Shalom Cohen (; 3 November 1930 – 22 August 2022) was an Israeli

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. He was

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

of the Old City branch of

Porat Yosef Yeshiva Porat Yosef Yeshiva () is a Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood. The name Porat Yosef means "Joseph is a fruitful tree" after the biblical verse Genesis 49:22. History Yeshivat Ohel ...

, and the spiritual leader of the

Shas Shas () is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi religious List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardic Jews, Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until ...

political party. He was a member of the party's

Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah (; lit., "Council of iseTorah Sages") is the rabbinical body that has the ultimate authority in the Israeli ultra-Orthodox Sephardic and Mizrahi Shas Party. History The council was established along with the establi ...

rabbinic council from 1984Labin, Yoel Asher. "'There Is So Much Torah Here!': My conversation with Rav Shalom Cohen and Rav David Yosef". '' Ami'', 1 April 2015, p. 124. until his death and was its oldest member.

Early life and education

Born on 3 November 1930, Shalom Cohen was one of eight children of Rabbi Efraim Hakohen, a Sephardi kabbalist, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

who had been a disciple of

Yosef Hayyim Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew: Yoseph Ḥayyim; ; or Yosef Chaim) was a leading Baghdadi ''hakham'' ( Sephardi rabbi), authority on ''halakha'' (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist. He is best known as author of ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

before immigrating to Palestine in 1924. In 1930, the year Cohen was born, his father was appointed

in the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...

. Cohen began studying at Porat Yosef Yeshiva at the age of 13, and developed a reputation for "diligence and ingenuity". He married Yael, the daughter of Rabbi Mansour Ben Shimon, a

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

kabbalist who also taught at Porat Yosef. The couple had eight children. Cohen began delivering '' shiurim'' at Porat Yosef after his wedding, and taught students for decades. He was named

of the Old City branch of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in 1966. Though his father and father-in-law were kabbalists, he himself was not.

Political activity

Cohen entered the political arena for the first time in 1984, when he agreed to Rabbi

Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef (, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew language, Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an History of the Jews in Iraq#Otoman rule, Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Jews, Sephar ...

's request to support the founding of the

party and serve on the new

rabbinic council. In April 2014, six months after Yosef's death, Cohen succeeded him as ''nasi'' (president) of the council. Cohen was an outspoken critic of

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and secular Jews in Israel. In 2013, he compared the

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

community to

Amalek Amalek (; ) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the enemy of the nation of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, or anyone who lived in their territories in Canaan, or North African descend ...

, the biblical archenemy of the Jewish people, and in 2015, he called the Israeli

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

, "

Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...

", "a stupid song". He told Israeli soldiers at a prayer rally during the

2014 Israel–Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

, "Do you think the people of Israel need an army? It is God Almighty who fights for Israel." He also expressed hard-line views on issues affecting the

community in Israel. In 2014, he decried the dire effects on Israeli Sephardi Jews of the proposed Israeli law to draft

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

students, and issued a letter in which he forbade Haredi women from undertaking post-high-school studies at academic colleges. He urged his constituency to refrain from using

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s and to strengthen their involvement in

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

Other activities

Cohen was on the board of Beis Din Tzedek Neveh Tzion, a

kosher certification agency A kosher certification agency is an organization or certifying authority that grants a '' hechsher'' (, "seal of approval") to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and facilities in which ...

founded by his brothers-in-law, Rabbi Nissim Ben Shimon and Rabbi Shlomo Ben Shimon.

Death

Cohen died in Jerusalem on 22 August 2022, at the age of 91; tens of thousands attended the funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Shalom 1930 births 2022 deaths Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah Clergy from Jerusalem Rosh yeshivas Sephardic Haredi rabbis in Israel Shas 20th-century Israeli rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis