Former Jerusalem chief dayan Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg dies at 89
"He was the son in law of the great Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach but he earned his own greatness. "
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFThe Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Former chief justice (dayan) of the Jerusalem Rabbinical High Court Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg passed away Thursday night at the age of 89.Goldberg was hospitalized at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem last week after suffering a stroke, according to multiple media reports.He is survived by his wife, as well as his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to Collive.After moving to Israel from Belarus at a young age, Goldberg studied at multiple yeshivas throughout the country. His tenure as chief dayan of the Jerusalem Rabbinical High Court lasted several years, and he was noted by many for having thorough understanding of medical, technological and legal issues.Following his death, he was eulogized in a Facebook post by one of his former students."Today is a sad day," the former student wrote."We’ve lost one of the greatest rabbis of our generation. That is no exaggeration. And while we have unfortunately lost a number of true greats in recent months and years, I have not posted about them because I did not have anything original to offer. Upon the loss of Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg today, however, I feel compelled to share some thoughts because he was not as well known or widely revered as he should have been. That’s because he was an incredibly warm and giving person, and an absolutely unparalleled scholar, but he was even more humble. When other rabbis disagreed with him, he always deferred. When I asked him for guidance, he shared some suggestions but left it to us to determine the proper path forward. He was reluctant to see himself as a decisor of Jewish law and thus didn’t publish works of responsa or put his name on the many policies that he contributed to. But behind the scenes he was influential in crucial areas of the most complicated halachic issues and communal concerns."He was too open to working with the State of Israel for many haredim, and too haredi for many Modern Orthodox, but several of the greatest rabbis I know turned to him for guidance in their most difficult questions."The eulogy further noted that "he was the son in law of the great Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach but he earned his own greatness."He was the ultimate embodiment of humility, piety and Torah scholarship. This doesn’t necessarily lead to fame, but makes the world a much brighter place. Today’s loss brings painful darkness to the world, and obligates us, especially his students, to do our part by emulating his character traits and dedication to Torah to try to bring back as much of that light as possible."