Rabbi Monsonego with the King of Morocco
The death of Rabbi Aaron Monsonego, Chief Rabbi of Morocco since 1998, was reported on 7 August. He died in Shaare Tsedek hospital, Jerusalem according to Morocco News:
Monsonego was a significant figure in the history of Jewish Morocco. Born in 1929, he was the son of Yedidya, the rabbi of Fez. Between 1945 and 1952, he studied at the Talmudic and Science High School in Aix-les-Bains, eastern France, where he also taught between 1950 and 1952. He obtained his rabbinic diploma and (qualified as a) judge (dayan) at the Council of the Three Great Orthodox Rabbis of Paris in 1951.
In 1952, Monsonego returned to Morocco following the call of Itshak Chalom, president of the Jewish community of Casablanca. Monsonego ran the Talmud Torah school in Casablanca, which, at that time, had more than 1,500 students. Rabbi Aharon Monsonego has been head of Morocco’s chief rabbinate since 1998, when he was appointed to replace Shimon Suissa, his predecessor.
Due to his elderly age and worsening health, Monsonego decided to leave Morocco for Israel four years ago, in order to be able to live his last years with his children.
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