Yosef Qafih
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Rabbi Yosef Qafih (יוסף קאפח), also spelled Kafich or Qafehh or Gafeh (1917-2000), was one of the foremost leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community, first in Yemen and later in Israel. He was the grandson of Rabbi Yihyeh Qafih, also a prominent Yemenite leader and grandson of the founder of the Dor Deah (anti-Kabbalah) movement in Yemen. He is principally known for his editions and translations of the works of Maimonides and other early rabbinic authorities, primarily his restoration of the Mishneh Torah from old manuscripts.
[edit] His life
Rabbi Qafih was born in 1917 in Sana’a in Yemen: his father was Rabbi David Qafih. The Kabbalists in Yemen told the Muslim authorities that his father and grandfather were plotting against them; the two were arrested along with several of the founding circle of Dor Deah. The Kabbalists paid the Yemenite police who held them in prison to beat them severely, and after they were released a wound Rabbi David received in his belly festered. He died when his son was one year old. At the age of five Rabbi Yosef lost his mother, and was raised by and learned Torah with his grandfather Rabbi Yihyeh Qafih. When Yosef was 14 his grandfather died and he inherited his position as rabbinic authority and teacher of the Sana’a community. At the age of 15 Kabbalist enemies of his grandfather informed the authorities that there was a Jewish orphan which by Yemenite law could be forcibly converted to Islam; only the intervention of the king of Yemen saved him, by granting him a legal loophole: he married his 11 year old cousin. In his early years he worked as a silversmith.
In 1943 he emigrated to Palestine, studied at the Merkaz HaRav yeshivah and qualified as a dayan at the Harry Fischel Institute. In 1950 he was appointed as a dayan in the Jerusalem district court, and later was appointed as a dayan at the Supreme Rabbinical Court. He was a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel, and presided over the Yemenite community in Jerusalem. In 1969 he won the Israel Prize for Torah literature. His wife, Rabbanit Brachah Qafih, won the Israel Prize for exceptional contributions to State and society in 1999, in recognition of her extensive charitable work (this was the only occasion on which a married couple have both been awarded the Israel Prize.) He also won the Bialik Prize and the Rabbi Kook Prize and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bar Ilan University. He died on 20th July 2000 at the age of 82 years.
His main work in the field of Torah literature was his translation and publication of manuscripts of numerous works by Sephardic Rishonim, including the Emunot ve-Deot of Saadia Gaon, the Kuzari by Judah ha-Levi, the Duties of the Heart by Bahya ibn Pakuda and many other works in Judaeo-Arabic. The prime place in his oeuvre is reserved for the writings of Maimonides: he translated the Guide for the Perplexed, the Commentary on the Mishnah and the Sefer Hamitzvot and edited a 24-volume set of the Mishneh Torah. His works and translations received recognition from the academic world.
He wrote and studied extensively on the heritage of Yemenite Jews. He published a book under the title of “Halichot Teman”, and edited the “Shivat Tzion” tiklal, a Yemenite prayer book reflecting the views of Maimonides in three volumes. In 1993 he published a new version under the title of “Siach Yerushalayim” in four volumes (most other editions now have six). Rabbi Qafihh identified with the Dor Dai tendency, except that he did not publicly express opposition to the Zohar beyond saying that it was preferable to draw sustenance from the teachings of Maimonides.
In his leadership of the Yemenite community in Israel he endeavored to maintain peace between the main factions in the community. He worked hard for the preservation of Yemenite customs and did not hesitate to utter blistering public condemnations when these were not kept (for example against the Government loan arranged for the speaker of the Knesset, Yisrael Yeshayahu Sharabi, who was of Yemenite descent).
[edit] Published works
- Mishneh Torah of the Rambam, corrected according to ancient Yemenite manuscripts, with his own commentary.
- Sefer Hamitzvot from original Arabic.
- Iggeroth haRambam, in original Arabic with facing Hebrew translation.
- Maimonides' Commentary on the Mishnah, in original Arabic with facing Hebrew translation (later editions have Hebrew only).
- Halichot Teiman ('Laws of Yemen'), on the customs of Yemenite Jews.
- Sefer Kuzari in original Arabic with a new translation into modern Hebrew.
- Emunot ve-Deot in original Arabic with a new translation into modern Hebrew.
- Guide for the Perplexed in original Arabic with a new translation into modern Hebrew.
- Duties of the Heart in original Arabic with a new translation into modern Hebrew.
- Shivat Tzion (1950s), a new edition of the Baladi Yemenite prayer book.
- Siach Yerushalayim (1993), the newest edition of the Baladi Yemenite prayer book.
