Israel lost one of its most widely known religious scholars and judges on Saturday, Rabbi Yaakov Nissan Rosenthal. One of his many students is Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who frequently turned to him for advice.
Rabbi Rosenthal died in Jerusalem after undergoing several operations. He was the head of the religious court in Haifa for more than 25 years and authored Mishnas Yaakov, an in-depth study of the writings of the Rambam, Rabbi Moshe Maimonides.
The funeral procession began at 11:00 a.m. in Jerusalem, where Rabbi Rosenthal was born. Burial was Sunday afternoon in Haifa, where he lived for decades.
Rabbi Chaim Yerucham (Avi) Smotritz, who grew up in the Hadar neighborhood where Rabbi Rosenthal lived, said he was one of the youngest rabbis ever to be appointed a religious court judge, named to the position at the age of 28. He said that Rabbi Rosenthal succeeded in seeing the publication of the next-to-last book in his series on the writings of the Rambam.
The late rabbi’s lifestyle was simple and modest, according to Rabbi Smotritz, who added that he “received everybody into his house with open arms and joy." Rabbi Rosenthal was known for helping people in need and convened the religious court every Purim.
During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, he refused to leave his Haifa apartment in order not to lose any time studying Torah -- despite the explosions of Katyusha rockets.