Shalom Cohen (rabbi)

Shalom Cohen (born 27 October 1931)[2] is a leading Sephardi rabbi in Israel. He is rosh yeshiva of the Old City branch of Porat Yosef Yeshiva, and the spiritual leader of the Shas political party. He has been a member of the party's Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah rabbinic council since 1984,[2] and is its oldest member.[1][3]

For other people of same name; see Shalom Cohen

Rabbi Shalom Cohen
Cohen in 2013
Personal
Born	Shalom Cohen (1931-10-27) 27 October 1931 2 heshvan 5691 Jerusalem
Religion	Judaism
Nationality	Israeli
Spouse	Yael Ben Shimon
Children	3 sons 5 daughters[1]
Parents	Rabbi Efraim Hakohen Malka
Alma mater	Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Jewish leader
Predecessor	Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel
Position	Rosh Yeshiva
Yeshiva	Porat Yosef Yeshiva
Began	1966
Other	President, Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah

Early life and education

Shalom Cohen is one of eight children born to Rabbi Efraim Hakohen, a Sephardi kabbalist, in Jerusalem. His father had been a disciple of the Ben Ish Chai in Baghdad before immigrating to Palestine in 1924. In 1931, the year Shalom was born, his father was appointed rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem.[2]

Shalom began studying at Porat Yosef Yeshiva at the age of 13, and developed a reputation for "diligence and ingenuity".[2] He married Yael, the daughter of Rabbi Mansour Ben Shimon, a Safed kabbalist who also taught at Porat Yosef.[1] The couple has eight children.[1]

Notwithstanding his youth, Cohen began delivering shiurim at Porat Yosef after his wedding,[2] and has taught students for decades. He was named rosh yeshiva of the Old City branch of Porat Yosef Yeshiva in 1966.[1] Though his father and father-in-law were kabbalists, he himself is not.[1]

Political activity

Cohen entered the political arena for the first time in 1984, when he agreed to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's request to support the founding of the Shas party and serve on the new Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah rabbinic council.[2] In April 2014, six months after Yosef's death, Cohen succeeded him as nasi (president) of the council.[2][4]

Cohen is an outspoken critic of Modern Orthodox and secular Jews in Israel.[2] In 2013, he compared the kippah serugah community to Amalek, the biblical archenemy of the Jewish people,[5][6] and in 2015, he called the Israeli national anthem, "Hatikvah", "a stupid song".[7][8] He told Israeli soldiers at a prayer rally during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, "Do you think the people of Israel need an army? It is God Almighty who fights for Israel."[8]

He has also expressed hard-line views on issues affecting the Haredi community in Israel. In 2014, he decried the dire effects on Israeli Sephardi Jews of the proposed Israeli law to draft yeshiva students,[9] and issued a letter in which he forbade Haredi women from undertaking post-high-school studies at academic colleges.[10] He has urged his constituency to refrain from using smartphones and to strengthen their involvement in Torah study.[2]

Other activities

Cohen is on the board of Beis Din Tzedek Neveh Tzion, a kosher certification agency founded by his brothers-in-law, Rabbi Nissim Ben Shimon and Rabbi Shlomo Ben Shimon.[2]

References

1. Schlesinger, Yehuda (22 September 2014). "הכהן הגדול" [The High Priest]. Israel HaYom. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
2. Labin, Yoel Asher. "'There Is So Much Torah Here!': My conversation with Rav Shalom Cohen and Rav David Yosef". Ami, April 1, 2015, p. 124.
3. Ettinger, Yair (19 April 2014). "Shas party's new spiritual leader: Deputy religious services minister is 'crazy'". Haaretz.
4. "Shas names Rabbi Shalom Cohen as new spiritual leader". The Jerusalem Post. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
5. Ungar-Sargon, Batya (18 April 2014). "Israel's Shas Party Gets Controversial New Leader". Tablet. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
6. "Shas' Rav Cohen: The Kippot Srugot are Amalek". Yeshiva World News. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
7. "Shas Spiritual Leader: Hatikva is a 'Stupid' Song". Arutz Sheva. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
8. Sharon, Jeremy (22 February 2015). "Shas spiritual leader: 'Hatikva is a stupid song'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
9. Cohen, Yishai (25 February 2014). "כינוס המועצות: הגאון הרב שלום כהן פרץ בבכי מר" [Council Meeting: HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen Bursts Into Bitter Tears]. Kikar HaShabbat (in Hebrew). Retrieved 12 May 2015.
10. Newman, Marissa (24 June 2014). "Shas spiritual leader: Women shouldn't go to college". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 12 May 2015.