Yaakov Mutzafi
| Rabbi Yaakov Mutzafi | |
|---|---|
| Position | Rabbi |
| Synagogue | Shemesh Sedaqah Synagogue |
| Position | Rosh Yeshivah |
| Position | Av Beth Din |
| Organisation | Sephardi Edah HaHaredith |
| Began | 1961 |
| Ended | 1983 |
| Predecessor | Hakham Sadqa Hussein |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1899 |
| Died | May 25, 1983 Jerusalem, Israel |
| Yahrtzeit | 13 Siwan, 5743 |
| Buried | Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery |
| Denomination | Haredi Judaism |
| Alma mater | Midrash Bet Zilkha |
Yaakov Mutzafi (Hebrew:יעקב מוצפי Ya'aqov Muṣafi; 1899 - May 25, 1983) was the Av Beth Din of the Sephardi Edah HaHaredith, a Kabbalist, and the anti-Zionist rabbi of Shemesh Sedaqah Synagogue in Jerusalem, Israel. He was the last spiritual leader of the ancient Jewish community of Iraq, which was airlifted to Israel in 1952.
Yaakov Mutzafi was born in Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq, the son of Ezra Mutzafi and Mazal Tov. He received an early Torah education from his grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Mutzafi, and his primary education at Midrash Talmud Torah alongside his life-long friend and colleague Silman Mutzafi. For his secondary education, Mutzafi was enrolled at Midrash Bet Zilkha, where he received instruction from Ephraim HaCohen, Shimon Agassi, and Sadqa Hussein, the latter with whom Mutzafi would share a lifetime of collaboration. He was later to be the student of Yehuda Fatiyah.
Mutzafi married the daughter of Rabbi Sasson Dangour, founder of Yeshivath Dorshei Torah, where he would subsequently continue his studies alongside Silman Hugi Aboudi.
The winds of war that were blowing in Europe in the late 1930s were about to leave their marks on the faraway Kingdom of Iraq. The British-backed monarchy was coming under increased pressure from pro-German Arab nationalists who were constantly agitating against the royal government, with Jews and other minorities caught in the middle.
The building political pressure boiled over into a bloody pogrom against the Jews in Baghdad on June 1-2, 1941, which became known as the farhud. Over 180 Jews were killed, with many more injured in the violence. Mutzafi raced to open up the gates of Midrash Bet Zilkha to the surviving Jews who were evicted from their homes, and arranged for their upkeep via donations received from philanthropists in the community.
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