Biographic note

Chacham Menachem Menashe [1892 - 12 Elul, 1968] was born in in Turkey. He learned Torah from the sages of Bursa and Istanbul, including Rabbi Shlomo-Eliezer Alfandri. In 1918, he immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled in Jerusalem's Beit Israel neighborhood with his wife and daughter. He earned his living as a blacksmith, but devoted himself to the community, opening a Torah learning and prayer center called Hevrat Ahavat Haim and excelling in righteous deeds and charity. He also authored many works. The best known one is Ahavat Haim, which includes sermons, Halachot and tales on the weekly Torah reading portions. He was the father-in-law of Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Ovadiah Yosef, z’l. [based mainly on Hyomi.org.il].