“Image of the Gaon Rabbi Aharon Mendel HaCohen, Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Community in Cairo (with the Rebbetzin and His Daughter)” – A large photograph of Rabbi Aharon Mendel [הרא”ם] HaCohen, the Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Cairo, seated beside his wife, the Rebbetzin Sarah Hania (daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Shulman), and one of his daughters. [Cairo, early 20th century].
The Gaon Rabbi Aharon Mendel ben Rabbi Natan HaCohen (1866–1927) served as the rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Cairo, Egypt, for approximately thirty years. A Torah genius, he was renowned for his many initiatives, including his efforts to revive semicha (rabbinical ordination), as detailed in his book “Semichat Chachamim”. In this context, he organized the “Krakow Assembly” in 1903, established the “Association of Rabbis, ” and, following World War I, founded the Knesset Yisrael association. He also worked towards establishing a central rabbinical court (akin to a Sanhedrin) in Jerusalem.
Dimensions: 16.5×23 cm. Condition: Tear with loss affecting the right edge of the photograph. Light cracks.
