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| {{Short description|Israeli rabbi}} | |||
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| {{Infobox Jewish leader | |||
| Rabbi '''Eliyahu Yosef She'ar Yashuv Cohen''' (]: אליהו יוסף שאר ישוב כהן) is the ] ] of ], ]. He was born on 4 November 1927 (9 ] 5688 in the ]). | |||
| | honorific-prefix = Rabbi | |||
| | name = Eliyahu Yosef Sha'ar Yashuv Cohen | |||
| | image = Elections for the next Chief Rabbis in Jerusalem (FL45856958).jpg | |||
| | image_size = 200px | |||
| | caption = Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen in 1983 | |||
| | title = ] of ] | |||
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| | kohan = | |||
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| <!---------- Personal details ----------> | |||
| | birth_name = | |||
| | birth_date = {{birthdate|1927|11|4}} | |||
| | birth_place = ] | |||
| | death_date = {{dda|2016|9|5|1927|11|4}} | |||
| | death_place = ] | |||
| | buried = | |||
| | nationality = ]i | |||
| | denomination = ] | |||
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| | dynasty = | |||
| | parents = ] and Sara | |||
| | spouse = Naomi | |||
| | children = 1 | |||
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| | alma_mater = | |||
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| }} | |||
| '''Eliyahu Yosef She'ar-Yashuv Cohen''' ({{langx|he|אליהו יוסף שאר ישוב כהן}}; November 4, 1927 – September 5, 2016)<ref></ref> was the ] ] of ], Israel and the President of its rabbinical courts (1975–2011). | |||
| ] | |||
| == Biography == | |||
| According to a family tradition, She'ar Yashuv Cohen is an 18th-generation descendant in a family of rabbis and Torah scholars. His father was Rabbi ] who was known as the "] Rabbi" or the "Jerusalem Nazirite," and his mother was Sarah Etkin, among the founders of "Oman", a movement of wives in the ] that has become the ] movement. She'ar Yashuv Cohen's parents were cousins of each other. | |||
| ==Biography== | |||
| Cohen learned in Talmud Torah Geulah and afterward in the ] "Torat Yerushalayim," "]," and "Etz Hayyim." | |||
| Eliyahu Yosef She'ar-Yashuv Cohen born in ], an 18th-generation descendant in a family of rabbis and Torah scholars. The name "She'ar-Yashuv" ({{langx|he|שאר ישוב||a few will return}}) is based on the eponymous son of the prophet ] (see ] {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|7:3|1000|7:3}}). His father was Rabbi ] who was known as the "] of ]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/rabbinicveg.html|title=Rabbinic Teachings on Vegetarianism}}</ref> His mother was Sarah Etkin, among the founders of ''Omen'', a religious women's organization that became the ] movement. | |||
| Cohen attended Talmud Torah Geulah and studied at the ] "Torat Yerushalayim," "]," and "Etz Hayyim." In his youth he became close to ]. ], co-founder of ], said that Kook used to attend the ] at the Cohen home and Eliyahu would play the violin. | |||
| According to family tradition, Rabbi ] of ] hid in the house of She'ar Yashuv Cohen's grandfather after the ]. | |||
| Cohen and his sister were encouraged to become ]s, but they chose not to follow in their father's path, apart from remaining ]s. When he was growing up, Cohen's hair was not cut, he wore canvas shoes, and he followed the Nazirite practices of his father. At the age of 12,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.inn.co.il/Articles/Article.aspx/15298|title=השריד האחרון לבית הרב|date=11 September 2016 }}</ref> a special ] of Jerusalem rabbis convened in his house to release him from the Nazirite vow. Even afterwards, out of an idealism for the holiness of life, he did not eat meat including fish, nor did he drink wine. | |||
| The name "She'ar Yashuv" (Hebrew: שאר ישוב) is based on the eponymous son of the prophet ] (see ] 7:3). | |||
| Cohen was married to Dr. Naomi Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Dr. Hayyim Shimshon ], a rabbinic leader and long-time President of the ] and other national organizations, and granddaughter of the philanthropist ]. His sister Rabbanit Tzefiya, was married to Rabbi ], the ]. The Cohens had a daughter, Eliraz Kraus, six grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren. | |||
| Cohen's father encouraged She'ar Yashuv and his sister to become Nazirites like him when they were young, but they chose not to follow this path, though they are ]s. | |||
| ==Military service== | |||
| Cohen learned in Yeshivat Mercaz Harav. In his youth he became close with Rabbi ], and he remembers that Rav Kook loved him. Rabbi ], the president of ], said at a conference of the ] in 2005 that Rav Kook would enjoy a ] on Saturday nights with the Nazirite Rabbi and his son who would play violin, who was She'ar Yashuv. | |||
