Mordechai Elijahu
Rav Mordechai Tzemach Elijahu ( Hebrew מרדכי אליהו; born March 3, 1929 in Jerusalem ; died June 7, 2010 ibid) was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi, Jewish scholar and Kabbalist and held the functions of the Sephardic Grand Rabbi of Israel and Be'er Sheva .
Born in Jerusalem's Old City in one of the Iraq native family (parents, Rabbi Eliyahu Saliman and Masal), he was a leading figure of the Mizrachi .
After the establishment of the state of Israel , he became a founding member of the Brit Hakana'im, a group that fought against the secular state. He was arrested and detained for a period after he was seen holding fuel on the roof of the Knesset during a Knesset vote on compulsory military service for women.
In 1960 he became a member of the rabbinical Beth Din in Beersheba and was at that time the youngest judge in Israel. At that time he was also chief rabbi of Beer Sheva for four years . After that he was a member of the highest Beth Dins in Jerusalem until his death. From 1983 to 1993 he was also the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel.
Over a hundred thousand people attended his funeral at Har Hamenuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem.
His son Shmuel Elijahu is like Mordechai and his father also an Orthodox rabbi. He is the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Safed .
Web links
- Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Passes Away , Israel National News, June 7, 2010
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Elijahu, Mordechai |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Eliyahu, Mordechai |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Israeli Grand Rabbi |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 3, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jerusalem |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 7, 2010 |
| Place of death | Jerusalem |