Tens of Thousands Mourn Rabbi Elyashiv

By Haaretz July 19, 2012

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

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