| In 1948, while studying at Mercaz Harav, Cohen joined Brit Hahashmona'im, a resistance movement that fought against the ]. He was also an active member of the ]. With the support of his father and the ] of Mercaz Harav, ], he led a group of youths who fought as part of the ] in the ], and helped to found the first military-religious core group that developed into a ]. | |||
| During the 1947–1949 Palestine war, Cohen defended Jerusalem and ], where he fought with ] for the ]. He accompanied convoys of soldiers to Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and also fought to defend the Gush. He was severely injured in the fighting to defend the Old City, and when the ] fell, he was captured by the ] of the ]. Together with the survivors of Gush Etzion and the defenders of the Jewish Quarter, he was taken to ] and then to the prison camp in ]. In prison, his leg was operated on, but he remained handicapped. He became one of the leaders of the POWs, and earned the respect of both British and Arab commanders in the camp. | |||
| From the day he was born, She'ar Yashuv's hair was not cut, he wore canvas shoes, and he followed the Nazirite practices of his father. At the age of 16, a special ] of Jerusalemite rabbis convened in his house to release him from the Nazirite vow. Even today, out of an idealism for the holiness of life, he does not eat meat or fish, nor does he drink wine. | |||
| Cohen served in the ] for seven years and reached the rank of '']'' (lieutenant colonel). He participated in talks with the Jordanians on returning the remains of Jews killed in Gush Etzion during the war. He also participated in an IDF delegation to the United States, and served in senior positions in the army rabbinate, including army chaplain and chief rabbi of the ]. | |||
| In 1948, when he was learning at Mercaz Harav, he was a member of the underground resistance movement, the "]" which fought against the ], and he was an active member of the ]. As a member of the Haganah, and with the support of his father and of the ] of Mercaz Harav, Rabbi ], he led a group of youths who fought as part of the ] who fought in the ], and he founded with his friends the first nucleus of a religious military force, which later developed into a ]. | |||
| Cohen volunteered to fight in the ] and served as Chaplain of the unit that crossed the ]. | |||
| During the Israeli War of Independence, Cohen defended Jerusalem and ], where he fought with ] for the ], and he accompanied the caravans of soldiers to Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and he fought to defend the Gush. When he was defending the Old City, he was injured severely in battle, and when the ] fell, he was captured by the ] of the ]. With the survivors of Gush Etzion and the defenders of the Jewish Quarter, he was taken to ] and then to the prisoners' camp in "Mifrak." In prison his leg was operated on, but he remained handicapped. He became one of the leaders of the POWs, and he earned the respect of the English and Arab commanders in the camp. | |||
| ==Political and public office== | |||
| For seven years he served in the ], and he reached the rank of liutenant commander (Hebrew: סא"ל). He participated in a discussion with the Jordanians on returning the bones of the Jews killed in Gush Etzion during the war. He participated in a delegation of the IDF to the United States, and he served senior roles in the army rabbinate, including army chaplain and the chief rabbi of the ]. | |||
| Cohen held an honorary degree in law from the law faculty of ]. He specialized in legal advice on rabbinic rulings. He researched ] and its harmonization with the laws relating to the Land of Israel. Afterwards, he served as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem in the ] (NRP) party, and continued in this role after the city was unified in the ] in 1967. | |||
| Several years after the death of ] in 1975, Cohen replaced him as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of ]. He is also President of the ] for Talmudic Research and Torah Law. He founded the ''Midrasha HaGevoha LaTorah'' ("Advanced Torah Institute") and the Ariel Institute in Jerusalem. In 1983 and 1993, he was a candidate for position of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel.<ref>, ] 1983, page 29.{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He was a senior rabbinical adviser to the ]. He was the president of the Jerusalem Lodge of ], and of the Bnai Tsion "Sons of Zion" association in Israel. He was elected twice as President of the Jewish Law Association, and three consecutive times as a member of the Board of Governors of the ]. In 1999 ] conferred upon him an honorary doctorate. When Rabbi Cohen reached the age of 80, the City Council of ] unanimously conferred upon him the title: "Honorary Citizen." | |||
