Yehuda Getz (born 1924 in Tunis, Tunisia—died 17 September 1995 in Jerusalem) was the rabbi of the Western Wall for 27 years.[1][2][3]
Yehuda Getz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1924 Tunis, Tunisia |
| Died | 17 September 1995 Jerusalem, Israel |
| Title | Rabbi |
Biography
editYehuda Meir Getz was born in Tunisia in 1924. He immigrated to Israel in 1949, settling in Kerem Ben Zimra, a moshav in Upper Galilee.[1] He joined the Israel Defense Forces, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.[1]
Getz died of a heart attack on 17 September 1995.[3] He was survived by his wife and six children, and is buried on the Mount of Olives.[2][4]
Rabbinic career
editAfter the death of his son Avner in the Six-Day War, he moved to Jerusalem's Old City.[1] Shortly afterwards he was appointed as overseer of prayers at the Western Wall.[3]
He served as the head of the Beit El Kabbalist yeshiva from 1973 to 1995.[5]
Getz was a supporter of Excavations at the Temple Mount.[6] In July 1981, Getz and a team of associates opened a tunnel under the Temple Mount near where he believed the Ark of the Covenant had been hidden in Solomon's Temple, directly below the Holy of Holies of the Second Temple.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Finklestone, Joseph (4 November 1995). "OBITUARY: Rabbi Yehuda Meir Getz". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Rabbi Yehuda Getz". Scotland Herald. 21 September 1995. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ a b c "Obituaries - Yehuda Meir Getz, Western Wall's Rabbi, 71". New York Times. 25 September 1995. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ "Rabbi Yehuda M. Getz; Overseer of Western Wall". Los Angeles Times. 19 September 1995. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ Shragai, Nadav. "A rabbi, an officer and a mystic". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Shragai, Nadav (25 April 2003). "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ Hasson, Nir (24 April 2011). "Jerusalem's time tunnels". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 January 2012.