Rabbi Meir Gutt's Personal Diaries and Archives Digitized and Opened to Public

The National Library of Israel has completed the digitization of the personal archives of Rabbi Meir Yehuda Gutt, the former Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, making them accessible to the public. The event, held on the 31st anniversary of his passing, showcased items from his extensive collection, which was transferred to the library by his family two years ago.

The archive includes documents, photographs, films, letters, recordings, and writings, with notable items such as his personal "Middot Notebook" detailing his self-improvement work, his will, Torah commentaries, and crucially, 12 diaries he kept during his tenure as Rabbi of the Western Wall.

These diaries, handwritten from 1968, the year he was appointed, until shortly before his death in 1995, offer a day-by-day account of events at the Western Wall and in Jerusalem from his unique perspective. Rabbi Gutt, who immigrated to Israel in 1949, was appointed Rabbi of the Western Wall following the death of his son Avner in the Six-Day War battle for Jerusalem. He also played a role in reviving the Beit El Kabbalistic yeshiva.

At the event, Rabbi Gutt's grandson, Shar-Shalom Jerrabi, shared personal memories, referring to his grandfather as "Saba Kotel" (Grandpa Wall) and highlighting the family's deep connection to the site. Rabbi Gutt's daughter, Lily Gutt-Horowitz, expressed her initial reluctance to part with the archive but now sees it as a way to share her father's legacy with the entire nation. Dr. Chaim Neria, curator of the Jewish collection at the National Library, described Rabbi Gutt as a figure of remarkable connections, being a scholar, jurist, kabbalist, and a Holocaust survivor who served as Rabbi of the Western Wall for 28 years.