| He studied ] in the law faculty of ], and he received a degree with honors. He specialized in legal advice for rabbinic judgment and received a law degree. He researched ] and its harmonization with the laws of the land. Afterward he served as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem in the ] party, and served in this role when the city was unified in the ] in 1967. | |||
| Several years ago, the Jerusalem D.A. summoned Rabbi Cohen to a hearing in connection with the alleged improper running of "Jewish Studies" courses for members of the police and other security personnel. These courses had been conducted for several years in ] under the auspices of institutes presided over by the former ], Rabbi ] and Rabbi ]. At the request of the then Chief Chaplain of the Northern Command of the Police, the Ariel Institutes of Haifa, under the presidency of Rabbi Cohen, agreed to host a parallel program for those living and serving in the northern part of the country. While the D.A. did not consider Rabbi Cohen to have been involved in the running of the program, he reprimanded him for having allowed the Ariel Institutes to grant a scholarship to the Yeshiva student son of the initiator and head of the Haifa program, labeling it as a bribe. Rabbi Cohen did not wish to go to a court of law to contend the allegation, particularly since he was already well over the mandatory age of retirement. The D.A. agreed not to press charges, on condition that the Rabbi would officially announce his retirement.<ref>Formal letter from the office of the District Attorney, Erez Padan, of the Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem District, May 1, 2011</ref><ref>Avied Glickman, The Word of the Rabbi, the Case was Closed Regarding the Allegation of Bribery against the Rabbi of Haifa, 1 May 2011, Nyet</ref><ref>The Case Was Closed Against Shear Yashuv Cohen, Kol Bo, Haifa, Supplement to Ha'Aretz, May 2, 2011.</ref> He became Chief Rabbi Emeritus. | |||
| He married Dr. ], the daughter of Rabbi Dr. Hayyim Shimshon Goldstein, who was the president of the union of rabbis of the United States, and the granddaughter of the philanthropist ]. His sister is the ] Tzafiya Goren, the wife of Rabbi ]. | |||
| ==Interfaith dialogue== | |||
| Cohen volunteered for the IDF in the ] and served as rabbi in the group that crossed the ]. | |||
| Cohen was active in ]. He was awarded Israel's Sovlanut (tolerance) award in 1991. He served as a chief of the senior council for dialogue between the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the ], and recently became Chair of the council for dialogue between Judaism and ]; he acted as an emissary of the Israel Chief Rabbinate to interfaith meetings and was on the Board of World Religious Leaders for ].<ref></ref> | |||
| From 1975, after the death of Rabbi ], Cohen has served as the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of ]. He serves as the president of the ] for investigating Talmud and Torah law. He founded the ''Midrasha HaGevoha LaTorah'' ("High Institute for Torah"). He founded the ] in Jerusalem and still heads them as of 2008. In 1983 and 1993 he was a candidate for the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel but gained relatively few votes.<ref>] 1983, page 29.</ref> He is an elder adviser among the ]. | |||
| In October 2008, Rabbi Cohen was invited by ], to lecture before the International Catholic Church ] in ], that is the supreme body of the ] Church, where he presented the ] view of the place of the ] (]) in the Jewish religion and liturgy. He used the occasion to oppose plans to beatify Pope ].<ref></ref> | |||
| Rabbi Cohen won the ] in 1991. He is the president of the "Sons of Zion" union (?), a member of the "group of trusted people" of ]. | |||
| On January 28, 2009, the ] broke off official ties with the Vatican indefinitely in protest over the Pope's decision to lift the excommunication of controversial bishop ], a member of the ]. Shear Yashuv Cohen, chairman of the Rabbinate's commission, told The Jerusalem Post that he expected Williamson to publicly retract his statements before meetings could be renewed.<ref></ref> | |||
| He serves as a chief of the upper council for dialogue between the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the ], and recently also the chief of a council for dialogue between Judaism and ] and an emissary of the Chief Rabbinate for interfaith meetings. | |||
| Cohen later reconciled with Pope Benedict in March 2009.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3685603,00.html | title=Rabbis meet with pope to smooth interfaith tensions | date=March 12, 2009 | work=] | accessdate=2014-03-20| last1=Nahshoni | first1=Kobi }}</ref> | |||
| ==In newspapers== | |||
| Cohen led the Jewish delegation of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to the ninth meeting of the Commission for Dialogue between Jews and Catholics in Rome from January 17–20, 2010. He also chaired the Jewish delegation in the 11th Bilateral Commission meeting in March 2012.<ref>http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/28999.php?index=28999&lang=en{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> | |||
