The former Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, is in serious condition and is being artificially respirated at the Intensive Care Unit in Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital.
The Rabbi's son, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Tzfat (Safed), said that his father was asked recently how the People of Israel can help him and his answer was the word “tshuva” - which refers to repentance and a return to Torah life.
The Rabbi's family asks the public to participate Monday in a special prayer session scheduled to take place at 3:45 pm at the Rabbi's study hall (beit midrash) at 17 Reiness St. in Kiryat Moshe, Jerusalem.
Rabbi Eliyahu underwent a CT scan several months ago after collapsing a day earlier in his home in Kiryat Moshe. He underwent a series of tests and treatments but his condition did not improve and it was decided to operate upon him. As part of the recovery process, doctors anesthetized him and respirated him.
Rabbi Eliyahu is one of the few living Sephardic rabbis who are also held in great esteem by the Ashkenazic community.