Yaakov Mutzafi ( ''Ya'aqov Muṣafi''; 1899 - May 25, 1983) was a rabbi and kabbalist. The last spiritual leader of the ancient Jewish community of Iraq, he moved to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

ahead of the Jewish masses when they were finally airlifted there in 1952. An

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

, in his later years Mutzafi served as the

Av Beth Din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...

of the

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 ...

Edah HaHaredith, and

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 ...

of the Shemesh Sedaqah Synagogue 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 ...

Early life

Yaakov Mutzafi was born in

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 ...

Ottoman Iraq Ottoman Iraq () refers to the period of the history of Mesopotamia, Iraq when the region was ruled by the Ottoman Empire (1534–1920; with an interlude from 1704 to 1831 From Independence under the Mamluk dynasty (Iraq), Mamluk state of Iraq).Bef ...

, the son of Ezra Musafi and Mazzal Tob. He received an early

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

education from his grandfather, Moshe Musafi, and his primary education at

Midrash Talmud Torah ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

alongside his life-long friend and colleague Silman Mutzafi. For his secondary education, Mutzafi was enrolled at

Midrash Bet Zilkha Midrash Bet Zilkha (or Midrash Abu Menashi) was an important Bet Midrash in Baghdad which was renowned among Eastern Jewry from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Many of the great Babylonian rabbis of modern times arose from its halls, and rabbi ...

, where he received instruction from Ephraim HaCohen,

Shimon Agassi Shimon Ben Aharon Agassi (also spelled Simon Aghassi) was a Hakham and Kabbalist in Baghdad. He was known as HARASHBA, an acronym for Harav Rabbi Shimon Ben Aharon. Personal life Hakham Agassi was born in 1852. He was married to Rachel Abdall ...

Yehuda Fatiyah Yehuda Fetaya (Yehuda ben Moshe ben Yeshou`ah Fetaya; 1859–1942) was a leading Kabbalist and authored many works of Kabbalah, among which three are well known, ''Yayin haReqa`h'', ''Bet Le`hem Yehuda'' and ''Min`hat Yehuda''. Life Yehuda Fatiy ...

and

Sadqa Hussein Sadqa Hussein (; in Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzadka Chutzin''; , February 3, 1876 – February 17, 1961) was a Sephardi dayan, mohel, and spiritual leader to the Iraqi Jewish community in Iraq and Israel. He taught thousands of students in Baghdad, a ...

, the latter with whom Mutzafi would share a lifetime of collaboration. He was later in charge of his own yeshiva within Midrash Bet Zilkha, which catered to students who were materially self-supporting. Mutzafi was affiliated with Yeshivath Dorshei Torah, where he studied alongside Silman Hugi Aboudi.

Career

During the late 1930s, the British-backed

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was the Iraqi state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdom of Iraq, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World W ...

was coming under increased pressure from pro-German Arab nationalists who were constantly agitating against the royal government, with Jews and other minorities caught in the middle. The building political pressure boiled over into a bloody

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

against the Jews in Baghdad on June 1–2, 1941, which became known as the ''

farhud The () was a pogrom carried out against the Jewish population of Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq, Iraq, on 1–2 June 1941 (coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot), immediately following the British victory in the Anglo-Iraqi War. The riots oc ...

''. Over 180 Jews were killed, with many more injured in the violence. Mutzafi raced to open up the gates of Midrash Bet Zilkha to the surviving Jews who were evicted from their homes, and arranged for their upkeep via donations received from philanthropists in the community.

Move to Jerusalem

With the tumultuous years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

over, the long

history of the Jews in Iraq The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...

was entering its final phase. With the founding of the new state of

, Jewish life in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

was becoming more precarious by the day. Between 1951 and 1952, the bulk of the Iraqi Jewish community was airlifted to Israel in what became known as

Operation Ezra and Nehemiah From 1951 to 1952, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah airlifted between 120,000 and 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel via Iran and Cyprus. The massive emigration of Iraqi Jews was among the most climactic events of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim World ...

