Virus claims former chief rabbi
V RABBI ELIYAHU Bakshi-Doron, a former chief rabbi of Israel, died on Sunday, five days after testing positive for coronavirus.
The 79-year-old, who served as the country’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi between 1993 and 2003, had made a mark on the position through his strong support for interfaith dialogue.
Rabbi Joseph Dweck, senior rabbi of the S & P Sephardi Community in London said his death was “a terrible loss for all of Klal Yisrael, of great a talmid hacham [Torah scholar] and Jewish leader.”
He added that Rabbi Bakshi-Doron was a “close friend of my father-in-law, Dayan Ezra Bar Shalom and a student of my grandfather in law, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
“It is particularly painful and felt among Sephardi Jewry as he was a luminary, guide and role model to so many.
“His passing, in a sense, further distances us from a special generation of Torah scholars that is slowly disappearing and becoming the stuff of memory.”
Rabbi Bakshi-Doron drew criticism from some Strictly Orthodox rabbis when he agreed to meet Pope John Paul II during the pontiff’s visit to Israel in 2000, setting the ground for further meetings in future papal visits.
He also moved to increase the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s engagement activities with Muslim and Christian leaders in the region.
But he was criticised by progressive Jewish movements for failing to significantly change the rabbinate’s position on assimilation. He was also accused of issuing false rabbinic ordinations and received a one-year suspended prison sentence for corruption and breach of trust in 2017, a development some said had tarnished his reputation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the former chief rabbi “served as a guide to all Israeli communities, in Israel and in the world.”
“His essence was intelligence, tolerance and love for the people and the state. Rabbi Bakshi-Doron was an important link in the Torah chain of scholars of Spain. His exceptional proficiency in Israeli sources merged with his noble dimensions.”
There was also a tribute from Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue & White opposition alliance, who said: “his legacy and wisdom will continue to live on through his students and through those following in his path.”