Reuven Elbaz

Rabbi Reuven Elbaz (; born 1944) is a Sephardi Haredi rabbi, rosh yeshiva, and a leader of the baal teshuva movement among Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in Israel. He is the founder and head of the Ohr Hachaim network of institutions, which operates educational, humanitarian, prison, and drug rehabilitation programs in 350 branches across Israel. He is also the founder and dean of Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim in Jerusalem, which enrolls more than 500 students. He is a senior member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of the Shas political party.

Early life and education Elbaz was born in 1944 in Fez, Morocco. He learned both religious and general studies in a local Talmud Torah.

After his bar mitzvah, Elbaz transferred to Yeshivas Tiferes Yisrael in Haifa. Three years later he enrolled at the yeshiva of Magdiel, then headed by Rabbi Nachum Lasman, a student of Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz. Elbaz later studied at the Novardok yeshiva in Jerusalem under Rabbi Ben Tzion Bruk. Elbaz began studying in Metivta HaRashal under Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. In the 1970s, Elbaz and Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak became the leaders of this movement among Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in Israel. Elbaz was known to frequent pool halls and coffee shops around Jerusalem to speak with young people, and sent cars blaring religious music and messages through low-income secular neighborhoods. He would invite youth to come hear a band in a local hall and then stand up on stage to speak to them. In 2018, the Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, attended one of the Selichot sessions accompanied by a group of his Hasidim. He gives a regular Tuesday-night shiur to a mixed audience of Torah scholars and baalebatim (working men),

In 2015, Elbaz was invited to join the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of the Shas political party.

Bribery conviction In 2004, Elbaz filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel, which ordered the fine increased to 250,000 NIS.

Personal life In 2012, Forbes Israel ranked Elbaz as one of the top 10 wealthiest rabbis in Israel, with personal wealth estimated at 40 million NIS.

Works Shiurim (Torah lectures) by Elbaz are available online on beinenu.com. His derashot (commentaries) on the Torah have been collected into multi-volume sets under the series name Moshcheni Acharecha, published by Yefe Nof: Moshcheni Acharecha al Beresheet Moshcheni Acharecha al Shemot Moshcheni Acharecha al Vayikra Moshcheni Acharecha al Bamidbar Moshcheni Acharecha al Devarim