Tens of Thousands Mourn Rabbi Elyashiv
Tens of thousands have gathered in Jerusalem on Wednesday for the funeral of renowned ultra-Orthodox leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, who died earlier in the day at the age of 102.
The funeral procession started at Elyashiv’s home in the Mea Shaarim neighborhood in Jerusalem and continued toward Har HaMenuchot.
At the instruction of the Lithuanian leader Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, yeshiva students carried out the traditional kriah, or the tearing of clothing, to indicate a sign of mourning.
Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman read Psalms, and after the Kadish prayer and slihot, the funeral procession began in the direction of Har HaMenuchot on Givat Shaul.
Rabbi Elyahvi, leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and one of the most well-known figures in the Haredi world, died at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Mourners carry the body of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in Jerusalem.Gili Cohen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
