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Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, or Elyashiv, is an Orthodox Judaism rabbi who lives in Jerusalem in the State of Israel. Well into his nineties, he is nevertheless lucid and active and remains the paramount leader of Israel's Mitnagdim, the non-Hasidic Judaism Haredi Ashkenazi Jews who regard him as the posek ha-dor (Hebrew: "Decisor [of] the Generation") -- the leading authority on Torah law, i.e. halacha, at the present time.
He holds great influence over the United Torah Judaism party in Israel's Knesset, and in particular over its Degel HaTorah faction that abides by all his rulings and instructions.
As an example of his rulings, in 1999 he was asked if Kollel scholars who engage in outreach work by teaching basic Judaism to secular Israelis should still be paid as "full time scholars" even though they must leave the study halls of their yeshivas in order to go out and teach those with a lesser background. This was how it was framed:
- How should a Torah-observant person relate to the mitzvah of bringing wayward Jews back to the fold? Is it an optional commandment that one may choose to fulfill if and when the opportunity to do so arises, or, is it an obligatory mitzvah that one should seek out and pursue?...One such query was submitted by a prestigious kollel. Several weeks ago a member of that kollel, in response to the call of the gedolim [the great sages] to set aside one evening a week for kiruv work, decided to join Lev L'Achim's volunteer force. The administrators had no objection in principle to this arrangement. However, since the kollel pays stipends to members in accordance with their attendance record, a question was raised: should the kollel deduct the member's new weekly absences from his stipend, or not?
And this how it was resolved:
- The kollel submitted the question to Rabbi Zilberstein, and Rabbi Zilberstein in turn brought the matter before HaRav Eliashiv. Following is a literal translation of HaRav Zilberstein's response, which he announced in the presence of the thousands of bnei Torah [ Haredi Jews] who participated in the question-and-answer forum: "I presented the question to my esteemed father-in-law, Maran HaRav Eliashiv, and this is what he said to me: `Kollel administrators who deduct [hours of absence] from the stipend of a kollel member who goes out to do kiruv work do so in violation of the law. Do they [the avreichim/scholars] go [to do kiruv] for their own sake? Of course not! They do so for the sake of all Am Yisroel!' ["Nation of Israel]"...By requiring the kollel administrator to pay the kiruv volunteer his full stipend, the ruling gave halachic recognition to the principle that doing kiruv work one evening a week is a mandatory obligation incumbent upon every single member of the Torah community. There is no other way to explain why HaRav Eliashiv would require a kollel -- an institution dedicated exclusively to Torah learning -- to pay one of its members to take part in kiruv [educational outreach] activities. The awesome array of rabbonim [rabbis]] and rosh yeshivas that graced the convention with their presence loudly echoed HaRav Eliashiv's ruling. It was the largest gathering of gedolei Torah [[great scholars] representing such a wide spectrum of communities in recent history." (Halachic Ruling Redefines Role of Kiruv Work in Eretz Yisroel) Dei'ah veDibur 5 Iyar 5759 - April 21, 1999 [1] (http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5759/ach_ked/AKruling.htm)
Rabbi Elyashiv has great influence over the formal Orthodox rabbinate of the State of Israel, and it is reported that Israel's most recent Chief Rabbis were appointed because of his recommendations. He does not head a congregation or community as such, but spends his days in deep Talmudical study, delivering some highly specialized classes in Talmud and Shulkhan Arukh at a local synagogue in the Meah Shearim where he lives, and receives supplicants from all over the world.
Most Rosh yeshivas associated with the Agudath Israel of America movement actively and frequently seek out his opinions and follow his advice and guidelines concerning a wide array of policy and communal issues affecting the welfare of Orthodox Judaism.
In the world of serious Torah scholarship, he is also regarded as a Kabbalist.
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