Mourning enveloped Bnei Brak and the Sephardi and Bucharian community in particular on Wednesday morning on the news of the petira of Hagaon Rav Yisrael Pinchasi, z’tl, one of the most esteemed Gedolim in the Sephardi Torah world who was baki b’kol HaTorah kulo, including Toras Hanistar.

Rav Pinchasi, 77, served as the Rav of the Bucharian community in Bnei Brak, was the Rav of the Beis Rafael Beis Midrash and Rosh Kollel HaAri, and for many years served as the Rosh Mesivta of Yeshivas Toras Chaim.

He also was one of the founders of the Ohr Avraham and Birchas Ephraim Yeshivos for young bochurim, which he established together with his esteemed brothers, Rav Bezalel Pinchasi, Rosh Yeshivas Birchas Ephraim, Rav Levi Pinchasi, Rosh Yeshivas Ohr Avraham, and Rav Refael Pinchasi, Mazkir of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah.

He was conversant in the entire Shas, authored many sefarim on halacha, Shir HaShirim, Mishlei, and Koheles and taught Torah to hundreds of talmidim.

HaRav Pinchasi, z’tl, was born in Afghanistan and moved to Israel together with his family, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported. In his youth, he learned in Ponevezh L’Tzirim under Rosh Yeshivah HaGaon Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, z’tl, and later learned in Yeshivas Porat Yosef under the Chaver Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah Hagaon HaRav Shimon Badani.

After he married, Rav Pinchasi learned Kabbalah by the Mekubal HaGaon HaTzaddik Rav Mordechai Ben Shimon, z’tl. Later, the two founded the Kollel HaAri which was the first Kollel in Bnei Brak where avreichim could learn Kabbalah.

“All the Toras HaKabbalah in Bnei Brak Brak is in his zechus,” one of the Kollel avreichim told B’Chadrei. “His shiurim and drashos were legendary.”

Some of Rav Pinchasi’s notable talmidim at Kollel HaAri were Hamekubal Rav Dov Kook of Tiveria, Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Breda, and Hagaon Rav Nissam Peretz, z’tl,

One of the niftar’s relatives told Kikar H’Shabbos that Rav Pinchasi, z’tl, who had always enjoyed robust health, began feeling unwell on Rosh Hashanah and on Tzom Gedalia he received a postive result for the coronavirus. His condition progressively deteriorated and he was hospitalized in Ma’anyei Hayeshua, where he was sedated and ventilated and eventually passed away.

Yehi Zichro Baruch.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)