Yaakov Meir
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Yaakov Meir
Early life
Meir was born in
In 1882, he was sent to
Meir was committed to the Revival of the Hebrew language, and together with Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Chaim Hirschensohn, and Chaim Kalmi, he co-founded the Safa Brura ("clear language") association, which was created in 1889 to teach and encourage the use of Hebrew. He was a founding member of the Hebrew Language Committee, which was established by Ben-Yehuda in 1890 and was later succeeded by the Academy of the Hebrew Language.
In 1899, Meir was appointed deputy head of the Beth Din of Rabbi Raphael Yitzhak Yisrael. Following Elyashar's death in 1906, he was picked to succeed him as the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, but his appointment was vetoed by his opponents, supported by the Hakham Bashi in Constantinople, because of his Zionist affiliations. He was subsequently inducted as Hakham Bashi of the Land of Israel, but six months later, he was deposed by the Sultan of Turkey, and Eliyahu Moshe Panigel took charge of overseeing the Orthodox community.
Salonika
Meir went on to be elected chief rabbi of
Palestine
In 1921, the Chief Rabbinate of Palestine was established. Meir was elected as Sephardi chief rabbi of Palestine, and took the position, assuming the title of "Rishon le-Zion". He was at the forefront of the effort to revive Hebrew as a modern language. He held the post until his death. A letter he wrote in 1936 called an "Appeal for Friendliness" called on the Muslims of Jerusalem to halt any hatred and animosity towards Jews who were returning to their Holy Land.
Meir died on May 26, 1939, aged 83 years old. Over 10,000 Jewish residents of Jerusalem, representing all sections of the population, took part in the funeral procession.
Honours
In 1920, Meir was honoured with the
Sources
- Jewish Virtual Library: Rabbi Jacob Meir
- Virtual Judaica: Protest petition on behalf of R. Jacob Meir
- Remembering Chief Rabbi Jacob Meir - On the Occasion of the 90th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration
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