Rabbi Rahamim Attia, Father-in-Law of Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Dies at Over 90

Rabbi Rahamim Attia, one of the senior rabbis of Aleppo and a prominent figure in the Nehar Shalom kabbalistic yeshiva, died overnight between Monday and Tuesday at the age of more than 90. He was the father-in-law of Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, and a close relative by marriage of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

His funeral is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. and will leave from the Porat Yosef yeshiva in Jerusalem. Attia was described as a respected Torah scholar and a longtime leader from the Aleppo rabbinic tradition.

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri eulogized him, calling him, in his words, “humble like Hillel, an outstanding scholar and a true servant of God.” Deri said he had been blessed by Attia and enjoyed his warm demeanor, adding that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef had praised him “with great love.” He sent condolences to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, his wife Rabbanit Ruth, Attia’s son Rabbi Avraham Attia, and the rest of the family.

The Council of Torah Sages also mourned the death, calling Attia a pious and upright man, a “pillar of wisdom and humility,” and one of the last representatives of an earlier generation of Torah scholarship and kabbalah. It said the loss was great for the world of Torah and Kabbalah and expressed condolences to the family.