Yehuda Tzadka
Encyclopedia
Yehuda Yehoshua Tzadka was a respected Sephardi
rabbi and rosh yeshiva
of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva
in Jerusalem. He became a student in this yeshiva after his bar mitzvah, and continued to learn and teach there for close to 70 years.
who had immigrated to Palestine
around 1900 with his wife, Simcha, a niece of the Ben Ish Chai
. The family lived in the Beit Yisrael
neighborhood, and young Yehuda attended Talmud Torah
Bnei Tzion in the Bukharim
Quarter. After his bar mitzvah he enrolled in Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem's Old City, which had opened a year earlier. Following the death of rosh yeshiva Shlomo Laniado, Tzadka became a student of the new rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Ezra Attiya, from whom he continued to learn for the next 45 years.
Tzadka was a diligent student who rose to the top of his class. He learned by day in the yeshiva and at night in the Be'er Sheva synagogue
in Beis Yisrael. Every Friday night he would learn in the Shoshanim L'David Synagogue, where Sephardi talmidei chachamim
(Torah sages) congregated.
ic lecturer who was unable to continue teaching. Tzadka's first class included Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
, Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul
, Rabbi Yehuda Mualem, Rabbi Baruch BenHaim, and Rabbi Ezra Ades, all of whom would go on to leadership positions in the Sephardi Torah world. Tzadka taught in classic Sephardi style, focusing on the Talmudic commentaries of the Maharsha
and the Maharam
. Like Attiya, he also emphasized the study of musar
(ethics) texts such as Mesillat Yesharim
. He distinguished himself as a teacher by his ability to gear each lesson to the level of his students.
Tzadka was characterized by his love of Torah and its sages, and his desire and alacrity to perform mitzvot
. He lived simply and encouraged his students to be content without luxuries.
Although he was qualified to serve as a dayan (religious judge), and was asked to join a new regional beth din founded by Rabbi Reuven Katz, Rav of Petah Tikva
, Tzadka preferred to keep learning and teaching in Porat Yosef.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, when the Jordanian army captured the Old City, Tzadka supervised groups of Porat Yosef students learning in synagogue
s in the neighborhoods of Geula
, Katamon, and the Bukharim Quarter. After the war, he traveled to England for four months to raise money on behalf of a new yeshiva building, which was erected in the Geula neighborhood in the mid-1950s.
Beyond the walls of the yeshiva, Tzadka was active throughout Israel, encouraging Sephardi parents to give their children a Torah education rather than send them to secular schools. He spoke at rallies sponsored by the P'eylim organization on behalf of Torah education for new immigrants, and made the rounds on school registration days, begging parents to register their children in Torah schools. After the founding of the State of Israel
, he visited absorption camps
in which hundreds of thousands of Sephardi Jews ejected from Arab countries were living, urging parents not to send their children to secular schools and encouraging established communities to open Torah schools for immigrant children.
When Attiya died in May 1970, the yeshiva directors asked Tzadka to become the new rosh yeshiva. He agreed, but when he saw a new sign on the door of his classroom: "Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka, Rosh Yeshiva", he insisted that it be taken down and refused to be called by that title.
Kol Yehuda (The Voice of Yehuda), a book of halakha
and aggadah
incorporating his approach to all matters of life.
In his later years he suffered a series of heart attacks
, but was able to recover and return to his teaching. Even while hospitalized, he continued his practice of rising at midnight for Tikkun Chatzot
and praying vasikin (the sunrise service). During one hospitalization, he was visited by Rabbi Elazar Shach
, who found him lying in a bed in the intensive-care unit with a sefer, engrossed in Torah study
.
He suffered his last heart attack during the night of the Fast of Gedaliah and was taken to hospital. Two weeks later he suffered a stroke
and lapsed into a coma
. He died on 20 October 1991 (12 Cheshvan
5752) and was buried in the Sanhedria
cemetery in a family plot.
He was succeeded as rosh yeshiva by Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul. After the latter's death in 1998, Tzadka's son, Rabbi Moshe Tzadka, was named rosh yeshiva of the Geula branch of Porat Yosef Yeshiva.
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
rabbi and rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
of the Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Porat Yosef Yeshiva is a leading Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood.-History:...
in Jerusalem. He became a student in this yeshiva after his bar mitzvah, and continued to learn and teach there for close to 70 years.
Early life and education
Tzadka was born in Jerusalem to Shaul Tzadka, a Jewish merchant from BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
who had immigrated to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
around 1900 with his wife, Simcha, a niece of the Ben Ish Chai
Ben Ish Chai
Yosef Chaim or in Iraqi Hebrew Yoseph Ḥayyim was a leading hakham , authority on Jewish law and Master Kabbalist...
. The family lived in the Beit Yisrael
Beit Yisrael
Beit Yisrael is a predominantly Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem, Israel. It is located just north of Mea Shearim.The name Beit Yisrael is taken from the verse in Ezekiel , in which Ezekiel prophesies to the hills and mountains of Israel, "I shall make numerous on you the people, the...
neighborhood, and young Yehuda attended Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of public primary school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew, the Scriptures , and the Talmud...
Bnei Tzion in the Bukharim
Bukharim
Bukharim is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel. Many of the residents of Shkhunat HaBukharim , as it is known, are Haredi Jews...
Quarter. After his bar mitzvah he enrolled in Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem's Old City, which had opened a year earlier. Following the death of rosh yeshiva Shlomo Laniado, Tzadka became a student of the new rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Ezra Attiya, from whom he continued to learn for the next 45 years.
