page_title: Solomon Eliezer Alfandari
section_title: Jerusalem
hierarchical_section_title: Solomon Eliezer Alfandari / Biography / Jerusalem
caption_attribution_description: English: Street sign for Alfandari St., Mekor Baruch, Jerusalem, honoring Rabbi Solomon Eliezer Alfandari. Français&#160;: Jerusalem ouest - Quartier Mekor Barukh rue Alfandari (Rabbi Solomon Eliezer Alfandari).
context_page_description: Solomon Eliezer Alfandari, also known as the Saba Kadisha, was a distinguished rabbi, kabbalist and rosh yeshiva in his native home of Constantinople, and later served as Chief Rabbi of Damascus, Syria Vilayet, and Safed, Beirut Vilayet. He was known for his stringent interpretation of halakha and his uncompromising dedication to Orthodox Judaism.
context_section_description: In his final years, Alfandari suffered many ailments, for which he sought medical treatment in Jerusalem. Although he tried to travel incognito, many Torah leaders desired to meet him when they found out he was in their city. One of these gedolim was Rabbi Ezra Attiya, who later became rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef Yeshiva. The Saba Kadisha held Rabbi Attiya in high esteem, and would always stand up for him when he visited.
  In 1925, Alfandari developed a serious illness while in Tiberias. He refused to be treated in the local hospital, where the rules of tzniut (modesty) were not meticulously observed, and was taken to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem instead. After he recovered, Jerusalem's sages begged him to stay in their city. He rented an apartment in the Ruchama neighborhood (today Mekor Baruch).
  There he hosted meetings with many prominent Torah scholars who came to consult with him and speak with him in learning. These included: Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem; Rabbi Velvel Mintzberg, leader of the Ashkenazi community in the Old Yishuv; Rabbi Avraham Weinberg of Slonim, author of Birkas Avraham; and Rabbi Yitzchak Abuchatzeira, brother of the Baba Sali and a Torah sage in his own right. Shortly before the Saba Kadisha's death, the Munkatcher Rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira, of Hungary made a special trip to meet him. Theirs was considered an historic meeting between two worlds, the Sephardi genius of the Middle East and the Hasidic tradition of Eastern Europe.
  Alfandari contracted pneumonia in May 1930 and was treated by Dr. Moshe Wallach of Shaarei Tzedek Hospital. His disease worsened, however, and he died on 20 May 1930 (22 Iyar 5690), while the Munkatcher Rebbe was at his bedside. His funeral was attended by thousands, as his students carried his casket on foot from his home all the way to the Mount of Olives. He was nearly 110 years old.
caption: The Jerusalem street on which Alfandari lived has been named after him.
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