Yosef Shalom Eliashiv

Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף שָׁלוֹם אֶלְיָשִׁיב‎; April 10, 1910 – July 18, 2012) was a Haredi rabbi and posek (arbiter of Jewish law) who lived in Jerusalem, Israel. Until his death at the age of 102, Rabbi Elyashiv was the paramount leader of both Israel and the Diaspora Lithuanian-Haredi community, and many Ashkenazi Jews regarded him as the posek ha-dor, the contemporary leading authority on halakha, or Jewish law.

He spent most of his days engaged in Talmudical study, and delivered lectures in Talmud and Shulkhan Arukh at a local synagogue in the Meah Shearim area in Jerusalem where he lived. He received supplicants from all over the world and answered the most complex Halakhic inquiries.

Rabbi Elyashiv was the son of Rabbi Avraham Elyashiv (Erener) of Gomel, Belarus, and Chaya Musha, daughter of the kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv (d. 1925) of Šiauliai, Lithuania. Born in 1910 at Šiauliai, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv arrived with his parents in Mandatory Palestine in 1922 aged 12. He was an only child, born to his parents after 17 years of marriage. Originally his father's surname was Erener, but his father adopted his father-in-law's surname in order to gain a certificate to enter the British Mandate of Palestine.

At the suggestion of Chief Rabbi of Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook, Yosef Shalom married Sheina Chaya (d. June 19, 1994), a daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Levin. The couple had five sons and seven daughters. Six of their daughters married significant rabbinic figures. One son died of illness as a child, and one daughter was killed in 1948 by Jordanian shelling.

In February 2012 the 101-year-old rabbi was admitted into the cardiac intensive care unit of the Jesselson Heart Center at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center under the supervision of cardiology branch head Dan Tzivoni and his personal physician. He was admitted due to an acute condition of edema of the lungs and congestion in the heart. He died on July 18, 2012, and was buried on Har HaMenuchot after a late-night funeral procession that attracted an estimated 250,000 people.

At the time of his death, he had nearly a thousand descendants. In 2009 he saw the beginning of a sixth generation, as a grandson was born to one of his great-grandchildren.

Rav Elyashiv was the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party which has representatives in the Knesset (Israel's parliament). He held great influence over the policies of the party, currently part of the umbrella United Torah Judaism list in the Knesset. Degel HaTorah abided by all his rulings and instructions. In 1989, upon the establishment of the religious political party Degel HaTorah, Elazar Shach asked Rabbi Elyashiv to join in the public leadership, and he acceded to his request. He came to the major public gatherings of Degel HaTorah and shared in the task of rendering decisions. Most rosh yeshivas ("yeshiva deans") associated with the Agudath Israel of America movement frequently sought out his opinions and followed his advice and guidelines concerning a wide array of policy and communal issues affecting the welfare of Orthodox Judaism. Rabbi Elyashiv held no official title, neither as head of a congregation, yeshiva, or particular community.

The Halakhic rulings and sermonic insights of Rav Elyashiv have been recorded in several books. The 4 volume Kovetz Teshuvos contains responsa resulting from questions asked of him over many years. Many of his ethical and sermonic comments on the Torah, most dating from the 1950s, were collected and published as Divrei Aggadah. A Haggadah for Pesach including his comments and Halachic rulings was recently printed. Another work that includes his Halakhic rulings is titled "Yashiv Moshe." His Talmudic insights were printed in the 18 volume series of Haoros and more recently Shiurei Maran Hagrish Elyashiv on Tractate Berachot and the following books: "pniney tefila"' "pniney chanuka" and "pniney nisuin" was published. These works were not written by Rabbi Elyashiv, but compiled by his relatives and students.