Posted on 04/20/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of the Kisei Rahamim Yeshiva and a leading Sephardic-haredi rabbi, passed away on Saturday, on the last day of the holiday of Passover.
Rabbi Mazuz spent much of the past month in the hospital, and his conditioned deteriorated over the past week.
He taught thousands of students in all of his yeshiva's institutions. During the 2005 Disengagement, Rabbi Mazuz participated in demonstrations and signed a ruling from the YESHA Rabbinic Council supporting soldiers who refused to obey the orders.
In 2015, politician Eli Yishai left the Shas party and created the Yachad party, which ran in the elections together with Otzma Yehudit. Rabbi Mazuz was recognized as the party's spiritual leader, but the joint party did not pass the electoral threshold.
In 2021, ahead of the elections for the 24th Knesset, Rabbi Mazuz supported the Otzma Yehudit party, but the party failed to pass the electoral threshold.
Ahead of elections for the 25th Knesset, Rabbi Mazuz expressed support for the Shas party, but continued to support Otzma Yehudit as well.
Rabbi Mazuz is the cousin of retired Supreme Court Justice Meni Mazuz.
His passing was mourned by several government figures.
UTJ MK Moshe Gafni eulogized "Together with all of Israel we mourn the passing of the great Torah giant, the saintly Rabbi Meir Mazuz. We send our condolences to the esteemed family, to his students and admirers. May you find comfort from Heaven, until the Resurrection."
Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf stated "Rabbi Mezuzah was a great man of the Torah and the world of Jewish law I our generation, he merited to raise many students and to instill the tradition of the house of his father of the Tunisian Jewry."
The Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Affairs, Meir Porush, mourned "Rabbi Mazuz was a tent of Torah in the Holy Land, the leader of the Tunisian Jewry in the world, a guide to multitudes and a luminary of the generation. He stood steadfastly for the threefold perfection – Torah, People and Land of Israel – without fear and without compromise."
"I had the privilege of a warm personal relationship with him over the years, a relationship that has continued from generation to generation. His passing is a loss to me and to the nation."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated "Together with the entire House of Israel I mourn the passing of the great Rabbi Meir Mazuz. The rabbi was one of the leaders of Sephardic Jewry and one of the great scholars of the generation. With his prodigious knowledge of Torah and with great humility he led the masses of Israel."
The Shas movement mourned "A great loss to the world of Torah and halacha. The Shas movement extends its condolences to his family, his brother and his sons, to his many students and to those who heard his teachings. May the Almighty heal the breach in His people and hasten our redemption."
Interior Minister Moshe Ariel lamented "With deep sorrow, I bid farewell to the great scholar Rabbi Meir Mazuz. In our last meeting two weeks ago, he reminisced wistfully about the days when I had the privilege of studying Torah in his home over twenty years ago. The towering figure of the rabbi will be sorely missed by the Torah scholars and his followers. May his memory be blessed."
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar eulogized Rabbi Meir Mazuz: "Rabbi Mazuz – a great rabbi of Israel, a figure of Torah, humility and Jewish fortitude. I was privileged to meet him, to be impressed by his personality and to be blessed by him personally. A clear voice of tradition and wisdom, who brought depth and rare honesty. May his memory be a blessing."