| In 2002, it was reported in newspapers that Rabbi Cohen and his wife requested to destroy their house which they share with the ] on Horeb Street in Haifa, on the edge of ] neighborhood, and to build an apartment building in its place. The plan to destroy the house, which was built in 1936, was strongly opposed by the Group for Preserving Nature (''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva'') and the [[Council for Preserving Buildings (''HaMo'etza LeShimur Mivnim'') despite the fact that the house is not designated for preservation. | |||
| ==His opinion on the future of Israel== | |||
| Some people believe that Rabbi Cohen's opinion regarding the evacuation of settlements, and refusal to follow orders to evacuate such settlements, is unclear because in an article he published in ] (March 2005), he sought a solution to keep the Jewish settlements despite ]. He wrote: | |||
| ==Views and opinions == | |||
| In an article in ] (March 2005), he wrote: | |||
| <blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| The |
The State of Israel is dear and beloved to me as the first flowering of our redemption . Especially for this reason, I cannot avoid... expressing my clear position that the "State of Israel" is not the supreme value in our lives, in terms of being a goal unto itself. There are more important demands that take priority over this, since surely everyone who seeks to be in the State of Israel aims to protect them and guard them... </blockquote> | ||
| </blockquote> | |||
| Cohen continues with an appeal to then-prime minister ]: | |||
| The point of emphasis in the passage above, they say, is that in contrast to Rabbi ] as interpreted by Rabbi ], the state and its institutions, including the ], are not holy by themselves. | |||
| Rabbi Cohen continues and recommends to then-prime minister ]: | |||
| <blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| It is asked: Why uproot the settlements? Why can they not exist in a Palestinian state...and continue to observe all the commandments of inhabiting the Holy Land, as our fathers and forefathers did throughout the generations...? | It is asked: Why uproot the settlements? Why can they not exist in a Palestinian state... and continue to observe all the commandments of inhabiting the Holy Land, as our fathers and forefathers did throughout the generations...? | ||
| </blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| During the evacuation of ], Cohen strongly criticized the government of Israel: "Whoever uproots Jewish settlements in the land of Israel and God forbid will even cause destruction of synagogues and uprooting graves, will not be cleansed in this world nor in the afterlife... this is the highest form of evil and cruelty..."<ref></ref> | |||
| Aside from this, some people believe that Rabbi Cohen's position is unclear regarding the value of following orders versus the value of inhabiting the Holy Land, and his name does not appear in a . Harel Cohen, his student who maintains his archives, explains that it is unconscionable to follow an order to chase a Jew out of his home or to destroy the home, but one must be careful not to damage the IDF. | |||
| He later added, "I cannot consider an act more cruel and more evil than what the government of Israel did this week in Gush Katif, like this with one hand. The act of demolition of a synagogue is something that is unheard of among nations of the world... There is no sin greater than this."<ref></ref> | |||
| A lecture by Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen on the evening before the disengagement plan was executed in 2005.]</ref> | |||
| In an interview with ] newspaper, he said: | |||
| He later added, "I cannot consider an act more cruel and more evil than what the government of Israel did this week in Gush Katif, like this with one hand. The very destruction<!--not sure how to translate this word--> to a synagogue is something that is unheard of among nations of the world... There is no sin greater than this."<ref>[http://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/video/ViewVideo.asp?id=4974 A lecture by Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen during the execution of the disengagement plan.</ref> | |||
| The religious precept to settle the Land of Israel is one that stands by itself, even in the absence of the State of Israel and Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. We upheld the precept to settle the land even when the Turks and the British ruled the land. Why can we not continue to live there even when the State of Israel withdraws its sovereignty from the soil? <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jafi.org.il/education/actual/conflict/disengagement/mizrahi.html |title=Engaging Disengagement |accessdate=2009-02-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202080523/http://www.jafi.org.il/education/actual/conflict/disengagement/mizrahi.html |archivedate=2008-12-02 }}</ref> | |||
