Years: 1713–1805
Primary city: Sanaa
Rabbi Yichya Tzalach was a leading posek of the Yemenite Jewish community in the eighteenth century, known as the Maharitz for his halachic and liturgical writings. His major work, Etz Chayyim, is a comprehensive commentary on the Yemenite siddur that closely follows the rulings of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon while defending and systematizing Yemenite minhag. Through numerous responsa and communal rulings, he worked to preserve distinct Yemenite practices while selectively integrating elements of Spanish rites that had spread in Yemen.