Bracha Qafih Explained

Bracha Qafih
Birth Date:1922
Birth Place:Yemen
Death Date:November 23, 2013
Death Place:Israel
Other Names:Bracha Kapach
Known For:Philanthropy and Tzedakah
Occupation:Rabbanit
Nationality:Yemenite-Israeli

Bracha Qafih also known as Bracha Kapach (Hebrew: ברכה קאפח; 1922 – 26 November 2013) was an Israeli rabbanit, wife of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, who was awarded the Israel Prize for her charitable work.[1]

Early life

Qafih was born in Yemen. She was married to her first cousin, Yosef Kapach, at the age of eleven.[2] Seven years later, they immigrated to Palestine with their three children, one of whom died on the way. Another son, Arieh, was born in Palestine.

Social work

Qafih’s first enterprise in the country was running an embroidery workshop employing 50 Yemenite women. For over half a century, she organized holiday food packages for the needy of Jerusalem. The food was packaged by student volunteers and distributed from her home in Nahlaot. Qafih also collected old wedding gowns to loan to brides from poor families.[3]

Awards and recognition

In 1999, Kapach was awarded the Israel Prize for her special contributions to society and the State of Israel.[4] Kapach and her husband are the only married couple to have both won the Israel Prize.[5]

In 2018, a street in her Jerusalem neighborhood of Nahlaot was renamed in her honor, alongside her husband.[6]

Her biography is included Danny Siegel's 1998 volume Munbaz II and Other Mitzvah Heroes and his 2020 anthology Radiance: Creative Mitzvah Living. It is also expounded in a 2005 Hebrew work called V'zot HaBracha (literally: "and this is the blessing") by Yael Shai.[7]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.jpost.com/InJerusalem/Features/ A rising star
  2. http://www.jta.org/2007/03/08/life-religion/rebbetzin-aids-jerusalem-poor Rebbetzin aids Jerusalem poor
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=8igR1GnZfrcC&dq=bracha+kapach&pg=PA73 Teaching Jewish Life Cycle: Traditions and Activities, Barbara Binder Kadden, Bruce Kadden
  4. Web site: Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1999 (in Hebrew).
  5. http://jta.org/news/article/2007/03/08/100452/kapachhelpspoor Rebbetzin aids Jerusalem poor
  6. Web site: Jerusalem: Committee Approves Naming Several Streets After Distinguished Individuals . 6 September 2018.
  7. Web site: וזאת הברכה :: סיפורה של ברכה קאפח / . שי . יעל . 2005 .