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

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

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

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 ...

. He was

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; 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, primar ...

of the

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

branch of

Porat Yosef Yeshiva Porat Yosef Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פורת יוסף) 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 Genesi ...

, and the spiritual leader of the

Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...

political party. He was a member of the party's Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah rabbinic council from 1984Labin, Yoel Asher. "'There Is So Much Torah Here!': My conversation with Rav Shalom Cohen and Rav David Yosef". ''

Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

'', 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 (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

who had been a disciple of

Yosef Hayyim Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew: Yoseph Ḥayyim; he, יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Baghdadi ''hakham'' (Sephardi rabbi), authority on ''halakha'' (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist. He is best ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

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 ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem. The Old City is traditionally divided into ...

. 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 (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

kabbalist who also taught at Porat Yosef. The couple had eight children. Cohen began delivering ''

shiurim Shiur (, , lit. ''amount'', pl. shiurim ) is a lecture on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, Halakha (Jewish law), Tanakh (Bible), etc. History The Hebrew term שיעור ("designated amount") came to refer to a portion of Ju ...

'' 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 ( 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 ...

's request to support the founding of the

party and serve on the new Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah 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 Philosoph ...

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

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...

community to

Amalek Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...

, 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 n ...

, "

Hatikvah Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) 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-o ...

", "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 ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territories, Pale ...

, "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 (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; 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 s ...

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 portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

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'' ( he, הכשר, "seal of approval") to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and faciliti ...

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 People from Jerusalem Rosh yeshivas Sephardic Haredi rabbis in Israel Shas