Rabbi Baruch Shimon Solomon, the long-time Chief Rabbi of Petach Tikvah, passed away suddenly on Friday at the age of 70. Thousands attended his funeral.
Rabbi Solomon said on Thursday he did not feel well, and again Friday morning – and then abruptly collapsed in his home. A Magen David Adom team rushed to the scene, but was forced to pronounce his death after 35 minutes of resuscitation efforts.
The deceased was a son of Rabbi David Solomon, rabbi of a Petach Tikvah neighborhood, and a grandson of Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Solomon, the last Chief Rabbi of the city of Kharkov in the Ukraine. Contrary to some rumors, he was not related to Petach Tikvah co-founder Yoel Moshe Solomon, about whom a famous Israeli folk song was written.
The late Rabbi Solomon was considered close to both the hareidi and religious-Zionist streams in Petach Tikvah. He became famous in the 1980’s for leading large demonstrations against the opening of movie theaters on the Sabbath in the city, and refused to recognize the heter mechirah wholesale sale of lands during the recent Shemittah year.
He was eulogized by rabbis and people-in-the-street as a “man who was entirely Torah,” someone who “knew how to rise above disputes and splits in the religious world,” a man of principles, truth and kindness, and a strong leader.
Tel Aviv’s Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau said, “He carried out, with honor and splendor, his three lofty positions: Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Nachalat David that he founded, the Chief Rabbi of Petach Tikvah for 30 years, and head of the Rabbinical Courts. We can only hope that he will be able to be replaced.”
It is expected that Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, Chief Rabbi of neighboring Kiryat Ono and the leading rabbi of the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel, will become Petach Tikvah’s new Chief Rabbi.