Rishon LeZion (title)

Rishon LeZion ( _he. הראשון לציון) is the title given to the Sephardic chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisroel. Its literal meaning is "first of Zion" similar to "first lady", and comes from a verse in Yeshayahu 41:27.

In the beginning of the 17th century this title was given to the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. In 1842, the position of "Chacham Bashi", chief Rabbi of Constantinople who represented the Turkish Jews before the Sultan, and the position of "Rishon LeZion" which at that time already represented the entire Old Yishuv before the Sultan, were combined into one position being the Rishon LeZion.

Until the creation of the State of Israel, twenty four rabbis served in that position. The last of them was Rabbi Yakov Shaul Elyashur who died in 1906.

In 1921 when the "Rabbonut hoRoshis" was created, the official title became "Rav Horoshi" and two positions was created, one as Sephardic "Rav HoRoshi" and another as Ashkenazic "Rav hoRoshi". The non-Zionist Jewish community of Jerusalem had already created in 1919 the Edah HaChareidis with its chief rabbi, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld.

Until 1973 these positions were held for life, but since then the position of "Rav Horoshi" is re-elected every ten years. The position of "Gavad" of the "Edah HaChareidis" is still held for life.

List of "Rishon LeZion" before the establishment of the "Rabbonut hoRoshis"

#Rabbi Moshe Galanti (1665-)
#Rabbi Moses ibn Habib (1689-1696)
#Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchaki 1715-
#Rabbi Eliezer Nachum 1730-
#Rabbi Nissim Mizrachi 1748-
#Rabbi Yisroel Yakov Algazi 1754-
#Rabbi Refoel Meyuches 1756-
#Rabbi Chaim Refoel Ben Asher 1771-
#Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi (Rit Algazi) 1772-
#Rabbi Moshe Meyuches 1802-
#Rabbi Yakov Moshe Eiyash 1806-
#Rabbi Yakov Korach 1817-
#Rabbi Refoel Yosef Hazan 1819-
#Rabbi Yom Tov Danun 1822-
#Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Suzin 1824-
#Rabbi Yonah Moshe Navon 1836-
#Rabbi Yehuda Navon 1841-
#Rabbi Chaim Avrohom Gagin 1842-
#Rabbi Yitzchok Kubu 1848-
#Rabbi Chaim Nissin Abulefia 1854-
#Rabbi Chaim Dovid Hazan 1861-
#Rabbi Avrohom Ashkenazi 1869-
#Rabbi Refoel Meir Ponizel 1880-
#Rabbi Yakov Shaul Elyashur 1893-
#Rabbi Chaim Moshe Elyashur 1914-
#Rabbi Nissin Yehuda Danun 1915-

=List of "Rishon LeZion/Rav Horoshi" after the establishment of the "Rabbonut hoRoshis"=

#Rabbi Jacob Meir (1921-1939)
#Rabbi Benzion Uziel (1939-1954)
#Rabbi Yitzhak Nissim (1955-1972)
#Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (1973-1983)
#Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu (1983-1993)
#Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron (1993-2003)
#Rabbi Shlomo Amar (2003-present)

List of Ashkenazic "Rav Horoshi"

#Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1921-1935)
#Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1936-1959)
#Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman (1964-1972)
#Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1973-1983)
#Rabbi Avraham Shapira (1983-1993)
#Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau (1993-2003)
#Rabbi Yona Metzger (2003-present)

Chief Rabbis ( _he. גאב"ד) of the "Edah HaChareidis"

#Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (1919-1932)
#Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky (1932-1948)
#Rabbi Zelig Reuven Bengis (1947-1953)
#Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum (1953-1979)
#Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (1979-1989)
#Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freund (1989-1996)
#Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Dushinsky (1996-2002)
#Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss (2002-present)

ee also

Old Yishuv