| I hear the voices. I dwell among the people. People are finding it difficult to swallow the new reality. When the government of Israel raises its hand to uproot Jewish settlements from the Land of Israel, it loses by its own actions the whole purpose and point of the state's existence. It is impossible to ignore this. The state is an instrument of holiness, not holiness itself, an instrument of a precept, not a precept. Even Rabbi Soloveitchik wrote that he would not lend a hand to unreserved subjugation to the state. That is idolatry. When the state behaves like a state of all of its residents, and not as a Jewish state, the attitude changes. I respect it as I do any other government. The practical significance is that when we recite the prayer for the government, we should pray that it should CONTINUE to be "the first flower of our redemption." Day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jafi.org.il/education/actual/conflict/disengagement/mizrahi.html |title=Engaging Disengagement |accessdate=2009-02-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202080523/http://www.jafi.org.il/education/actual/conflict/disengagement/mizrahi.html |archivedate=2008-12-02 }}</ref> | |||
| In 2006, Cohen wrote articles for the monthly magazine "''Kumi Ori''" ("Rise and shine"; based on a verse in the ]) of the ] which identifies with the hard line taken by students of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, who believe that the state of Israel is holy, but its institutions are not holy if they act against the Torah. | |||
| ==Published works == | |||
| ==Books and publications by Rabbi Cohen (Hebrew)== | |||
| * '''חקרי הלכה''' - קובץ תשובות, פסקים וקונטרסי הלכה דברים שכתב, חיבר ופרסם במשך שנות כהונתו ברבנות העיר |
* '''חקרי הלכה''' - קובץ תשובות, פסקים וקונטרסי הלכה דברים שכתב, חיבר ופרסם במשך שנות כהונתו ברבנות העיר חיפה | ||
| * '''שי כהן''' - שעורים, תשובות, ברורים וחקרי הלכה, הארות במשפט התורה |
* '''שי כהן''' - שעורים, תשובות, ברורים וחקרי הלכה, הארות במשפט התורה ובמחשבת ישראל | ||
| * '''משנת הנזיר''' - עיקרי משנתו ותולדות חייו של הרב דוד כהן (אביו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן), מתוך יומניו, עם מבואות ופרקי זכרונות | |||
| ===Publications to honor his deceased parents (Hebrew)=== | |||
| * '''משנת הנזיר''' - עיקרי משנתו ותולדות חייו של הרב ] (אביו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן), מתוך יומניו, עם מבואות ופרקי זכרונות | |||
| * '''בסתר המדרגה''' - דברים מתוך משנת מרן נזיר אלקים הרב דוד כהן ומבואות לשיטתו | * '''בסתר המדרגה''' - דברים מתוך משנת מרן נזיר אלקים הרב דוד כהן ומבואות לשיטתו | ||
| * '''יונתי בחגוי הסלע''' - חיבור שחיבר לעילוי נשמת אמו, הרבנית שרה כהן | * '''יונתי בחגוי הסלע''' - חיבור שחיבר לעילוי נשמת אמו, הרבנית שרה כהן | ||
| * '''שלשה שותפים''' - להארת דמותם של: רבו הרב |
* '''שלשה שותפים''' - להארת דמותם של: רבו הרב אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק, אביו הנזיר הרב דוד כהן ואמו הרבנית שרה כהן | ||
| ==See also== | |||
| ==External links (Hebrew)== | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| ==External links == | |||
| * - שיעורי וידאו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן מתעדכנים מדי שבוע | * - שיעורי וידאו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן מתעדכנים מדי שבוע | ||
| * | * | ||
| * "", כתבה על הרב בעיתון "בשבע" גיליון מס' 205 (כ"ג במנחם-אב ה'תשס"ו, 17 באוגוסט 2006). | |||
| ==Further reading (Hebrew)== | |||
| * "", כתבה על הרב בעיתון "]" גיליון מס' 205 (כ"ג במנחם-אב ה'תשס"ו, ] ]). | |||
| * מאיר ושרה אהרוני, '''אישים ומעשים בחיפה והסביבה''', ינואר 1993. | * מאיר ושרה אהרוני, '''אישים ומעשים בחיפה והסביבה''', ינואר 1993. | ||
| {{Chief Rabbinate of Israel}} | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| * This article was translated from the ] in March 2008. | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, She'ar Yashuv}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 00:09, 1 November 2024
Israeli rabbi| RabbiEliyahu Yosef Sha'ar Yashuv Cohen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen in 1983 | |
| Title | Chief Rabbi of Haifa |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1927-11-04)November 4, 1927 Jerusalem |
| Died | September 5, 2016(2016-09-05) (aged 88) Haifa |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Spouse | Naomi |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Rabbi David Cohen and Sara |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox Judaism |
Eliyahu Yosef She'ar-Yashuv Cohen (Hebrew: אליהו יוסף שאר ישוב כהן; November 4, 1927 – September 5, 2016) was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel and the President of its rabbinical courts (1975–2011).
