Rabbi Elyakim Levanon
Rabbi Elyakim LevanonHillel Meir/TPS

Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Chief Rabbi of the Samaria Regional Council, was hospitalized at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem Sunday after he suffered a heart attack. He is currently in stable condition.

The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, called on the public to pray for Rabbi Levanon’s recovery. “Rabbi Levanon is one of the greatest [rabbis] of this generation. We will all pray for his complete and speedy recovery and for a quick return to his home and as spiritual leader of Samaria.”

Rabbi Levanon, 68, has also served as the rabbi of Elon Moreh in Samaria and as the Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) of the Birkat Yosef Yeshiva.

Born in 1949, he was student of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and Rabbi Avraham Shapiro in Mercaz Harav Yeshiva. He served in the IDF, and in 1982 moved to Elon Moreh to head the Kollel (yeshiva for married men). In 1986 was instated as rabbi of the community.

In 2011, Rabbi Levanon was tapped to serve as Chief Rabbi of Samaria.

He lives in Elon Moreh with his wife Esther and has seven children.