Haim Sabato
Encyclopedia
Haim Sabato is a Cairo-born Israeli rabbi
and author. Born to a distinguished family of Aleppan descent in Cairo
, Sabato moved with his family to Jerusalem, Israel
, as a young child during the 1950s. He co-founded the Hesder
yeshiva in Ma'ale Adumim, Yeshivat Birkat Moshe
, in 1977, and has published four popular novels, in addition to works of Torah-content. His style has earned comparisons with the late Israeli Nobel Laureate, Shmuel Yosef Agnon
.
. Rabbi Sabato's family, and the rest of the Jewish community, were forced to leave Egypt in 1957 by the Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser
, following the Suez Crisis of 1956. The Sabato family migrated to Israel, but were sent to live in a transit camp near Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem. Young Haim was educated as a young child in a Talmud Torah in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, before studying at the prestigious Netiv Meir yeshiva high school, also in Bayit Vegan. Rabbi Sabato has mentioned Rabbi Aryeh Bina, rosh yeshiva of Netiv Meir, as one of his key influences.
After graduation, he joined the Hesder program at Yeshivat Hakotel
, in Jerusalem's Old City, which combines yeshiva study with military service. His experiences during the Yom Kippur War
, at the age of 21, eventually led him to write his essential work, Adjusting Sights. It was as a raw soldier, barely out of basic training, and having to contend with the huge Syrian tank offensive in the disastrous first days of the War, that he decided how he would spend his life if he were to survive: he would open a yeshiva of his own.
After surviving the war, both physically and spiritually, Sabato spent the next few years studying at the renowned Yeshivat Mercaz Harav
, the spiritual home of religious Zionism. After receiving rabbinical ordination, Rabbi Sabato co-founded the yeshiva in the fledgling town of Ma'ale Adumim, in 1977. Despite having co-founded the yeshiva, both Rabbi Sabato and Rabbi Yaakov Sheilat, his co-founder, refused to assume the title of rosh yeshiva, due to their age. A renowned Talmudic scholar and educator, Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, was later appointed as rosh yeshiva.
has won him numerous fans and made him something of a symbol of the "pitfalls" of translating works of literature form one language to another.
, northern Syria
.
Sabato was awarded the prestigious Sapir Prize
for Literature in its inaugural year, as well as the Yitzhak Sadeh Prize
, for his second work, Teum Kavanot (titled Adjusting Sights in the English translation), a moving account of the experiences of a soldier in the Yom Kippur War. The book has also been made into a film.
His third publication, KeAfapey Shachar (published in English as Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale), a bestseller, tells the story of Ezra Siman Tov, and humble and religious Jerusalemite, coming to terms with a changing world.
Sabato's latest work, Bo'ee HaRuach (to be published in English as From the Four Winds in Spring 2010), was published in 2008, and describes his experiences as an "oleh chadash" (a new immigrant) in the Israeli "ma'abarot" - transit camps - of the 1950s.
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and author. Born to a distinguished family of Aleppan descent in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Sabato moved with his family to Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, as a young child during the 1950s. He co-founded the Hesder
Hesder
Hesder is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework...
yeshiva in Ma'ale Adumim, Yeshivat Birkat Moshe
Yeshivat Birkat Moshe
Yeshivat Birkat Moshe is a hesder yeshiva located in the Mitzpeh Nevo neighborhood of Maale Adumim, Israel. It was founded in 1977 by Rabbis Haim Sabato and Yitzchak Sheilat, then two young rabbis from Yeshivat HaKotel, in Jerusalem....
, in 1977, and has published four popular novels, in addition to works of Torah-content. His style has earned comparisons with the late Israeli Nobel Laureate, Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon
Shmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
.