Tzadka was a diligent student who rose to the top of his class. He learned by day in the yeshiva and at night in the Be'er Sheva synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in Beis Yisrael. Every Friday night he would learn in the Shoshanim L'David Synagogue, where Sephardi talmidei chachamim
Talmid Chacham
Talmid Chacham is an honorific title given to one well versed in Jewish law, in effect, a Torah scholar....
(Torah sages) congregated.
Talmudic lecturer
In 1937 Attiya suggested Tzadka as a replacement for a senior 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....
ic lecturer who was unable to continue teaching. Tzadka's first class included Rabbi Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...
, Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul
Ben Zion Abba Shaul
Ben Zion Abba Shaul was one of the leading Sephardic rabbis, Torah scholars and halakhic arbiters of his day, and the rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem for the last 15 years of his life...
, Rabbi Yehuda Mualem, Rabbi Baruch BenHaim, and Rabbi Ezra Ades, all of whom would go on to leadership positions in the Sephardi Torah world. Tzadka taught in classic Sephardi style, focusing on the Talmudic commentaries of the Maharsha
Samuel Eidels
Samuel Eidels , was a renowned rabbi and Talmudist famous for his commentary on the Talmud, Chiddushei Halachot. Eidels is also known as Maharsha .-Biography:The Maharsha was born in Kraków, Poland...
and the Maharam
Maharam
Maharam is an acronym of the words ...מורנו הרב רבי מ . Since many Rabbis where referred to as Maharam, an addition, usually a name of a place or a surname is generally used to differentiate between them.Maharan may refer to:*Maharam Ash - Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt Maharam (Hebrew: מהר"ם) is an...
. Like Attiya, he also emphasized the study of musar
Musar literature
Musar literature is the term used for didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards perfection in a methodical way.- Definition of Musar literature :...
(ethics) texts such as Mesillat Yesharim
Mesillat Yesharim
The Mesillat Yesharim is an ethical text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto . It is quite different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more philosophical....
. He distinguished himself as a teacher by his ability to gear each lesson to the level of his students.
Tzadka was characterized by his love of Torah and its sages, and his desire and alacrity to perform mitzvot
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
. He lived simply and encouraged his students to be content without luxuries.
Although he was qualified to serve as a dayan (religious judge), and was asked to join a new regional beth din founded by Rabbi Reuven Katz, Rav of Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
, Tzadka preferred to keep learning and teaching in Porat Yosef.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, when the Jordanian army captured the Old City, Tzadka supervised groups of Porat Yosef students learning in synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in the neighborhoods of Geula
Geula
Geula is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Meah Shearim on the east and the Jerusalem city center on the south.-History:Geula was established in...
, Katamon, and the Bukharim Quarter. After the war, he traveled to England for four months to raise money on behalf of a new yeshiva building, which was erected in the Geula neighborhood in the mid-1950s.
Beyond the walls of the yeshiva, Tzadka was active throughout Israel, encouraging Sephardi parents to give their children a Torah education rather than send them to secular schools. He spoke at rallies sponsored by the P'eylim organization on behalf of Torah education for new immigrants, and made the rounds on school registration days, begging parents to register their children in Torah schools. After the founding of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, he visited absorption camps
Ma'abarot
The Ma'abarot were refugee absorption camps in Israel in the 1950s. The Ma'abarot were meant to provide accommodation for the large influx of Jewish refugees and new Olim arriving to the newly independent State of Israel, replacing the less habitable immigrant camps or tent cities...
in which hundreds of thousands of Sephardi Jews ejected from Arab countries were living, urging parents not to send their children to secular schools and encouraging established communities to open Torah schools for immigrant children.
When Attiya died in May 1970, the yeshiva directors asked Tzadka to become the new rosh yeshiva. He agreed, but when he saw a new sign on the door of his classroom: "Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka, Rosh Yeshiva", he insisted that it be taken down and refused to be called by that title.
Later years
In 1984 he published the seferSefer (Hebrew)
Sefer in simple Hebrew is a word that means any kind of "book" It is derived from the same Hebrew root-word as sofer , sifriyah and safrut ....
Kol Yehuda (The Voice of Yehuda), a book of halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
incorporating his approach to all matters of life.
In his later years he suffered a series of heart attacks
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, but was able to recover and return to his teaching. Even while hospitalized, he continued his practice of rising at midnight for Tikkun Chatzot
Tikkun Chatzot
Tikkun Chatzot is a Jewish ritual of lamentation that is recited after midnight in memory of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a highly praiseworthy observance which is not universally observed. Over the past few years, there have been attempts to revive the custom of Tikkun...
and praying vasikin (the sunrise service). During one hospitalization, he was visited by Rabbi Elazar Shach
Elazar Shach
Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky...
, who found him lying in a bed in the intensive-care unit with a sefer, engrossed in Torah study
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
.
He suffered his last heart attack during the night of the Fast of Gedaliah and was taken to hospital. Two weeks later he suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
and lapsed into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. He died on 20 October 1991 (12 Cheshvan
Cheshvan
Marcheshvan , sometimes shortened to Cheshvan , is the second month of the civil year and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew...
5752) and was buried in the Sanhedria
Sanhedria
Sanhedria is a Haredi neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, Israel. It lies east of Golda Meir Street and adjacent to Ramat Eshkol, Shmuel HaNavi, Maalot Dafna and the Sanhedria cemetery....
cemetery in a family plot.
He was succeeded as rosh yeshiva by Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul. After the latter's death in 1998, Tzadka's son, Rabbi Moshe Tzadka, was named rosh yeshiva of the Geula branch of Porat Yosef Yeshiva.