If I Forget Thee (The Ben Ish Hai Anthology)

HACHAM YOSEF HAYYIM of Baghdad (1833-1909) was one ofthe most brilliant and prolific Sefardic sages of his time. Best known for his halachic work, the Ben Ish Hai, he wrote over seventy books on all areas of Torah study, from response to mussar to Kabbalah. He was the undisputed leader of Sefardic Jewry, and his work remains one of the major influences on the Torah world today. THE BEN ISH HAI ANTHOLOGY offers a select translation of Otzrot Hayyim, a thirty five volume encyclopedia of the writings of H. Yosef Hayyim, published by Yeshivat Ahavat Shalom of Jerusalem. Each volume of Otzrot Hayyim is a collection of the Ben Ish Hal's teachings on a specific topic, such as Torah, Prayer, Repentance, and the Jewish Holidays. in the BEN ISH HAI ANTHOLOGY, these teachings have been made available to the English speaking public for the first time. In this volume, IF I FORGET THEE, the Ben Ish Hal looks at Jerusalem and the Holy Land, their unique spiritual qualifies, and the reason for the special place they hold in the hearts of the Jewish people. He visits the Holy Temple and explains the meaning of its kohanim and levi’im, its sacrifices and incense, its vessels and vestments, its glory and destruction. And he leaves us with a message of hope as we await the building of the Third Temple,may it be speedily in our days.