Renowned Rebbetzin Simcha Barkatz Passes Away in Bnei Brak at 79

Rebbetzin Simcha (Simon) Barkatz, a revered educator and righteous woman, passed away at the Maayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak at the age of 79. She was the wife of Rabbi Yehoshua Barkatz, head of the Etz Chaim Kollel and spiritual leader of the French community in Bnei Brak. Born in Morocco in 1946, she was a descendant of the esteemed Rabbi Raphael Berdugo and came from a distinguished rabbinic lineage.

Throughout her life, Rebbetzin Barkatz was a prominent educator, guiding thousands of brides at the Or Hachaim Seminary and other institutions. Known for her acts of kindness, her home was a center for Torah scholars and a place of hospitality and charity. She supported her husband’s Torah leadership and helped raise a family of notable rabbis and scholars, including her sons Rabbi Reuven, Rabbi Yosef, Rabbi Rachamim, Rabbi Rafael Moshe, and Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Barkatz.

Her sons-in-law also hold significant rabbinic positions, such as Rabbi Moshe Cohen, Rabbi Goel Elkareef, Rabbi Eliyahu Cohen, Rabbi Rafael Tzedaka, and Rabbi Yehuda Lev. The funeral took place on Sunday night, September 3, 2023, from her home in Ramat Aharon, Bnei Brak, to the Ponovezh Cemetery. The family is sitting shiva at her home on Sorotzkin Street in Bnei Brak. May her soul be bound in the bond of life.