Jacob ben Joseph Harofe explained

Jacob ben Joseph Harofe (he|יעקב בן יוסף הרופא, Ya'aqov ben Yosef the Doctor) (c. 1780^[1] – October 2, 1851^[2]), also known as Yaakov bar Yosef, was a 19th-century Talmudic scholar and dayan (rabbinic court judge) in Baghdad, Iraq. He was considered one of the greatest Torah scholars of his generation.^[3] He authored many Torah novellae, homiletics, and commentaries. His most notable disciple was Hakham Abdallah Somekh.^[2]

Biography

Few biographical details are known about him. He studied under Rabbis Moshe Hayyim, Reuven Nawi, and Nissim Mashliah.^[2]

In 1848 he was visited by the Romanian-Jewish traveler Benjamin II, who called him: "Highly respected, by virtue of his fine qualities and broad knowledge".^[2]

He died in a cholera epidemic on October 2, 1851.^[2] He was buried in the courtyard of the tomb of Joshua the High Priest in Baghdad.^[4]

His son, Joseph, also became a Talmudic scholar; he died on October 21, 1877.^[2] A daughter, Esther, married Rabbi Moshe Hayim Shlomo David Shamash, who later became the chief rabbi of the Iraqi community.

Selected bibliography

• Prayer Book for Sabbath with a commentary on Canticles^[5]
• Shir Hadash (commentary on the Song of Songs)^[2]
• Nava Tehilla^[6]
• Shemen Hatov (on Maseches Beitza)^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Manuscript – Homiletics on the Torah by Rabbi Ya'akov HaRofeh. Kedem Auction House Ltd.. 16 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180216084709/https://www.kedem-auctions.com/content/manuscript-%E2%80%93-homiletics-torah-rabbi-yaakov-harofeh. 16 February 2018. dead.
2. Encyclopedia: Jacob ben Joseph ha-Rofeh. Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Zvi. Zohar. Norman A. . Stillman. Brill Online. 2010.
3. Book: Zohar, Zvi. Rabbinic Creativity in the Modern Middle East. 2013. A&C Black. 978-1472511508. 13.
4. Web site: Joshua (not Joshua ibn Nun) the High Priest Courtyard. Iraqi Jews (Babylonian Jews). 16 February 2018. 28 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094138/http://www.babylonjews.com/jewish-shrines/joshuanot-josuha-ibn-nun-the-high-priest-courtyard/. dead.
5. Sassoon, David S. "Review of Thesaurus of Mediæval Hebrew Poetry by Israel Davidson" The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 21, No. 1/2 (Jul. - Oct., 1930), pp. 89-150
6. Book: נאוה תהילה. Hebrew. Nava Tehilla. Otzar HaChokhma.
7. Web site: שמן הטוב. Hebrew. Shemen Hatov. Otzar HaChokhma.