After the meeting of election officials on Sunday, 6 Teves, regarding the upcoming election for chief rabbis of Jerusalem, it appears the dati leumi candidate for Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, will indeed emerge the successor.
After revamping the delegates empowered to vote, the chareidi sector lost a great deal of electoral representation, which Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat says now more accurately reflects the capital’s population reality, with chareidim only receiving 30% of the vote as compared to 70% for the dati leumi and non-religious sectors.
As a result, the Degel HaTorah candidate for the Ashkenazi chief rabbi will most likely not succeed, and Deputy Mayor Yitzchak Pindrus has already met with Maran Posek HaDor HaGaon HaRav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv Shlita to explain current realities. Pindrus is quoted by Kikar Shabbat as saying “The rav has instructed me to do everything possible to prevent this from happening. He was pained upon hearing of the current election outcome predictions”.
Pindrus appears to be committed to doing just that, preventing the election of Rabbi Stern, signaling he will appeal to the courts and do whatever humanly possible to halt the election. He did not explain just what his petition to the courts will be based on.
Kikar adds that Shas’ Council of Torah Sages has met to discuss the current events surrounding the election, and the rabbonim stated they are not getting involved in the race for the Ashkenazi rav – adding “let them select who they wish”.
A Shas source is quoted as saying that Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef Shlita told the rabbonim “35 years ago, when I was chief rabbi of Israel there were elections in Haifa between Rabbi Shar Yashuv Cohen and Rabbi Yaakov Rosenthal, the Haifa av beis din. I wanted to back Rabbi Rosenthal, who was more aligned with us, but Rav Elyashiv asked me not to get involved in the election of an Ashkenazi rav. That is what I did then and will do now”.
Rabbi Aryeh Stern, 67, is the head of the Halacha Brura Institute, a mora d’asra in Katamon and teaches in Merkaz HaRav.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
They are going to go to the secular courts?
Huge Talmid CHocham and Ish Shalom, will do wonders for Klal Yisroel in Yerushalayim.
Here we go again! More potential Machlokes, more discord. When will it all end? And we wonder why Moshiach han’t come!
Moshiach han’t come because the final stage of his journey to Yerushalayim will be by bus and now he cannot be guaranteed that it will be a mehadrin bus.
Avi K, of course they’re going to the secular courts. Where else could they go? Beis din?! What do you expect them to do?
What is going on here?
Religious children and their mothers are cursed, spat upon and terrorized by ‘Charedi’ thugs – and Harav Elyashiv Shlit”a is silent;
A ‘Chared’ (who was found guilty of burning a store in Mea-Shearim and of terrorizing other Charedim) is sent to jail by the Israeli authorities and ‘Charedim’ protest this by portraying their fellow Jews as Nazis and themselves as Jews in concentration camps – and Harav Elyashiv Shlit”a remains silent;
But when it appears that Harav Aryeh Stern Shlit”a (who all agree is a great Talmid Chacham and a Yere Shamaim although, alas, a Zionist) may be appointed to be one of the Chief Rabbis of Jerusalem – suddenly, we are told, Harav Elyashiv Shlit”a is pained, speaks out and gives instructions “to do everything possible to prevent this from happening” – no less.
What is going on here?
Yagel — what’s going on is that gdol hador has spoken. No further questions allowed.
Loyal Jew:
I would guess that you are not aware of what the fight over Chief Rabbi is all about.
Actually, what’s going on is that the handlers of the gdol hador have spoken — not the godol himself. You can be very, very certain that it is THEY who are saddened (VERY saddened!) by this development.
They were counting on the patronage, power, control, and $$$ that would flow their way once their candidate (R’ Y.E.) been elected. Here they were, planning for their financial futures, and poof! No gravy train. No expansion of their hashgochos.
Now, nebech, they will have to deal with a Chief Rabbi who sees his job as serving the people, rather than the other way around.
I’m crying already.