Hayim BEN-ÂTTAR (Or ha-Hayim) - born in Salé (Morocco) in 1696, died in Jerusalem in 1743
Ben-Âttar, Arabic name: son of the perfumer, druggist or grocer
Son of Mochè, one of the greatest cabbalists in Morocco. For various reasons, he was forced to leave his hometown and settled in Fez. During this stay, he was probably named Roche Yéchiva by Rabbi Chémouèl Elbaz. Rabbenou studied Torah with him at that time. After a period of splendour, he suffered great setbacks, to which was added the famine of 1730, following which he decided to leave Morocco to go to Europe where he received the warmest welcome, he was honoured and respected everywhere. Retained by the notables of the Livorno community where he stayed from 1738 to 1742, he founded the Talmudic Academy of Livorno where he trained many students; the latter provided him with the means to publish his famous ha-Hayim Gold. In 1742 he went to Jerusalem, a goal he had always dreamed of achieving; he lived first in Acco, then in Tiberias with Rabbi Hayim Aboulâfia. Hida was one of his students. His commentary on the Torah, Or ha-Hayim, is one of the most appreciated, even among the hasidim, and appears in many editions of the Humash. This commentary accompanies the various classical editions, Miqraot Guédolot, . He is the author of numerous writings on the Talmud, legal works, including Péri Toar,, on Yorè Déâ, ...
Source: http://www.rabbinat.qc.ca/nsite/biographies.htm