Rabbi Raphael Yehuda Deri (66), rabbi of Be’er Sheva, brother of Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri, who also served as a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel and was a candidate for the position of Sephardic Chief Rabbi, passed away today (Tuesday).
In recent months Rabbi Deri met with most of the members of the electoral body and explained his opinion on the world of rabbinate and how he wants his tenure as chief rabbi to look if he is elected to the position.
He was born in the city of Meknes in Morocco, to Eliyahu and Esther, née Azougi. His parents lived in one of the newly established quarters in the city, and were influenced by French culture. His father owned a successful tailoring business, and his family led a traditional lifestyle and was not considered religious. At the age of five, he began studying at the Otsar HaTorah school, which combined general studies with Jewish studies. When he was ten years old, his family immigrated to Israel in the wave of immigration that began with the end of the Six Day War, and settled in Bat Yam.
Deri was sent to study at a religious state school in Rishon Lezion, but stopped attending it after a month due to integration difficulties. After about half a year of inactivity, during which he hardly left his home due to his parents’ fear that he would be affected by the criminal life in the neighborhood, his parents were convinced by ultra-Orthodox activists from the “Member of the Activists”, who were active among the new immigrants, to admit him and his younger brother Aryeh to the ultra-orthodox “Mativta” in a room that included a boarding school. After about three years, in 1973, the boarding school was closed and he moved with dozens of its students to the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Yeshiva Purat Yosef in Jerusalem. Later he moved to the Lithuanian Ateret Yisrael yeshiva.
After being ordained to the rabbinate, Rabbi Deri served as rabbi of the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem, where he also headed the Kol Yehuda community he founded with the help of his brother. In 1997 he was appointed rabbi of the city of Beer Sheva and as such a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council. He is the chairman of the committee for religious councils, Setam, Mila and Mision and chairman of the committee for approving candidates for divinity exams. In 2005 he ran for the position of chief rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa against Rabbi Israel Meir Lau but lost.
His sons are married to the daughters of Rabbi Avraham Yosef, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and MK Ariel Atias.
Shas Chairman Rabbi Aryeh Deri paid tribute to his brother: “With a heart filled with sorrow and grief, I mourn the premature departure of my elder brother, the crown of my head, great in Torah, great in dayan, great in measure, the founder of the Torah, the great genius Rabbi Yehuda Deri Zetl, rabbi and Rabbi of the city of Beer Sheva and member of the Chief Rabbinate Council.
I had as a father figure, an older brother, a soulmate and a true friend in all walks of life. Always strengthened, encouraged and encouraged faith. A huge void opened up in my heart, in the heart of the entire family, and in the hearts of thousands of his students and listeners.”
“We immigrated with our family from Morocco at the age of 10, and already as a young boy in Bat Yam rowed against the current to study in Torah institutions, and thanks to him we studied together at the Mativata in Hadera and the Purat Yosef yeshiva in Jerusalem. After that he continued his studies at the Aterat Yisrael yeshiva. Rabbi Yehuda loved the Torah, touched it and invested in it All his skills and ambitions. He rose in the virtues of the Torah and the Halacha and was appointed the rabbi of the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem. He gained the special closeness of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Zatzuk’l who saw him as a real son, and was sent by him to be crowned with the crown of rabbinate. The city of Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “I send my deepest condolences to Rabbi Aryeh Deri and his family on the passing of his brother, the late Rabbi Yehuda Deri. Rabbi Yehuda was great in Torah and deed, a man of charity and kindness who was greatly loved and respected by all who knew him. His passing is a great loss to the Torah world, to the residents of Beer Sheva and to the entire nation of Israel. Of blessed memory”.
I send my deepest condolences to Rabbi Aryeh Deri and his family on the passing of his brother, the late Rabbi Yehuda Deri.
Rabbi Yehuda was great in Torah and deed, a man of charity and kindness who was greatly loved and respected by all who knew him. His passing is a great loss to the Torah world, to the residents of Beer Sheva and to the entire nation of Israel.
Of blessed memory.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) July 9, 2024
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Erez Malol: “It is a great loss the passing of the great Gaon, Rabbi Yehuda Deri ztzel. The rabbi was one of the greatest rabbis of our generation, a man of Eshkolot and a great spiritual leader. I was privileged to be one of his students. His influence was evident all over the country, and he was the name of the game in the world of Torah and Halacha. Rabbi Deri’s work for Klal Israel was inspiring. He was a man of peace and unity, and knew how to bridge all sections of the people. His wisdom, his modesty and his charitable qualities were an example to many. The entire nation of Israel for Rabbi Deri’s enormous contribution to strengthening Jewish identity and preserving tradition in Israel. He was a voice of reason and inclusion, and knew how to fight far away in pleasant ways.”
“The Torah and rabbinic world lost one of its prominent leaders today. May his memory be blessed and may his soul be wrapped in the bundle of life. My condolences to his brother, the chairman of the Shas movement, Rabbi Aryeh Deri Shalita, and to his genius brothers and to all the family members. May God grant that you will know no more sorrow, and in the building of Jerusalem we will be comforted.”
Orit Struck: “Together with thousands of the people of Israel, we mourn the passing of Rabbi Yehuda Deri zt’l, the chief rabbi of Be’er Sheva, a great scholar and a true lover of Israel, a friend of Hebron in heart and soul. Condolences from the bottom of my heart to his brother MK Aryeh Deri, and to his entire extended family. May his good memory be blessed!
Minister of Finance, Chairman of Religious Zionism, Bezalel Smotrich: “I received with deep sorrow the news of the passing of the rabbi of Beer Sheva, Rabbi Yehuda Deri zt’l. My condolences to the friends of Shas Chairman Rabbi Aryeh Deri and to the entire family. Rabbi Yehuda Deri, a scholar, judge, and father of a city in Israel. His greatness in the Torah, his involvement with the people, and his connection to the public will stand for him and for all of Israel.”
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