on a Shaharit minyan streak of 63 consecutive days! Stay tuned for our big Kiddush celebration if we hit the 100-minyan mark. Thank you, Ari Stein, for all of your help with the daily minyan and thank you to all of our participants. Let's keep this streak alive! For updates and suggestions or if you would like to contribute towards this celebration, please contact Cesare Pinto - [email protected]. Registration is now open for the Yamim Nora'im seating. Early bird pricing ends on 8/29/19 and the final deadline for all reservations is 9/15/19. Our Yamim Nora'im services last year were at full capacity in both the women’s and men’s sections. Notwithstanding the above-mentioned deadline dates, we highly recommend you place your reservations as soon as possible to ensure that you will be able to obtain seats for your entire family. As in previous years, the seating committee will make best efforts to use similar seating from previous years. However, please note that full members have priority over affiliate members and affiliate members have priority over nonmembers and requests will be honored on a first-come-first served basis.