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

Jewish community of Iraq The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

, he moved to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

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 modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine ...

, in his later years Mutzafi served as the

Av Beth Din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...

of the

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 ), ...

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 ...

of the

Shemesh Sedaqah Synagogue Sadqa Hussein ( he, צדקה חוצין; in Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzadka Chutzin''; ar, صدقا حسين) February 3, 1876 – February 17, 1961) was a Sephardi dayan, mohel, and spiritual leader to the Iraqi Jewish community in Iraq and Israel. ...

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

Early life and marriage

Yaakov Mutzafi was born in

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 ...

Ottoman Iraq Ottoman Iraq ( ar, العراق العثماني}) refers to the period of the history of Iraq when the region was ruled by the Ottoman Empire (1534–1920; with an interlude from 1704 to 1831 of autonomy under the Mamluk dynasty of Iraq).Before ...

, the son of Ezra Mutzafi and Mazal Tov. He received an early

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "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. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

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

Midrash Talmud Torah ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

alongside his life-long friend and colleague

Silman Mutzafi Silman is a surname. People with that name include: * Benny Silman (active 1998), jailed for masterminding a point shaving scandal at Arizona State University * David Silman (born 1959), English footballer * Idit Silman (born 1980), Israeli politic ...

. 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 Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

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 ...

, and

Sadqa Hussein Sadqa Hussein ( he, צדקה חוצין; in Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzadka Chutzin''; ar, صدقا حسين) February 3, 1876 – February 17, 1961) was a Sephardi dayan, mohel, and spiritual leader to the Iraqi Jewish community in Iraq and Israel. ...

, the latter with whom Mutzafi would share a lifetime of collaboration. He was later to be the student of

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 Fati ...

. Mutzafi married the daughter of Sasson Dangour, founder of Yeshivath Dorshei Torah, where he would subsequently continue his studies alongside

Silman Hugi Aboudi Silman is a surname. People with that name include: * Benny Silman (active 1998), jailed for masterminding a point shaving scandal at Arizona State University * David Silman (born 1959), English footballer * Idit Silman (born 1980), Israeli politic ...

Final years in Iraq

During the late 1930s, the British-backed

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...

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 massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

against the Jews in Baghdad on June 1–2, 1941, which became known as the ''farhud''. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

over, the long

history of the Jews in Iraq The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

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

, Jewish life in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

was becoming more precarious by the day. 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

, where he was to serve as

hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

and

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 ...

, 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 or galabeya ( ar, جلابية / ALA-LC: ', Egyptian Arabic, Egyptian slang: Galabyia, ; "jelebeeya" in Ethiopia; "jehllubeeya" in Eritrea) is a loose-fitting, traditional Egyptian garment from the Nile Valley. Today ...

and

fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

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

Beit Yisrael Beit Yisrael ( he, בית ישראל, lit. ) is a predominantly Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is located just north of Mea Shearim on Ha-Rav Zonenfeld St 13. The name Beit Yisrael is taken from the verse in Ezekiel , in which E ...

neighborhood.

Politics

Mutzafi served as

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

rabbis of the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Old yishuv The Old Yishuv ( he, היישוב הישן, ''haYishuv haYashan'') were the Jewish communities of the southern Syrian provinces in the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah and the consolidation of the New Yishuv by the end of World ...

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

Israeli government The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...

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

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

, even encouraging participation in

Neturei Karta Neturei Karta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: , , ) is a religious group of Haredi Jews, formally created in Jerusalem, then in Mandatory Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisrael. Neturei Karta opposes Zionism and calls for a "pea ...

demonstrations.

Death

Yaakov 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. It is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century. ...

Legacy

Mutzafi was a mentor to

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

Mordechai Eliyahu Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ( he, מרדכי צמח אליהו, March 3, 1929 – June 7, 2010, on the Hebrew calendar: 21 Adar I, 5689 - 25 Siwan, 5770),

. The

Jerusalem Municipality The Jerusalem Municipality ( he, עיריית ירושלים; Iriyat yerushalayim), 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 ...

named a street in the

Ramat Shlomo Ramat Shlomo ( he, רמת שלמה, lit. Shlomo's or Solomon's Heights) is an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. The population, mostly ultra-Orthodox, is 20,000. Ramat Shlomo was built on land occupied by Israel since its capture from Jorda ...

neighborhood in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

after Mutzafi, as did the city of

Beitar Illit Beitar Illit ( he, בֵּיתָר עִלִּית; officially Betar Illit; "Illit" is pronounced "ee-leet"; ar, بيتار عيليت) is an Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, sout ...

.Map of Beitar Illit
Hebrew

References

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