Zechariah ben Solomon-Rofe

Zechariah ha-Rofé, or "Zechariah the physician" (Hebrew acronym: = ), also known as Yiḥye al-Ṭabib, was a Yemenite Jewish scholar of the 15th-century, renowned for his authorship of the work, Midrash ha-Ḥefetz, a commentary and collection of homilies on the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch) and on the readings from the Prophets which he began to write in 1430, and concluded some years later. The work is unique in that he incorporates therein Aristotelian and Platonic philosophy translated from Greek into Arabic, along with the teachings of Maimonides (1138–1204), and the philosophical notions expressed by Abu Nasr al-Farabi (c. 870–950), whom he cites in his work.

In nearly all of Zechariah ha-Rofé's works, he makes use of homilies, agadot and edifying stories drawn from other rabbinic sources, such as from the Midrash HaGadol and the Talmud, but which, in some cases, the sources are no longer known or extant. His birth-name is given as Yiḥye b. Suleiman al-Dhamari. As with many Jewish surnames, a distant relative's profession was often applied to the family name in recognition of that ancestor and his pedigree. In Yemenite Jewish custom, the name Yiḥye is often interchanged with the Hebrew name Zechariah.

During the author's lifetime, a devastating plague afflicted the population of Yemen, between the years 1434 and 1436, in which many of its inhabitants perished. Many of these difficult words and expressions have been collected and arranged in a separate volume of Indices, published by the editor. Midrash ha-Ḥefetz also incorporates philosophical notions derived from Greek and Arab philosophers, where they were thought to be in agreement with the teachings of Israel's sages. Philosophical ideas drawn from Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed are also employed in his work. In this work, Zechariah ha-Rofé also expounds on the meaning of the accompanying verses of the Haftara, in its several sections.

Many of the hermeneutical principles used by the Sages of Israel in biblical exegesis are explained in the prologue of Midrash ha-Ḥefetz.

In some cases, Zechariah ha-Rofé deviates from the conventional explanation of biblical verses and offers novel explanations of his own. Thus, in the verse which says (Leviticus 19:18): "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" , and where "loving one's neighbour" is traditionally understood in the context of "as one's own self," meaning, whatsoever is unpleasant to one's own self, he should refrain from doing the like of which to his neighbour, here, Zechariah explains its sense as meaning that one is to look upon his neighbour's opinion as though it were his own opinion and worthy of respect, with an emphasis on "one's neighbour being equal to himself".

Other works

Zechariah ha-Rofé also compiled a medicinal work in the Judeo-Arabic script, entitled Kitāb al-Wajīz ("The abridged book"), in which he opens with the unequivocal claim that the "cupping therapy (withdrawing of blood from the body by the use of suction cups) and cauterization (the application of a hot iron to one's forehead) are the most basic essentials of the medical practice, although a person's recovery [from his ailment] is dependent solely upon God." The former was practised in Yemen by making an incision in the lower back of the neck and withdrawing blood with the aid of small horns. Kitāb al-Wajīz is divided into three primary sections: 1) The composition of the human body and its temperament, the signs of diseases and bloodletting; 2) List of different drugs, their substitutes and their effect; and 3) The list of organs and their prescription drugs. (In this last section are 40 chapters).

Nearly all of the medicinal work follows the practices prevalent in the Middle Ages, and makes use of remedies found in the works of Hippocrates (c. 460–370 BCE), of Galen (200–129 BCE) and of Maimonides. Occasionally, however, the author brings down superstitious practices (supernatural cures) as a remedy for certain ailments, such as spitting into a frog's mouth and releasing the frog in water to abort an unwanted pregnancy, or to hang the skin of a donkey or a wolf's canine tooth and its skin to a child who is disturbed by excessive fear. There is also a detailed description of charms and amulets and of their usage in affecting healing or protection.

The medicinal work, of which only two manuscripts survive, is still in manuscript form.

According to S. Schecter, other materials once comprised the work Midrash ha-Ḥefetz, such as the riddles posed by the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, although these excerpts are not found in the edition of Midrash ha-Ḥefetz published by Meir Havazelet. Schecter published his findings in a different publication, and which are now a part of the manuscript collections in the British Museum (with four copies: Or. 2351, Or. 2380, Or. 2381 and Or. 2382). The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford (see Dr. Neubauer's Catalogue, No. 2492) and the Royal Library in Berlin also possess copies of this Midrash (The Riddles of Solomon).

In Sharḥ al-Ḥibbūr (A commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah), Zechariah ha-Rofé lays down the halachic practices prevalent in Israel in his day, and notes that, with respect to the holiday of Passover, the custom in Yemen was for Jews to take-up 1 loaves of unleavened bread (matzah) whenever eating during the entire 7 days of Passover, even on a Sabbath day.

Rabbi Zechariah ha-Rofé also bequeathed a number of philosophical Questions & Responsa in Judeo-Arabic, and which have lately seen publication with a Hebrew translation.

Works Midrash ha-Ḥefetz al-Durra al-Muntakhaba ("The Choice Pearl"), being a commentary on the Midrash ha-Ḥefetz where he elucidates difficult words Kitāb al-Wajīz ("The Abridged Book"), a medicinal work A midrashic commentary on the Haftara, published in a separate volume by Yehuda Levi-Nahum in 1949 (incorporated also in the Midrash ha-Ḥefetz) A midrashic commentary on Megillat Esther, (incorporated also in the Midrash ha-Ḥefetz, where it discusses Amalek in Parashat Beshalach) A rare document of this work can be seen at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, Department of Manuscripts, in microfilm # F-44265. A commentary on Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed (composed in Judeo-Arabic, and entitled, Sharḥ ʻalei al-delāleh) A commentary on Maaseh Merkabah, found in the Book of Ezekiel, entitled Pirūsh al-Merkabah, or Sharḥ nevū’ath Yeḥezḳel.