A Short Tribute
Hacham Abraham Hai Shaki, son of Av Bet Din Raphael Ovadia Shaki, was born in Safed and married to Regina Esther. He was Av Bet Din in Safed. He corresponded with the sages of his day, including Hacham Yaakov Shaul Eliashar and Hacham Yitzhak Moshe Abulafia, and several of his responsa appear in their books.
Hacham Abraham Hai Shaki passed away on 14 Shevat, 5600 (1900) and was buried in a burial cave in Safed, next to his wife. His book of responsa, Sha'ar Kadim, was published after his death by his grandson, Professor Avner Hai Shaki.
A few quotes from the Rabbi on 'Love of Israel' in which he rules that a person who kills himself out of sorrow or a broken heart does not lose his place
...even the more so, if it is known that the person had a reason for which he or she sought to kill themselves and swallowed poison, that the deed may have been caused by unbearable anguish, financial distress or numerous debts. Or if it was caused by excessive hardship and he or she chose death over life. In all such cases the person is not to be judged as a suicide, having being forced to the deed by emotion and the unbearable burden of curses, nor as a renegade. The reader who pursues the matter in the RO"SH's Responsa, in the book Shamaim Rosh, Section 345, will discover that all access to the designation "suicide" has been sealed. If it was done for any reason at all, with the exception of degrading humanity, as if kicking everybody out of hate, as a very few philosophers have done out of defiance towards Heaven… But when it is done out of anguish and caused by pain, suffering and tribulation that make a person lose their mind, it is not prohibited, as can be seen by Shaul son of Kish…and in this case, this deceased person merits his place.
Sha'ar Kadim Responsa, Section 16, pp. 151 – 161. Published by The Rabbi Ovadia Shaki z"l Institute for research into Family and Family Law in Israel in Safed
