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Wikipedia's first sentence called it "sephardic judaism rabbi". Today it says "leading baghdadi hakham". We saved the article's opening at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and every claim links the exact revision.

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The opening as it read in 2005

Ben Ish Chai , "Son [of] Man [who] Lives", (actual Hebrew name Yosef Chaim ) was a Sephardic Judaism rabbi ( chacham ) and Kabbalist who lived in Baghdad from 1832 to 1909 . He is best known by the name of the work of Halakha (Jewish law) that he authored by the title Ben Ish Chai . Chaim succeeded his father as rabbi of Baghdad at age 25, on his father's death and became widely accepted as an authority on Jewish law throughout the Middle East . The Ben Ish Chai is considered by some, to be the " Sephardi Kitzur Shulchan Aruch " - it is the standard reference in Sephardi homes and is used in Sephardi eshivot . Due to the popularity of this book, Chaim came to be known as " The Ben Ish Chai", by which he is referred to universally today within Judaism . The book is a collection of homilies he gave over two years along with the weekly Torah portion. Each chapter begins with a mystical portion, usually explaining how a Kabbalistic interpretation of a certain verse relates to a particular halakha and then continuing to expound on that halakha with definitive rulings. Chaim is also the author of Responsa (in Hebrew : Sheelot U-Teshuvot ) known as the Rav Pe'alim and Torah Lishmah . He arranged a siddur (Jewish prayerbook) that is widely used by Sephardic Jews. His commentary on the Talmud , Ben Yehoyada , is considered by many scholars of Judaism to be second only to the Maharsha as a resource in understanding the Aggada (narrative sections of the Talmud). He wrote an esoteric exposition of Jewish law in MeKabtziel which he refers to in Ben Ish Chai for more detailed explanations of his reasoning for certain decisions (see 2 Samuel 23:20 ) The most respected Sephardic yeshiva , Ben Porat Yosef, was founded in Jerusalem by one of Rabbi Chaim's patrons at the rabbi's insistance.¹

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The opening as it stood in 2010 11 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, author of Ben Ish Hai Yosef Chaim (1 September 1832 – 30 August 1909) ( Hebrew : יוסף חיים מבגדאד ) was a leading Hakham ( Sephardic Rabbi ), authority on Jewish law ( Halakha ) and Master Kabbalist . He is best known as author of the work on Halakha Ben Ish Chai (בן איש חי) ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), by which title he is also known.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370112719.

The opening as it stood in 2015

( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, author of Ben Ish Hai Yosef Chaim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew : Yoseph Ḥayyim ; Hebrew : יוסף חיים מבגדאד ) was a leading hakham ( Sephardi Rabbi ), authority on halakha (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist . He is best known as author of the work on Halakha Ben Ish Ḥai (בן איש חי) ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), a collection of the laws of everyday life interspersed with mystical insights and customs, addressed to the masses and arranged by the weekly Torah portion.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 660656883.

The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew : Yoseph Ḥayyim ; ) was a leading Baghdadi hakham ( Sephardi rabbi ), authority on halakha (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist . He is best known as author of the work on halakha Ben Ish Ḥai ( ) ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), a collection of the laws of everyday life interspersed with mystical insights and customs, addressed to the masses and arranged by the weekly Torah portion.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964012020.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

Kabbalist and Iraqi rabbi Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew : Yoseph Ḥayyim ; ) was a leading Baghdadi hakham ( Sephardi rabbi ), authority on halakha (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist . He is best known as author of the work on halakha Ben Ish Ḥai ( בן איש חי ‎) ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), a collection of the laws of everyday life interspersed with mystical insights and customs, addressed to the masses and arranged by the weekly Torah portion.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1168488686.

The opening as it stood in 2025

Kabbalist and Iraqi rabbi Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew : Yoseph Ḥayyim ; Hebrew : יוסף חיים מבגדאד ; or Yosef Chaim ) was a leading Baghdadi hakham ( Sephardi rabbi ), authority on halakha (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist . He is best known as author of the work on halakha Ben Ish Ḥai ( בן איש חי ‎) ("Son of Man (who) Lives"), a collection of the laws of everyday life interspersed with mystical insights and customs, addressed to the masses and arranged by the weekly Torah portion.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1298037349. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

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