Rabbi Yaakov Mutzafi | |
|---|---|
יעקב מוצפי | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Ya'aqob Musafi 1899 (1899) |
| Died | May 25, 1983(1983-05-25) (aged 83–84) Jerusalem, Israel |
| Buried | Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Midrash Bet Zilkha |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Sadqa Hussein |
| Position | Rabbi |
| Synagogue | Shemesh Sedaqah Synagogue |
| Position | Rosh yeshiva |
| Position | Av Beth Din |
| Organisation | SephardiEdah HaHaredith |
| Began | 1961 |
| Ended | 1983 |
| Yahrtzeit | 13Siwan, 5743 |
Yaakov Mutzafi (Hebrew:יעקב מוצפיYa'aqov Muṣafi; 1899 – May 25, 1983) was a rabbi andkabbalist. The last spiritual leader of the ancientJewish community of Iraq, he moved toIsrael ahead of the Jewish masses when they were finallyairlifted there in 1952.
Ananti-Zionist, in his later years Mutzafi served as theAv Beth Din of theSephardiEdah HaHaredith, andrabbi of theShemesh Sedaqah Synagogue inJerusalem.
Yaakov Mutzafi was born inBaghdad,Ottoman Iraq, the son of Ezra Musafi and Mazzal Tob. He received an earlyTorah education from his grandfather, Moshe Musafi, and his primary education atMidrash Talmud Torah [he] alongside his life-long friend and colleagueSilman Mutzafi [he]. For his secondary education, Mutzafi was enrolled atMidrash Bet Zilkha,[1] where he received instruction fromEphraim Cohen [he],Shimon Agassi,Yehuda Fatiyah andSadqa Hussein, 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.[2] Mutzafi was affiliated with Yeshivath Dorshei Torah, where he studied alongsideSilman Hugi Aboudi [he].[3]
During the late 1930s, the British-backedKingdom of Iraq 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 bloodypogrom against the Jews in Baghdad on June 1–2, 1941, which became known as thefarhud. 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.[4]
With the tumultuous years ofWorld War II over, the longhistory of the Jews in Iraq was entering its final phase. With the founding of the new state ofIsrael, Jewish life in theArab world 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 asOperation Ezra and Nehemiah.[5]
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 inJerusalem, and in 1950 he finally moved there. He immediately took up scholarly residence atShemesh Sedaqah Synagogue, where he was to serve ashazzan androsh yeshiva, 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 injellabiya andfez, giving council and administering blessings to Jews of various persuasions in theBeit Yisrael neighborhood.
Mutzafi served asAv Beth Din of the SephardiEdah HaHaredith, an organization more closely associated with theanti-Zionist rabbis of theAshkenaziOld yishuv. Mutzafi shared the same beliefs as his fellows in the Edah regarding their disassociation from theIsraeli government, most notably regarding the ban on taking part in elections to theKnesset,[6] even encouraging participation inNeturei Karta demonstrations.
At the age of 17, Mutzafi married the daughter of Sasson Dangour, founder of Yeshivath Dorshei Torah.[7] Mutzafi died in 1983, at the age of 83. He was buried at theMount of Olives Jewish Cemetery.[8]
Mutzafi was a mentor toRishon LeZionMordechai Eliyahu.[9]TheJerusalem Municipality named a street in theRamat Shlomo neighborhood inEast Jerusalem after Mutzafi,[10] as did the city ofBeitar Illit.[11]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
