Pinchas Kehati, born Pinchas Guchtman, was the author of משניות מבוארות Mishnayot Mevuarot which is a commentary and elucidation on the entire Mishnah. This work was written in Modern Hebrew. This work was translated into English and published in 1994 as The Mishnah.
Biography
Kehati was born in Volhynia, Poland. In his youth he studied in religious and religious Zionist schools. He received rabbinical ordination from the "Tachkemoni" rabbinical school in Warsaw. He made aliyah in 1936. He began studies at Hebrew University but was forced to abandon them due to financial difficulties. He initially worked as a teacher and with HaPoel HaMizrachi. Later, for many years, he worked as a teller in Bank Mizrachi. He was very involved with the Zionist youth movementBnei Akiva and published guidance booklets for them. In 1953 he was appointed to a working committee for Hapoel HaMizrachi and took responsibility for its youth division, along with his responsibilities for guiding youth for Bnei Akiva organization. He had the idea to publish a daily pamphlet with commentary on the day's Mishna being studied as part of the Mishna Yomit cycle. He originally asked several other people to write the commentary, but was dissatisfied with the results. On his wife's suggestion, Kehati began to write the commentary himself. The commentary was printed beginning in early 1955. Initially a single page was printed each day, covering two mishnayot. Later, the format switched to a weekly pamphlet covering 14 mishnayot. Initially, Kehati bore all the costs with no external funding. However, after eight months this became overwhelming and he was forced to stop. Soon external donors appeared to support the project. Work resumed, and the commentary to the entire Mishna was finished in 1963. In 1967 he was awarded the Rav Kook Prize from the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality for his commentary on the Mishna. The religious Zionist Ne'emanei Torah Va'Avodah movement has encouraged the Israeli religious schools administration to have Kehati's life studied by students in primary schools as in their opinion he would serve as a great role model for young Israeli children. The Kehati commentary has had a tremendous impact on the modern study of Mishna in Jewish communities, as his commentary has been used in many different settings. It provides detailed notes for beginners that are lucid in Hebrew and have been translated into English. By continuing to work in a bank as he composed his commentary on the Mishna, Kehati stayed true to the fundamental Bnei Akiva Zionist ideology of Torah and Avodah, or Torah and Work, which was a fundamental tenet of early religious Zionists. On the encouragement of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he began to produce a similar commentary on the Torah, but this did not succeed. Kehati also composed tunes for traditional Jewish songs. He died in 1976.
Commentary
In response to the growing demand for a commentary of the Mishna in Modern Hebrew, Kehati was sponsored by the Bnei Akiva of Bnei Brak to develop a commentary. Kehati wanted to spread Torah throughout the world, so he sought to write a clear, concise, and easy-to-read commentary and elucidation on the entire Mishnah. Between 1955 and 1964, Kehati published a weekly pamphlet which was hand-delivered to 5,000 subscribers. In each pamphlet, he explicated 14 Mishnayot, two laws from the Shulchan Aruch, two laws from the Rambam, and a selection from Tanakh. The first pamphlets contained commentaries that Kehati compiled from local yeshiva students. Frustrated at the inconsistencies in the commentary quality and approach, Kehati hired Rabbi Zvi A. Yehuda, who taught Mishna on an Israel Broadcasting Serviceradio program, to help develop a consistent approach to his commentary. Between 1956 and 1959, approximately 150 of pamphlets included attribution to his co-author. The first book-edition of the Kehati Mishna includes this attribution. Many editions have since been published after Kehati's death in 1976. Recent editions include the traditional Bartenura commentary, improving its appeal to the Haredi community. Even though Kehati was a Religious Zionist, his works can be found in many Haredi homes and synagogues.
Comparison to other commentaries
Kehati's Mishna was written in Modern Hebrew, the book cover design used a modish font and color, and it lacked decorative edge-marbling. The page layout of the Kehati commentary mimics the layout found in . Both Kehati and Petrushka were raised in Warsaw. Kehati's commentary was influenced by the clarity of the Meiri's Talmud commentary, as well as the modern approaches of Dr. Petrushka, Rabbi Zvi A. Yehuda, and Professor Hanoch Albeck whom he quotes in his commentary.
