Hillel Bakis
Hillel Bakis, born in 1949 Bône (Algérie) is an author, an editor and a publisher. Author. Hillel Bakis' books deal with topics related to Judaism and Jewish traditions (exegesis and liturgy, grammar, folklore, oral literature, etc.). His writings demonstrate the will to transmit Judaism and its traditions through a pedagogy adapted for each age (fables, tales and novel, exegesis) with an interest in the grammar and rabbinic interpretation methods of the biblical text (the "toolbox" provided by the oral Torah to allow access to the written Torah). Tales, fables. Bakis has collected and rewritten tales and fables, contributing  to the identification and preservation of oral narrative traditions and Jewish folklore, particularly that of the North Africa.. Bakis's fables depict animals (including those of the fox and the wolf), as told by masters of the Talmud. Some of the tales are on the style of the One Thousand and One Nights. Others trace important facts about the life of Rabbis from past centuries and scenes of daily life in Maghreb: faith, pilgrimages, but also a wonderful atmosphere. where the miracle comes to rub shoulders with banal situations of existence "(G. Touaty 2005). Exegesis and the rabbinic methodology. Hillel  Bakis is the author of a five-volume commentary on the Pentateuch, "The Voice of Jacob (הקל קול יעקב)", which has been reported as "a great commentary, interesting and profound" (R 'H. Kahn, 2015a) and "the very high quality of his work "was noted (G. Touaty, 2011). His commentary on biblical prophets "Understand the haftara" "was equally well received (G. Touaty, 2018). These books have received "an exceptional and unanimous welcome from the rabbinical world" (L. Bibas, 2017) as evidenced, for example, by the Rav Zecharia Zermati who speaks of "master stroke" and Rav R. Y. Dufour. This commentary was  supplemented by two methodological books: one on rabbinic methods of oral Torah interpretation (2013f), and the other on grammatical foundations (2013g). With is book on the longest of 'the "Psalms " ("To read the Psalms", 2014) "the author surprises with the comment about his commentary: he approaches the grammatical side, does not hesitate to report the other commentators and to criticize them, explains the moral significance of the verses studied, and ends up giving the reader a complete idea of the texture of the verses "(Rav H. Kahn 2015b); "Hillel Bakis translated each verse ... giving a precise reading of each  word, taking into account its grammatical structure, while explaining it" (G. Touaty, 2015). Hillel Bakis extended his commentary on the Pentateuch with a series of books on the Prophets, designed to enlighten the understanding of the texts read on the synagogue services on feasts, fasts, and chabbats (2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2019, 2020). Hillel Bakis presents (2021d) a detailed inventory of units of measure (length, surface, volume, weight, monetary values, time, temperature) and currencies of the Bible and the Talmud. He quoted opinions and controversies among rabbinical decision-makers and provides many examples of the use of measures or currencies in  the halacha. Liturgy. In his methodological book on the reading of the Psalms, Bakis gives details of the cantillation of poetic books (Psalms), distinct from that of the prosodic books (Pentateuch, Prophets, etc.). In his series "Understanding the haftara", on the prophets, it specifies the customs of reading of the different communities. His study on the new-year trees (Tu bishvat), he gives details on the different customs and the complete ‘seder’ of the celebration. Novel. In his novel "The Messiah is late!" (Bakis 2000d), Hillel Bakis constructs a plot with social and technological mutations as background (Dov d'Acco 2010 ). The action begins in the year 6000 of the Jewish calendar, the last date at which the Messiah must appear. A detective goes back in the past to understand why the Messiah has not yet manifested himself. This is probably the only science-fiction novel written by a North African Jew in the twentieth century. Editor and Publisher. Hillel Bakis chairs the Institute Isaiah Bakish dedicated to a rabbi-judge of the 16th century, he founded in 1987. The main activities are book publications, conferences, website, etc.. In 1992, Hillel Bakis published manuscript fragments of a 16th-century Moroccan rabbinical  work (that of Rabbi Isaiah Bakish). He has presented, in prefaces, two books which he edited: one consists of about twenty chapters from the notes of a Jew of Tunis born in 1930 and aspiring to settle in Israel; the other one presents the medieval Judaism of the South of France. An activity report (on authors and books published between 1990 and 1997) was made available to the public.