Rav Chizkiyah da Silva zt"l
הרב חזקיה בן דוד דה סילבה זצ"ל
Kislev 28 , 5459 / Kislev 29 , 5459
Rav Chizkiyah da Silva zt"l
Rav Chizkiya was born in Livorno (Leghorn, Italy) in 5419/1659, the son of Rav Dovid.
He was a talmid of Rav Shmuel Kosta of Constantinople, one of the greatest Rabbonim in Livorno.
When the Yerushalmi Shada”r (Shlucha DeRabbonon sent from Yerushalayim to fundraise) Rav Yehudah Sharaf arrived in Livorno, the young de Silva studied under him and it is speculated that perhaps he influenced the talented young Torah scholar to consider moving there to study in the famed Bais Medrash Bais Yaakov in Yerushalayim.
At age twenty he did make aliya and moved to Yerushalayim to learn Torah under Rav Moshe Galanti.
Two years later, he married the daughter of the parnas and physician Rav Refoel Mordechai Malachi, also from Livorno.
He studied day and night with a hasmoda that left no respite and almost no time to even rest or sleep. His critical eye examined and left no sage’s opinions free from critique and scrutiny. He showed no favoritism for a sage or Rav’s status or station as he sought truth, and followed the dictum of “a judge can only judge based on what he sees” (Sanhedrin 6b).
Eventually, the young talmid rose in station to become a Rebbe and teacher. Among his talmidim were: Rav Yitzchok Kohen, mechaber of Botei Kehuna, later Rav in Izmir, and Rav Shlomo Algazi II, Rav of Cairo.
He authored Pri Chodosh, a classic commentary on the Shulchon Aruch – Code of Jewish Law, and Mayim Chaim on Rambam.
After 5448, he left on a fundraising shelichus to Western Europe. He also meant to travel to Amsterdam to print his sefer Pri Chodosh. In his introduction to Pri Chodosh on Yoreh De’a, he gives thanksgiving and praise to Hashem for all the great miracles he experienced on the way, but he does not go into detail describing what happened. He also thanks members of the community, especially the Rav, Rav Yitzchok Abuhav of Amsterdam, in whose home he stayed with honor. He remained there for several years while publishing his sefer on Yoreh De’a, and in 5452 he returned home to Yerushalayim.
Although some people felt the Pri Chodosh was too critical of Rishonim, even the great Bais Yosef, mechaber of the Shulchon Aruch, to the point where they placed the sefer in cherem in Egypt, most of Klal Yisrael accepted the new sefer and its great Rav’s opinions, as can be testified by the citations of Rav Yehonoson Eibschitz and Rav Yosef Teomim in their seforim Keraisi and Pelaisi and Pri Megodim, respectively. Even in Egypt, the furor died down once Rav de Silva’s own talmid Rav Shlomo Algazi was elected Rav of Cairo and served there for forty-five years, ruling and teaching like his Rebbe.
Rav Chizkiyah was laid to rest in Yerushalayim, not far from the kever of Zecharia HaNovi.
His son Rav Dovid published the other two volumes of Pri Chodosh posthumously on Orach Chaim and Gittin.
Photo https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/features-on-jewish-world/are-gedolim-portraits-authentic/2019/01/24/?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqiN6qhPnmAhWISRUIHdul CNwQFjAGegQIAhAB