Yedidia Shofet (also spelled ''Shophet'', and often referred to as Hakham Yedidia; November 14, 1908 – June 24, 2005) was the former

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and the worldwide spiritual leader of

Persian Jewry Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor s ...

Early life

Yedidia Shofet was born on November 14, 1908, in

Kashan Kashan ( fa, ; Qashan; Cassan; also romanized as Kāshān) is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families. Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from ...

.Iranian Jewish leader Hacham Yedidia Shofet has died

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...

, July 01, 2005Karmel Melamed
Iranian Jewish Spiritual Icon Dies
''

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' wa ...

'', June 30, 2005 He came from a family with twelve generations of rabbis. He moved to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. His family, who has a long lineage of rabbis, are

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

from Kashan, Iran. He was fluent in several languages, including

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Kashi, Aramaic, and Hebrew.

Career

In Iran

Shofet served as the Chief Rabbi of Iran.Nessah Synagogue website: History
/ref> He became a liaison and spokesperson for Iranian Jews before the Shah, government officials, and Islamic clerics. He was instrumental in persuading the Shah and other government officials in the early 1950s to allow

Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

, who had been forced to leave Iraq, to find temporary refuge in Iran before eventually immigrating to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Rabbinic Relationships

Shofet corresponded with rabbinic authorities of his day, such as

Ovadia Hedaya Ovadia Hedaya ( he, , 24 December 1889 – 8 February 1969) was a leading Israeli rabbi. Biography Rabbi Hadaya was born in 1889 in Aleppo, Ottoman Syria, to rabbi Shalom Hedaya. In 1945, he succeeded his father as head of Yeshivat Ha ...

and

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodo ...

.Yabia Omer, vol. 11, Even HaEzer Siman 54; Mishnat Yosef issue 19, Siman 21

Post Revolution

Following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

of 1979 and the execution of

Habib Elghanian Habib (Habibollah) Elghanian ( fa, حبیب (حبیب‌الله) القانیان, 5 April 1912 – 9 May 1979) was a prominent Iranian Jewish businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the Tehran Jewish Society and acte ...

, Shofet, along with thousands of other Iranian Jews, immigrated to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. While no longer working as a liaison for Iranian Jews, he continued to serve as a symbolic religious figure, urging Iranian Jewish families to preserve their Jewish tradition. In the United States, Shofet, with his son and other community leaders, helped establish the

Nessah Synagogue The Nessah Synagogue is a Sephardic synagogue in Beverly Hills, California. History The synagogue was established in 1980 for the immigration of Persian Jews to Los Angeles County, shortly after the Iranian Revolution of 1979.Karmel MelamedIranian ...

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

Personal life

Shofet was married to Rabbanit Heshmat Shofet.Karmel Melamed
Nessah Honors Rabbanit Heshmat Shofet
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', November 16, 2009 They had four sons-- David Shofet, Mussa Shofet, Ebi Shophet, and Morad Shophet--and two daughters--Yafa Nazarzadeh and Naima Abrishami.

Death

Shofet died on June 24, 2005, in Los Angeles, California. He was ninety-six years old. He was buried at the

Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Eden Memorial Park Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 11500 Sepulveda Boulevard, Mission Hills, California, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. It is located north of the S ...

in Mission Hills, California.

Gallery

File:Chacham & President Katsav.JPG, Hakham Yedidia Shofet and Rabbi David Shofet meet with Israeli President Moshe Katsav File:Burial Ceremony.JPG, Hundreds attend the burial ceremony of Hacham Yedidia Shofet in Mission Hills, California - June 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shofet, Yedidia 1908 births 2005 deaths People from Kashan People from Beverly Hills, California Chief rabbis of Iran 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis American people of Iranian-Jewish descent Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States