Biography
Eliyahu Yosef She'ar-Yashuv Cohen born in Jerusalem, an 18th-generation descendant in a family of rabbis and Torah scholars. The name "She'ar-Yashuv" (Hebrew: שאר ישוב, lit. 'a few will return') is based on the eponymous son of the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 7:3). His father was Rabbi David Cohen who was known as the "Nazir of Jerusalem." His mother was Sarah Etkin, among the founders of Omen, a religious women's organization that became the Emunah movement.
Cohen attended Talmud Torah Geulah and studied at the yeshivot "Torat Yerushalayim," "Mercaz Harav," and "Etz Hayyim." In his youth he became close to Abraham Isaac Kook. Yeshayahu Hadari, co-founder of Yeshivat Hakotel, said that Kook used to attend the melaveh malkah at the Cohen home and Eliyahu would play the violin.
Cohen and his sister were encouraged to become Nazirites, but they chose not to follow in their father's path, apart from remaining vegetarians. When he was growing up, Cohen's hair was not cut, he wore canvas shoes, and he followed the Nazirite practices of his father. At the age of 12, a special Beit Din of Jerusalem rabbis convened in his house to release him from the Nazirite vow. Even afterwards, out of an idealism for the holiness of life, he did not eat meat including fish, nor did he drink wine.
Cohen was married to Dr. Naomi Cohen, daughter of Rabbi Dr. Hayyim Shimshon Herbert S. Goldstein, a rabbinic leader and long-time President of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and other national organizations, and granddaughter of the philanthropist Harry Fischel. His sister Rabbanit Tzefiya, was married to Rabbi Shlomo Goren, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. The Cohens had a daughter, Eliraz Kraus, six grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
Military service
In 1948, while studying at Mercaz Harav, Cohen joined Brit Hahashmona'im, a resistance movement that fought against the British mandate. He was also an active member of the Haganah. With the support of his father and the Rosh Yeshiva of Mercaz Harav, Tzvi Yehuda Kook, he led a group of youths who fought as part of the Hish in the 1947–1949 Palestine war, and helped to found the first military-religious core group that developed into a Yeshivat Hesder.
During the 1947–1949 Palestine war, Cohen defended Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, where he fought with Etzel for the Old City of Jerusalem. He accompanied convoys of soldiers to Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, and also fought to defend the Gush. He was severely injured in the fighting to defend the Old City, and when the Jewish Quarter fell, he was captured by the Arab Legion of the Jordanian Army. Together with the survivors of Gush Etzion and the defenders of the Jewish Quarter, he was taken to Amman and then to the prison camp in Mafraq. In prison, his leg was operated on, but he remained handicapped. He became one of the leaders of the POWs, and earned the respect of both British and Arab commanders in the camp.
Cohen served in the IDF for seven years and reached the rank of Sgan Aluf (lieutenant colonel). He participated in talks with the Jordanians on returning the remains of Jews killed in Gush Etzion during the war. He also participated in an IDF delegation to the United States, and served in senior positions in the army rabbinate, including army chaplain and chief rabbi of the Israeli Air Force.
Cohen volunteered to fight in the Yom Kippur War and served as Chaplain of the unit that crossed the Suez Canal.
