Ben Haim
At age 11 Ben Haim entered Porat Yosef Yeshiva, where he was a member of the so-called "wonder class" of students who went on to become noted Torah scholars and leaders in the Sephardi Jewish world. His classmates included Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul, Rabbi Yehuda Moallem, Rabbi Zion Levy, and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Ben Haim was especially close to Yosef, who was his "chavruta" (study partner) from a young age and with whom he spent up to 15 hours a day engaged in Torah study.