Wednesday, January 11, 2023 2:37 AM | י"ח טבת תשפ"ג All credit goes to the Hamodia
BNEI BRAK — Klal Yisrael was plunged into mourning on Wednesday morning upon hearing of the petirah of Hagaon Harav Shimon Ba’adani, zt”l, the eldest member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah and one of the spiritual leaders of the Shas party, at the age of 95.
Harav Ba’adani was admitted to Mayanaei Hayeshuah Hospital at the end of November, and his condition deteriorated in recent weeks.
His levayah is set to take place at 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, from the Torah V’Chaim yeshivah on Rabbi Akiva Street in Bnei Brak, and will proceed via Chazon Ish Street to the Bnei Brak cemetery.
Harav Ba’adani was born in Chadera in 5688/1928, to Mori David and his wife, Chaviva, z”l, who moved to Eretz Yisrael and set up a household in the new Yemenite community of Nachaliel in Chadera. Into this home, suffused with the love of Torah and deep yiras Shamayim, Rav Shimon was born.
As they were not familiar with the yeshivah system in Eretz Yisrael at the time, it was some time before people were able to persuade the parents to send young Shimon to the Novardok yeshivah, which had opened a branch in Chadera. The youngster did very well there, and he was then sent to the Novardok yeshivah in Yerushalayim, headed by Harav Ben Tzion Bruk, zt”l, while Harav Elazar Menachem Mann Shach, zt”l, served as a Rosh Yeshivah. Rav Shach was very impressed with his new student, and the two developed a warm and close relationship that continued for the rest of Rav Shach’s life.
Several years later, Rav Shimon left Novardok for Yeshivat Porat Yosef, which was headed by Chacham Ezra Attia, zt”l. Rav Shimon wished to learn the traditional Sephardic approach to Torah study. He found it not very different from the Lithuanian approach he had been exposed to until then, but Harav Ezra was unique in that he did not focus his learning on the sefarim that form the bulk of the study in other yeshivos. He concentrated on meforshim like the Maharsha and Maharam and commentators on the Shulchan Aruch.
During the War of Independence, Yeshivat Porat Yosef in the Old City was destroyed, and it was several years until the new yeshivah building in the Geulah neighborhood was constructed. In the meantime, huge waves of immigrants were arriving from all over the Middle East. The directors of Porat Yosef decided that they needed a yeshivah for the children of these immigrants. The heads of the yeshivah charged Rav Shimon Ba’adani with establishing a branch of the yeshivah in the Katamon neighborhood with a dormitory for out-of-town students. Eventually, this became an independent yeshivah, headed by Harav Baa’dani.
Harav Ba’adani did not stay with the yeshivah in Katamon for very long. Once it was established, he left for Bnei Brak, where he founded, together with Harav Moshe Pardo, Kollel Torah Vachaim.
Along with his activities on behalf of the community in Eretz Yisrael, Harav Ba’adani had much influence overseas as well. The talmidim whom he taught back in his years in Porat Yosef maintained their close contact with him and still consider themselves his disciples, despite many having attained prominent positions themselves.
Each time Rav Ba’adani traveled to the United States, he would visit dozens of shuls in Flatbush, Boro Park, Deal and the Five Towns, delivering shiurim and sichot. Many of the Rabbanim of those congregations are his talmidim, and consulted with him for advice and encouragement.
However, Rav Ba’adani was most closely connected with the Jewish communities of Latin America. Some 50 years ago, the spiritual level of the Jewish community in Mexico had reached an epic low. Rav Ba’adani met Harav David Kassin, an officer in Congregation Keter Torah in Mexico City, who persuaded Rav Ba’adani to send his disciple Harav Chaim Harari to found a local yeshivah there. It eventually grew into the prestigious chareidi community of Keter Torah that graces the city today.
Some 25 years ago, Rav Ba’adani visited Argentina, and he did his best to unite the disparate communities he found there. Moreover, he persuaded people to send their sons to learn in yeshivos in Eretz Yisrael. When those talmidim returned to Argentina, they were armed with the tools to build true Torah homes, resulting in a blossoming chareidi community today there as well.
In 1972, Rav Ba’adani was appointed head of the Bnei Brak Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah together with Harav Meir Maazuz, Harav Shlomo Machpud, Harav Maasud Ben Shimon and Harav Michael Pahima.
When the Shas party was established in 1984, he was chosen to be on the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas. Rav Ba’adani emerged as a prominent voice in the Shas party. Last year, after the petirah of Chacham Shalom Cohen, zt”l, Rav Ba’adani was named Nasi of the Moetzet.
His wife, Rabbanit Shulamit, a”h, passed away two years ago.
In recent months, many tefillos were held on his behalf, but alas, the gezeirah was sealed and his neshamah returned to its Maker on Wednesday morning.
Rav Ba’adani is survived by, lhbch”l, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and thousands of talmidim across the Torah world.
Yehi zichro baruch.
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