Political and public office
Cohen held an honorary degree in law from the law faculty of Hebrew University. He specialized in legal advice on rabbinic rulings. He researched Israeli law and its harmonization with the laws relating to the Land of Israel. Afterwards, he served as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem in the Mafdal (NRP) party, and continued in this role after the city was unified in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Several years after the death of Yehoshua Kaniel in 1975, Cohen replaced him as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa. He is also President of the Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research and Torah Law. He founded the Midrasha HaGevoha LaTorah ("Advanced Torah Institute") and the Ariel Institute in Jerusalem. In 1983 and 1993, he was a candidate for position of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. He was a senior rabbinical adviser to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He was the president of the Jerusalem Lodge of Bnai Brith, and of the Bnai Tsion "Sons of Zion" association in Israel. He was elected twice as President of the Jewish Law Association, and three consecutive times as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa. In 1999 Bar-Ilan University conferred upon him an honorary doctorate. When Rabbi Cohen reached the age of 80, the City Council of Haifa unanimously conferred upon him the title: "Honorary Citizen."
Several years ago, the Jerusalem D.A. summoned Rabbi Cohen to a hearing in connection with the alleged improper running of "Jewish Studies" courses for members of the police and other security personnel. These courses had been conducted for several years in Jerusalem under the auspices of institutes presided over by the former Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu. At the request of the then Chief Chaplain of the Northern Command of the Police, the Ariel Institutes of Haifa, under the presidency of Rabbi Cohen, agreed to host a parallel program for those living and serving in the northern part of the country. While the D.A. did not consider Rabbi Cohen to have been involved in the running of the program, he reprimanded him for having allowed the Ariel Institutes to grant a scholarship to the Yeshiva student son of the initiator and head of the Haifa program, labeling it as a bribe. Rabbi Cohen did not wish to go to a court of law to contend the allegation, particularly since he was already well over the mandatory age of retirement. The D.A. agreed not to press charges, on condition that the Rabbi would officially announce his retirement. He became Chief Rabbi Emeritus.
Interfaith dialogue
Cohen was active in interfaith dialogue. He was awarded Israel's Sovlanut (tolerance) award in 1991. He served as a chief of the senior council for dialogue between the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Vatican, and recently became Chair of the council for dialogue between Judaism and Islam; he acted as an emissary of the Israel Chief Rabbinate to interfaith meetings and was on the Board of World Religious Leaders for The Elijah Interfaith Institute.
In October 2008, Rabbi Cohen was invited by Pope Benedict XVI, to lecture before the International Catholic Church Synod in Rome, that is the supreme body of the Catholic Church, where he presented the Jewish view of the place of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in the Jewish religion and liturgy. He used the occasion to oppose plans to beatify Pope Pius XII.
On January 28, 2009, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel broke off official ties with the Vatican indefinitely in protest over the Pope's decision to lift the excommunication of controversial bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the Society of Saint Pius X. Shear Yashuv Cohen, chairman of the Rabbinate's commission, told The Jerusalem Post that he expected Williamson to publicly retract his statements before meetings could be renewed.
Cohen later reconciled with Pope Benedict in March 2009.
Cohen led the Jewish delegation of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to the ninth meeting of the Commission for Dialogue between Jews and Catholics in Rome from January 17–20, 2010. He also chaired the Jewish delegation in the 11th Bilateral Commission meeting in March 2012.
Views and opinions
In an article in Makor Rishon (March 2005), he wrote:
The State of Israel is dear and beloved to me as the first flowering of our redemption . Especially for this reason, I cannot avoid... expressing my clear position that the "State of Israel" is not the supreme value in our lives, in terms of being a goal unto itself. There are more important demands that take priority over this, since surely everyone who seeks to be in the State of Israel aims to protect them and guard them...
Cohen continues with an appeal to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon:
It is asked: Why uproot the settlements? Why can they not exist in a Palestinian state... and continue to observe all the commandments of inhabiting the Holy Land, as our fathers and forefathers did throughout the generations...?
During the evacuation of Gush Katif, Cohen strongly criticized the government of Israel: "Whoever uproots Jewish settlements in the land of Israel and God forbid will even cause destruction of synagogues and uprooting graves, will not be cleansed in this world nor in the afterlife... this is the highest form of evil and cruelty..."