. Although he spent countless hours tending to the spiritual needs of the community, Mutzafi reasoned that there could be no viable future left for the Jews in Iraq. He had previously spent one month visiting with his former teacher Sadqa Hussein in

, and in 1950 he finally moved there. He immediately took up scholarly residence at Shemesh Sedaqah Synagogue, where he was to serve as

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

and

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 ...

, at first under the wing of his master. Upon the latter's death in 1961, Mutzafi inherited the full mantle of spiritual leadership of the transplanted community in Israel. Mutzafi could be seen, adorned in

jellabiya The jellabiya, also jalabiya, galabeya or jalamia ( / ALA-LC: ' in Sudanese Arabic, and ''Galabiya'' in Egyptian Arabic: ē-); is a loose-fitting, traditional garment from the Nile Valley. Today, it is the Clothing in Sudan, national clothin ...

and fez, giving council and administering blessings to Jews of various persuasions in the

Beit Yisrael Beit Yisrael () is a predominantly Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is located just north of Mea Shearim. The name Beit Yisrael is taken from the verse in Ezekiel , in which Ezekiel prophesies to the hills and mountains of Israel, "I ...

neighborhood.

Politics

Mutzafi served as

of the Sephardi Edah HaHaredith, an organization more closely associated with the

rabbis of the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

Old yishuv The Old Yishuv (, ''haYishuv haYashan'') were the Jewish communities of the Land of Israel during the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah waves, and the consolidation of the new Yishuv by the end of World War I. Unlike the new Yis ...

. Mutzafi shared the same beliefs as his fellows in the Edah regarding their disassociation from the

Israeli government The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government (also known as the cabinet). Legislat ...

, most notably regarding the ban on taking part in elections to the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

, even encouraging participation in

Neturei Karta Neturei Karta () is a List of Jewish anti-Zionist organizations, Jewish anti-Zionist organization that advocates Palestinian nationalism. Founded by and for Haredim and Zionism, Haredi Jews opposed to Zionism, it is primarily active in parts o ...

demonstrations.

Personal life and death

At the age of 17, Mutzafi married the daughter of Sasson Dangour, founder of Yeshivath Dorshei Torah. Mutzafi died in 1983, at the age of 83. He was buried at the

Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives () is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives had been a traditional Hebrew/Jewish burial location in antiquity. The present-day main cemetery is approximately fiv ...

Legacy

Mutzafi was a mentor to

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

Mordechai Eliyahu Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu (; March 3, 1929 – June 7, 2010, on the Hebrew calendar: 21 Adar I, 5689 - 25 Sivan, 5770),

. The

Jerusalem Municipality The Jerusalem Municipality (), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem. History British Mandate town hall (1930) Jerusalem's old town hall was bui ...

named a street in the

Ramat Shlomo Ramat Shlomo (, lit. Shlomo's or Solomon's Heights) is an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. The population, mostly ultra-Orthodox, is 21,000. Ramat Shlomo was built on land occupied by Israel since its capture from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Da ...

neighborhood in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

after Mutzafi, as did the city of

Beitar Illit Beitar Illit (; officially Betar Illit; ) is a Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, southwest of Jerusalem in the West Bank. Beitar Illit is one of Israel's largest and most rapidly ...

.Map of Beitar Illit
Hebrew

References

Bibliography

External links

Photograph of Yaakov Mutzafi
Breslev-midot.com
Kabbalists in Action: Rabbi Yaakov Mutzafi
Lecture by Rabbi Yosef Mizrahi; Youtube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mutzafi, Yaakov 1899 births 1983 deaths Rabbis from Baghdad 20th-century Iraqi rabbis 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem Sephardic Haredi rabbis in Israel Kabbalists Iraqi emigrants to Israel Anti-Zionist Haredi rabbis Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives