Born in 1696 in Salé, Morocco. His father Rav Moshe ben Attar named him after his grandfather, from whom he first learned Torah. In 1705, the family fled Salé for Meknès, where they lived in Chacham Moshe De Avila’s home. At age 11 he married Patsonia, his first wife, who was such a tzadekes she even wore a Tallis & Tefillin. He travelled across Morocco and upon reaching Fez, he was appointed as Rosh Yeshiva by Rav Shmuel Elbaz. Since he had had no children, he married Esther, the daughter of Rabbi Meir of Fez, according to some accounts the couple had several daughters, other traditions say he never had any children from either of his wives. After the Moroccon famine in 1738 he left for Algiers and then Livorno - Leghron, Italy. In Livorno he began preparing to move to Eretz Yisrael. In 1741 along with 30 of his talmidim he embarked for the Holy Land, arriving at the port of Acco, where they settled. He visited Kivrei Tzadikim and Rashbi in the Galilee and in 1742, they arrived in Yerusalayim, where he founded two yeshivot, one for niglah the “revealed” Torah and one for nistar the secrets and mysteries of Kabbalah. His seforim include Chafetz Hashem, commentaries on Gemara, Pri Toar - on the Shulchan Aruch Yore Deah and his famed magnum opus Ohr HaHaim – his commentary on the Chumash. He also authored Rishon LeZion, a commentary on the Tanach.
Rabbeinu Chaim Ben Attar passed away at the age of 47, on 15 Tammuz, 5503 (1743) and was laid to rest on Har HaZeisim.
HIS SEGULOS:
Segula To Receive Noam Kedushas Shabbos – The Pleasure And Delight Of The Sanctity Of Shabbos
When Rav Avrohom Elimelech of Karlin was in America visiting his Chassidim, he told them to form groups and study together the holy sefer, the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh, each leil shishi (Thursday night). He explained that this is a segula to receive noam kedushas Shabbos – the pleasure and delight of the sanctity of Shabbos. Afterward, when he returned to Eretz Yisrael, he confirmed that his Chassidim did indeed experience a greater, more pronounced delight and sweetness of kedushas Shabbos by learning the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh as he had instructed them. Another Tzaddik also used to say that one of the ikorim – the primary principles of Avodas Ho’Odom, serving Hashem on Shabbos Kodesh, is to study the sefer Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh. The reason he gave was that many Tzaddikim taught that the study of the Ohr HaChaim is beneficial to the soul, just like the study of the holy Zohar, and since Shabbos is called Yoma DeNishmosa – a day of the soul, studying the Ohr HaChaim is intimately bound up with the sanctity of Shabbos Kodesh. (Shivchei Ohr HaChaim)
Three Segulos - Refua, Shemira And Zera Shel Kayoma
Three Segulos – refua, shemira and zera shel kayoma The Gedolei Yisrael recommended studying the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh not only as a way to be spiritually uplifted and for success in material matters, but also for its many wondrous segulos: Once, when Rav Pinchas Koritzer’s son was sick, he ordered him to study a page of Ohr HaChaim each day as a segula for a refua sheleima. (Imrei Pinchos Shaar HaTorah #133) Rav Avrohom Elimelech of Karlin-Stolin remarked, “Dem lernen Ohr HaChaim das iz a segula zu heintige machlos – that studying the sefer Ohr HaChaim is a segula against today’s diseases.” (Pri Yesha Aharon) Rav Pinchas of Koritz said that keeping a copy of the sefer Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh in one’s home was a segula for shemira – safeguarding the home. (Imrei Pinchas, Shaar HaTorah #53) On different occasions, Tzaddikim remarked that the sefer Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh is a segula for zera shel kayoma – healthy children. The segula is to study the sefer on an ongoing basis on every Erev Shabbos, and this segula has been reported to be tried and true. There is also a segula to study on Leil HaSeder the portion of Ohr HaChaim on the pasuk in Shemos 13:8 Vehigad’ta levincha – “and you shall tell your son”, to merit having sons. (Shivchei Ohr HaChaim) Some connect this segula with the mesora that Tzaddikim said the reason the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh never had children was that he channeled all his creative efforts into his holy sefer to give birth to novel concepts, insights and chiddushim. Since all his power to produce offspring was instead channeled into his sefer, it would make sense that it contains the segula for having children. (Rav Binyomin Mendelson, GAV”D Komemiyus, in the name of Rav Simcha Bunim of Ger – Libom Shel Yisrael) Last week, after the Ohr HaChaim shiur here in Beit Shemesh, the Maggid Shiur, the son of Rav Nosson Nota Biderman of Lelov-Yerushalayim, told me how recently, two yungeleit here in Beit Shemesh, whom he knows personally, both married for several years with no children, decided to try out this segula. They accepted upon themselves to study together bechavrusa the sefer Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh every day after davening for ten minutes. After having done this for about a year, both of them where B”H blessed with healthy children – zera shel kayoma!
A Holy Mouth
The Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh in Parshas Pinchas cites an amazing Alshich HaKodosh (Tetzaveh 28:31). Since there is no greater sanctity than that of Torah, the mouth of a Torah scholar is sanctified as a keli shoreis – a vessel used in the service of the Bais HaMikdosh! This teaches us that the segula of sanctifying our mouths with Torah and avoiding forbidden speech as well as even mundane, idle chatter, sanctifies the mouth, transforming it into a vessel for Divine Service – a keli shoreis for the Bais HaMikdosh!
Segula For Teshuva
It is a segulah that you will not leave this world without having repented and done teshuva to study the Ohr HaChaim's commentary to parshas Achrei Mos - Kedoshim. (Kiymu veKiblua II, page 256 in the name of Rav Chaim Halberstam).
Segula For Yiras Shamayim
Rav Yissachar Dov of Belz would tell all the young chassanim, the newly engaged young men, to study the comments of the Ohr HaChaim on VaYikra (18:3) Kemaasay Eretz Mitzroyim."Az di vest das lernen yeden tog, vesti haben a hadracha vi azoy tzu firen nuch der chasuna — if you study this," he explained to them, "than you will know how to conduct yourselves once you are married." It is a tradition among the tzaddikim that studying the Ohr HaChaim is a segulah for yiras shomayim. (Rav Yosef Greenwald of Pupa). The commentary of the Ohr HaChaim on parshas Achrei Mos especially VaYikra (8:13) Kemaasay Eretz Mitzroyim, is a source and fountain for drawing good character traits and yiras shomayaim. (Rav Eliezer Zisha of Skulen) - (Ner Maarvi, page 213).
