Rabbi Yosef Elyashiv, considered by many the foremost rabbinic authority in the Jewish world, died in Jerusalem July 18. He was 102.
Born in Lithuania, Elyashiv moved to Jerusalem with his family at the age of 14, where he was recognized as a budding Torah scholar.
Throughout his life Elyashiv wielded a huge influence not only among his fellow ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews but with many Sephardi Jews as well.
His rulings on every matter related to Jewish life, usually seen as extremely conservative, have shaped the way hundreds of thousands of haredim (as ultra-Orthodox Jews are often called) conduct their lives and run their communities.
Many of Elyashiv’s rulings angered secular and non-haredi Israelis because they affected the public at large.
Elyashiv was buried just hours after he died, in only a prayer shawl and not a coffin, according to Israeli custom. An estimated 250,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews attended his funeral.
(RNS)
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