The Champion of Zion: Hakham Mordehai Eliyahu, shelita
by
Shelomo Alfassa / Israel
National News - June 18, 2008
I
wish to thank my friend Amb. Yossi Ben-Aharon for contributing
toward this essay.
Hakham
Mordehai Eliyahu has been in the recent news after suffering
major health ailments, yet, he remains strong. During this
period, where calls for public prayers in his name have
been established, some unfamiliar with him have asked, "who
is this rabbi?"
Hakham
Mordehai Eliyahu is the former Chief Sephardic Rabbi of
Israel that served from 1982 to 1993 and is a member of
the Bet Din Harabani Hagadol (Supreme Rabbinical
Court) based in Jerusalem. Hakham Eliyahu is considered
one of the leading Zionist rabbis and certainly one of the
most popular and charismatic rabbinical leaders in all of
Israel.
The
rabbi was born in the Old City of Jerusalem in British-occupied
Palestine during the dark year of 1929 when Arabs attacked,
killed and maimed over 100 Jews throughout Hebron, Jaffa,
Safed and other towns. A consequence of these sad events
was an increased growth in Jewish nationalism and intensification
of Jewish self-determination for Jews all over the holy
land. Hakham Eliyahu's upbringing was one imbibed with a
rigorous love of the land of Israel which helped him become
a staunch defender of such, first inspired by his father,
the Iraqi-born rabbi, Hakham Salman Eliyahu (1878-1940).
The elder Eliyahu was not only considered a respected rabbi
and mekubal (kabbalist) of Jerusalem, but
he also had been educated in London. As a result of his
Western education, he later served as personal secretary
of the British High Commissioner of the Palestine British
Mandate, Lord Herbert L. Samuel (1870-1963) -- the first
Jew to govern the historic land of Israel in 2,000 years.
Hakham
Mordehai Eliyahu's early religious education was conducted
by his father, who died when Eliyahu was still young. He
continued to study under the prominent Syrian-born rabbi,
Hakham Ezra Attia (1885-1970), the head of the Porat
Yosef Yeshiva in Jerusalem, as well as Askkenazi rabbis
such as Avraham Karelitz (1878-1953), author of the well
know book, 'Hazon Ish.' His commitment to the Torah
was displayed when as a youth, the young Eliyahu joined
an underground group that struggled for a Torah-directed
government in Israel and was involved in at least one attempt
at pressuring the government by means that were considered,
by some, to be illegal. Eliyahu would later graduate with
honors from the Institute of Rabbis and Religious Judges,
under the direction of (former Sephardic chief rabbi) Hakham
Yishak Nissim (1896-1981). He later was elected as the youngest
person in Israel to ever hold the post of dayan (Judge).
The
rabbi continued as a dayan in the religious court of Beer
Sheva for four years before transferring to Jerusalem where
he was elected to the Supreme Religious Court. In Beer Sheva,
people learned of his good grace and outgoing manners that
were coupled with his vast knowledge of the Torah. The general
public grew to trust him as a reliable source to solve problems
and answer intricate questions. Soon after, he was elected
as Rishon LeSion, Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel.
As with the previous Sephardic chief rabbis, Eliyahu was
inaugurated into the rabbinate in a ceremony held at the
famous Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai (Kal Grande) synagogue
in the Old City of Jerusalem. Immediately he became known
as an eminent poseq (decider) of Jewish legal issues
and his conduct added prestige to the office of the Chief
Rabbi.
In
the religious world, Hakham Eliyahu has worked for the preservation
of the tradition of his father, the Iraqi Jewish nusah
(rite) and the opinions of Hakham Yosef Hayyim, author of
the book Ben Ish Hai. Eliyahu does not desire a uniform
"Israeli Sephardi" rite based on the Shulkhan
Aruh (Code of Jewish Law), as other Sephardic rabbis
have called for. Eliyahu's opinions are his own, and they
have been elaborated in a siddur (prayer book) known as
Kol Eliyahu. He has written many books on Jewish religious
law and interpretations of the law, some which are very
popular. In his person-to-person conduct, the rabbi is often
swamped by people from all walks of life, who want to get
a blessing or seek advice. In recent years, his capacity
as a kabbalist became more public, but he has discouraged
any reference to this aspect of his Torah knowledge or practice.
As chief rabbi, he sought to give the non-religious public
a better understanding of Jewish traditions and the importance
of the Torah. He has lectured at secular communities and
kibbutzim, as well as non-religious public schools.
He also has traveled extensively throughout the world, teaching
Jewish communities the importance of fighting assimilation,
increase Shabbat observance, educating children, observing
family purity and the need to immigrate to Israel. During
his tenure as chief rabbi, Israel enjoyed a measure of peace.
Its soldiers returned from Lebanon, and Israel did not got
to war with any of its neighbors. During this time, the
U.S. Army destroyed Iraq's Arab army, one of Israel's strongest
enemies.
The
rabbi has been a much sought after expert for his knowledge
of Torah and halakha (Jewish law), and for his great
piety. His best testimonial is seen by the intense love
that people of all backgrounds have for him. Hakham Eliyahu
grew up firmly planted with a love of all Jewish people,
secular and religious, and the desire for those people to
live free-and-be free in their own land. Fearless, he has
developed into one of the most frank and honest rabbinical
leaders of Israel, a man not scared to issue statements
which reflected his passionate religious values in reference
to international political events. After the attacks by
Arab terrorists against the United States on September 11,
2001, the rabbi essentially called for President Bush to
take up arms against the Arab terrorist enemies, not just
issue empty words:
The
rabbi remains well known for his outspoken position on the
Israeli government's decision to give land away to the Palestinian
Arabs. When he stepped down from his formal position, he
became automatically the accepted rabbinic leader of the
Religious Zionist camp in Israel and abroad. He fought the
Oslo Agreements to such an extent, that the Attorney General
saw fit to warn him that as a civil servant, he could not
be perceived as supporting opposition to government policies.
He was one of the very few senior rabbinic personalities
who joined the inhabitants of Gush Qatif in a day of fasting
and prayer against their uprooting and expulsion. He could
not conceive that any Jewish government in its right mind
could undertake such a dastardly operation against Jews.
Addressing the many thousands of people in the town square
of Neve Dekalim, he exclaimed, "It cannot and will
not happen" ("Hayo lo tihye")! Since
then, he has been outspoken in his strong opposition to
the dismantling of Jewish villages in Judea and Samaria.
Outraged
after seeing the terror attacks that originated from Gaza
which killed and maimed hundreds of Israeli citizens, the
rabbi wrote a letter to President George Bush who was arriving
in Israel during January of 2008 on his first official visit.
Hakham Eliyahu desired to make sure the President was aware
of the popular public opinion which does not call for wanting
to establish a larger Palestinian self-governing area; he
said: