Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, head of Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva, shared personal stories about Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu z"l, focusing on his reverence for commandments, his private habits, and his influence on the public. Shapira said Eliyahu often spoke about the first time a boy puts on tefillin, stressing that the child is deeply moved even if those around him do not fully mark the moment. Shapira linked this sensitivity to Eliyahu’s own childhood, when he was orphaned before bar mitzvah and felt his first tefillin observance passed with little special attention. Eliyahu, Shapira said, made it a lifelong practice to create joy and importance around that milestone for other children.
Shapira also described Eliyahu’s strict adherence to praying at vatikin, the early morning prayer service. Even when he was seriously ill, Eliyahu continued to pray at that time and never relaxed his routine, including during a long illness. In one case, he had planned to travel abroad for a brit milah, but after checking flight times he realized he would miss vatikin if he went straight from the airport to the synagogue. When told he could be driven directly from the airport to the event, he canceled the trip rather than give up the prayer.
Another story concerned Eliyahu’s expertise in sifrei Torah, mezuzot and etrogim. Before serving as a judge, he had written mezuzot, and Shapira said he had an unusually sharp eye for tiny defects and details. He could identify small flaws in mezuzot, Torah scrolls and etrogim, and sometimes even recognize an etrog he had seen before. In a hotel elevator during a large event, Shapira noticed Eliyahu switch to a different pair of glasses, later explaining that the second pair had a different prescription and narrowed his field of vision when he needed to pass near many women.
Shapira said Eliyahu conducted himself modestly and consistently, without showing off, while speaking gently in public and usually not raising his voice even in private. He was also known for being accessible at very late hours to anyone seeking help. Shapira added that when there was a public need concerning the Jewish people or the Land of Israel, Eliyahu would push for mass prayer gatherings, sometimes at the Western Wall and elsewhere, with shofar blasts and trumpet blasts included. He said the combination was especially moving and left a strong impression on participants. Shapira concluded that Eliyahu believed deeply in the power of prayer, encouraged people to pray about everything, and urged those in distress to ask sages to pray for them.
