Hamudot Mitzrayim, Book 3 : 

Kingdom of Priests: Responsa of Rabbi Binjamin and Rabbi Hayim Shalom HaKohen Ma’ali

by Shmuel Glick

578 p.; hardcover / softcover; in Hebrew.

The Schocken Institute for Jewish Research – JTS, Jerusalem 2025

ISBN 978-965-456-081-8

The Hamudot Mitzráyim series contains Egyptian sages’ responsa found in manuscripts that were lost for centuries, hidden in the Cairo genizah and in libraries’ collections the world over.

“Kingdom of Priests” is published here for the first time, a critical annotated edition containing the halakhic responsa of Rabbi Benjamin HaKohen and his son, Rabbi Hayim Shalom Ma‘ali HaKohen, leading scholars of Jerusalem and Egypt in the 18th century.
The book is based on manuscripts preserved in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Günzburg Collection of the National Library of Russia, and the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Benjamin and his son Rabbi Hayim Shalom Ma‘ali HaKohen served for many years as rabbinical emissaries (shadarim) and halakhic authorities in the Jewish communities of Egypt, and their responsa manuscripts have never before been published.

The editor, Prof. Shmuel Glick, served as Director of the Schocken Institute for Jewish Research (JTS). He is a scholar and bibliographer specializing in responsa literature and has authored the following works: Kuntress Ha-Teshuvot He-hadash, a bibliographical treasury of responsa literature from the beginning of Hebrew printing until the year 2000; Kuntress al Inyan Shabbat Ha-Ḥatunah; Eshnav Le-Sifrut Ha-Teshuvot; Seride Teshuvot of the Ottoman Empire Sages in the Cambridge University Library; Seride Teshuvot of the Ottoman Empire Sages from the Cairo Genizah in the E.N. Adler Collection of the JTS Library; and the Hamudot Mitzrayim series, including Responsa of the Last Egyptian Sages from the Cairo Genizah and Responsa of Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Abas. Additionally, Prof. Glick has authored many other books specializing in Jewish customs and the history of Jewish education.