He later added, "I cannot consider an act more cruel and more evil than what the government of Israel did this week in Gush Katif, like this with one hand. The act of demolition of a synagogue is something that is unheard of among nations of the world... There is no sin greater than this."
In an interview with Haaretz newspaper, he said: The religious precept to settle the Land of Israel is one that stands by itself, even in the absence of the State of Israel and Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. We upheld the precept to settle the land even when the Turks and the British ruled the land. Why can we not continue to live there even when the State of Israel withdraws its sovereignty from the soil?
I hear the voices. I dwell among the people. People are finding it difficult to swallow the new reality. When the government of Israel raises its hand to uproot Jewish settlements from the Land of Israel, it loses by its own actions the whole purpose and point of the state's existence. It is impossible to ignore this. The state is an instrument of holiness, not holiness itself, an instrument of a precept, not a precept. Even Rabbi Soloveitchik wrote that he would not lend a hand to unreserved subjugation to the state. That is idolatry. When the state behaves like a state of all of its residents, and not as a Jewish state, the attitude changes. I respect it as I do any other government. The practical significance is that when we recite the prayer for the government, we should pray that it should CONTINUE to be "the first flower of our redemption." Day.
Published works
- חקרי הלכה - קובץ תשובות, פסקים וקונטרסי הלכה דברים שכתב, חיבר ופרסם במשך שנות כהונתו ברבנות העיר חיפה
- שי כהן - שעורים, תשובות, ברורים וחקרי הלכה, הארות במשפט התורה ובמחשבת ישראל
- משנת הנזיר - עיקרי משנתו ותולדות חייו של הרב דוד כהן (אביו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן), מתוך יומניו, עם מבואות ופרקי זכרונות
- בסתר המדרגה - דברים מתוך משנת מרן נזיר אלקים הרב דוד כהן ומבואות לשיטתו
- יונתי בחגוי הסלע - חיבור שחיבר לעילוי נשמת אמו, הרבנית שרה כהן
- שלשה שותפים - להארת דמותם של: רבו הרב אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק, אביו הנזיר הרב דוד כהן ואמו הרבנית שרה כהן
See also
References
- Rabbi She’ar Yashuv Cohen, ‘scholar and warrior,’ dies at 88
- "Rabbinic Teachings on Vegetarianism".
- "השריד האחרון לבית הרב". 11 September 2016.
- HaPardes, Iyar 1983, page 29.
- Formal letter from the office of the District Attorney, Erez Padan, of the Ministry of Justice, Jerusalem District, May 1, 2011
- Avied Glickman, The Word of the Rabbi, the Case was Closed Regarding the Allegation of Bribery against the Rabbi of Haifa, 1 May 2011, Nyet
- The Case Was Closed Against Shear Yashuv Cohen, Kol Bo, Haifa, Supplement to Ha'Aretz, May 2, 2011.
- The Elijah Interfaith Institute - Jewish Members of the Board of World Religious Leaders
- Plans to make Pius XII a saint opposed by Rabbi
- Chief Rabbinate cuts ties with Vatican
- Nahshoni, Kobi (March 12, 2009). "Rabbis meet with pope to smooth interfaith tensions". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
- http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/28999.php?index=28999&lang=en
- From a lecture by Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen on the evening before the disengagement plan was carried out in 2005.
- From a lecture by Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen during the implementation of the disengagement plan.
- "Engaging Disengagement". Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- "Engaging Disengagement". Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
External links
- "שיעורי הרב שאר ישוב כהן" - שיעורי וידאו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן מתעדכנים מדי שבוע
- שיעור בוידאו של הרב שאר ישוב כהן - ישראל ואומות העולם
- "מראה כהן", כתבה על הרב בעיתון "בשבע" גיליון מס' 205 (כ"ג במנחם-אב ה'תשס"ו, 17 באוגוסט 2006).
- מאיר ושרה אהרוני, אישים ומעשים בחיפה והסביבה, ינואר 1993.
- 1927 births
- 2016 deaths
- Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives
- Chief rabbis of cities in Israel
- Deputy mayors of Jerusalem
- Haredi rabbis in Israel
- Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
- Israel Defense Forces rabbis
- Israeli colonels
- Israeli Orthodox Jews
- Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature
- National Religious Party politicians
- People from Haifa
- Mercaz HaRav alumni