Background and career
Rabbi Sabato was born in Cairo in 1952 to a Sephardic Jewish family. His grandfather had moved to Cairo from Aleppo, Syria, in the early twentieth century, a time when Aleppo's Jewish community was dwindling, due to the lessening of Aleppo's significance in regional trade, as a result of the Suez CanalSuez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. Rabbi Sabato's family, and the rest of the Jewish community, were forced to leave Egypt in 1957 by the Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
, following the Suez Crisis of 1956. The Sabato family migrated to Israel, but were sent to live in a transit camp near Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem. Young Haim was educated as a young child in a Talmud Torah in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, before studying at the prestigious Netiv Meir yeshiva high school, also in Bayit Vegan. Rabbi Sabato has mentioned Rabbi Aryeh Bina, rosh yeshiva of Netiv Meir, as one of his key influences.
After graduation, he joined the Hesder program at Yeshivat Hakotel
Yeshivat Hakotel
Yeshivat Hakotel is a modern-Orthodox religious Zionist hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in 1857. The yeshiva overlooks the Kotel ; hence its name. The Yeshiva is famous among tourists and tour guides for its entrance to the prayer plaza at the Kotel on Sabbath...
, in Jerusalem's Old City, which combines yeshiva study with military service. His experiences during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, at the age of 21, eventually led him to write his essential work, Adjusting Sights. It was as a raw soldier, barely out of basic training, and having to contend with the huge Syrian tank offensive in the disastrous first days of the War, that he decided how he would spend his life if he were to survive: he would open a yeshiva of his own.
After surviving the war, both physically and spiritually, Sabato spent the next few years studying at the renowned Yeshivat Mercaz Harav
Mercaz haRav
Mercaz HaRav , more properly, Mercaz HaRav Kook ), is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. It has become synonymous with his teachings....
, the spiritual home of religious Zionism. After receiving rabbinical ordination, Rabbi Sabato co-founded the yeshiva in the fledgling town of Ma'ale Adumim, in 1977. Despite having co-founded the yeshiva, both Rabbi Sabato and Rabbi Yaakov Sheilat, his co-founder, refused to assume the title of rosh yeshiva, due to their age. A renowned Talmudic scholar and educator, Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, was later appointed as rosh yeshiva.
Literary work
Sabato's lyrical writing, with sentences studded with phrases drawn from and referring to passages in the Bible and TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
has won him numerous fans and made him something of a symbol of the "pitfalls" of translating works of literature form one language to another.
Books
Sabato's first book, Emet Mi Eretz Titzmach, (published in English as Aleppo Tales), is a collection of short stories relating to his family's ancestral home and community of AleppoAleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, northern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
Sabato was awarded the prestigious Sapir Prize
Sapir Prize
The Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel is a prestigious annual literary award presented for a work of fine literature. The prize is awarded by Mifal Hapayis , and is a part of the organization's cultural initiatives...
for Literature in its inaugural year, as well as the Yitzhak Sadeh Prize
Yitzhak Sadeh Prize
The Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature is an annual award literary award given in Israel for the finest book on a military topic. It is named in honor of Yitzhak Sadeh.-Winners:...
, for his second work, Teum Kavanot (titled Adjusting Sights in the English translation), a moving account of the experiences of a soldier in the Yom Kippur War. The book has also been made into a film.
His third publication, KeAfapey Shachar (published in English as Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale), a bestseller, tells the story of Ezra Siman Tov, and humble and religious Jerusalemite, coming to terms with a changing world.
Sabato's latest work, Bo'ee HaRuach (to be published in English as From the Four Winds in Spring 2010), was published in 2008, and describes his experiences as an "oleh chadash" (a new immigrant) in the Israeli "ma'abarot" - transit camps - of the 1950s.
Works translated into English
- Adjusting Sights
- Aleppo Tales
- The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale
- From the Four Winds
Sources
- http://www.birkatmoshe.org.il/ftpeng/English_Site/ed/ed.html
- http://www.tobypress.com/books/sabato.htm
- http://www.tobypress.com/books/adjustingsights.htm
- http://www.tobypress.com/books/aleppo.htm
- http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?mode=a§ionid=61&contentid=17386&contentName=Best%20of%20Both%20Worlds%20%20%3Ci%3EThe%20Novels%20of%20Rab%20Haim%20Sabato%3C/i%3E
- http://www.ou.org/pdf/ja/5767/fall67/34-37.pdf