Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel

Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel was born in Jerusalem, where his father, Joseph Raphael, was the chief justice of the Sephardi community of Jerusalem, as well as president of the community council. At the age of twenty he became a yeshivah teacher and also founded a yeshivah called Mahazikei Torah for Sephardi young men. ==Rabbinic career==

In 1911, Uziel was appointed Hakham Bashi of Jaffa and the district. There he worked closely with Abraham Isaac Kook, who was the spiritual leader of the Ashkenazi community. He spoke fluent Arabic, and believed in peace and harmony between the two parties. Two days before his death he dictated his will and testament. It said, inter alia, "I have kept in the forefront of my thoughts the following aims: to disseminate Torah among students, to love the Torah and its precepts, Israel and its sanctity; I have emphasized love for every man and woman of Israel and for the Jewish people as a whole, love for the Lord God of Israel, the bringing of peace between every man and woman of Israel—in body, in spirit, in speech, and in deed, in thought and in meditation, in intent and in act, at home and in the street, in village and in town; to bring genuine peace into the home of the Jew, into the whole assembly of Israel in all its classes and divisions, and between Israel and its Father in Heaven." == Worldview ==

Uziel was strongly against the isolationist outlook of segments of the Haredi community, having said "It would be unacceptable and dangerous if religious Jews were to say: 'Let us stand in a corner as though looking at the events from a distance. Let us say to ourselves: we and our families will serve the Lord.'" He made "Love truth, and peace" the motto of his life. This verse (Zechariah 8:19) hung framed above his desk and was inscribed on his note paper. == Halakhic rulings ==

Uziel issued many rulings in throughout his career. Some of these rulings include: • Converts should be accepted even if we know for certain that they will not fulfill the commandments. • Autopsies can be performed, and even as a study tool for trainee doctors. Uziel does not make a distinction between Jews and non-Jews with regards to autopsies. • Women can vote and can be elected to public office. • There is no halachic grounds for preventing a woman from serving on a Beth din, but that societal norms preclude this from happening. • Permitted birth control and abortions in cases where it may harm the mother, or in the case of mamzerut. ==Published works==

• Mishpetei Ouziel, responsa (1st ed., 3 vols., 1935–60; 2nd ed., 4 vols., 1947–64); • ''Sha'arei Ouziel (1944–46), consisting of halakhah'', general topics, and a selection of his addresses, letters, and other writings; • Mikhmannei Ouziel (1939); • Hegyonei Ouziel (1953–54), and still other works in manuscript. ==References==