Rabbi Yiḥya Ṣāleḥ is widely remembered for his ardent work in preserving Yemenite Jewish customs and traditions, which he articulated so well in his many writings, but also for his adopting certain Spanish rites and liturgies that had already become popular in Yemen.
[8] Maharitz also compiled a work on Bible orthography (Hebrew vowels and trope symbols used in biblical texts) known as Ḥeleq Hadiqdūq, among other writings (see: infra).
[13] Rabbi Yiḥya Ṣāleḥ (Maharitz) seemed to have kept a low profile during the persecutions which affected the Jewish community of Sana'a in 1761, at which time twelve of the city's fourteen synagogues were demolished by order of the king, Al-Mahdi Abbas.
At the same time, writs then issuing from the king forbade Jews in the city from building their houses higher than fourteen cubits (about 7.5 meters; 24.8 feet).. Maharitz at first decided Halacha according to the position of the Shulchan Aruch, but later changed his approach in order to uphold Yemenite Jewish traditions and which were more aligned with the Halachic rulings of Maimonides (Rambam).
Still, Maharitz's endorsement of certain Halachic rulings found in the Shulchan Aruch was the cause for some Yemenite Jewish prayer-rites being cancelled altogether, and for other extraneous customs introduced by the kabbalists being added thereto.
Maharitz died on Saturday, the 28th day of the lunar month Nisan, 5565 anno mundi (1805 CE), in Ṣanʻā’, Yemen, and was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Abraham, in the post of chief judge (Av Beit-Din) and President of the court.