Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu (; March 3, 1929 June 7, 2010) was an Israeli rabbi, posek, and spiritual leader.

The son of a Jerusalem Kabbalist, in his youth, Eliyahu was active in the radical religious Jewish underground terrorist organization Brit HaKanaim. He served as a dayan in Beersheba, and in the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem. He later served as the Rishon LeZion, or Chief Rabbi of Israel, from 1983 to 1993.

As a leader of Religious Zionism, Eliyahu was instrumental in moving many of its members over to the religious right, sparking the beginnings of the Hardal movement. A supporter of Meir Kahane and Jonathan Pollard, Eliyahu expressed his opposition to the Israeli disengagement from Gaza.

Eliyahu died at age 81, after complications from a heart condition. He was buried on Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem.

Early life

Mordechai Eliyahu was born in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, the son of Iraqi Jewish rabbi Salman Eliyahu, a Jerusalem Kabbalist, and his wife Mazal, who was a sister of Yehuda Tzadka. The family surname was Hebraicised from Elias. He had an older brother, , a younger sister Rachel, and brother Shimon. Salman was a disciple of Yosef Hayyim (the Ben Ish Hai), who was Mazal's great-uncle. Later in his life, he stated that even though his opinions did not change, "The path that I chose in the past was mistaken."

Career

Eliyahu received semikhah (rabbinic ordination) from Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim.

Four years later, Eliyahu was transferred to the Jerusalem regional beth din, and later was elected to the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, In January of that year, Eliyahu stated that the 2004 tsunami was a (pre-emptive) "divine punishment" for Asian governments supporting the disengagement plan.

In March 2006, three days before the Israeli elections, Eliyahu stated that it was forbidden to vote for any political party that had backed the disengagement, and stressed that anyone who voted for Kadima was "assisting sinners". He stressed the importance of voting for a party committed to religious education and yeshivas, but urged against voting for those religious parties that had supported the disengagement, and called for members of the religious Shas party to repent for supporting the Oslo Accords.

Gaza incursions

In May 2007, Eliyahu wrote a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert which suggested "that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings". Shmuel Eliyahu explained that his father opposed a ground troop incursion into Gaza that would endanger IDF soldiers.

The Holocaust

In a 2007 radio interview, given to Haredi radio station Kol Haemet on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Eliyahu was asked what was the sin of the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. He said: "Those people were innocent, but Reform started in Germany. Those reformers of religion started in Germany, and because it is said that the wrath of God does not distinguish between the righteous and the evil ones – this was done."

Other

Eliyahu was considered somewhat controversial for his decades-long support of what some characterize as the radical right of the Religious Zionist movement. Eliyahu was a supporter of Meir Kahane, and was friendly with his family. He officiated at the marriage of Kahane's son, Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, and delivered the eulogy at Meir Kahane's funeral. Eliyahu was a long-time supporter of Jonathan Pollard, becoming his spiritual mentor while Pollard served time in U.S. prisons, having visited him there several times.

In 2008, at a service to remember the death of 8 Israeli students killed in the Mercaz HaRav massacre, Eliyahu said, "Even when we seek revenge, it is important to make one thing clear – the life of one yeshiva boy is worth more than the lives of 1,000 Arabs. The Talmud states that if gentiles rob Israel of silver, they will pay it back in gold, and all that is taken will be paid back in folds, but in cases like these, there is nothing to pay back, since as I said – the life of one yeshiva boy is worth more than the lives of 1,000 Arabs".

Eliyahu worked for the preservation of the Iraqi Jewish rite and the opinions of the Ben Ish Hai, and opposed the attempts of Ovadia Yosef to impose a uniform "Israeli Sephardi" rite based on the Shulchan Aruch and his own halakhic opinions. He published a prayer book called Qol Eliyahu, based on this stance.

Personal life

At the age of 24, Eliyahu married , the daughter of his rabbi, , the founder and rosh yeshiva of Bet Shmuel Yeshiva in Nachlaot, Jerusalem. Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Safed; , dean of Darchei Hora'ah LeRabbanim; and Merav, a daughter.

Death

Eliyahu suffered from a heart condition. On August 24, 2009, he collapsed in his home, and was rushed to the hospital while unconscious. He died on June 7, 2010, at Shaare Zedek Medical Center from complications related to his heart condition. He was 81 years old. An estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral in Jerusalem, which began at 10:00 PM on Monday, June 7, 2010. He was interred on Har HaMenuchot, adjacent to the Hida.

See also

  • Hakham Bashi

Notes

References

  • , Hebrew; Harav.org
  • Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Channel, Hebrew; Youtube.com