Rabbi Chaim Meir Wosner, Bnei Brak yeshiva head, dies of COVID; funeral set for 9 p.m.

Rabbi Chaim Meir Wosner, a prominent ultra-Orthodox spiritual leader, dies at 83 from COVID-19, with police gearing up for another potential mass funeral tonight at 9 p.m, after several were held illegally in recent weeks.

Wosner, the dean of the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva and a senior figure in the city of Bnei Brak, caught COVID-19 last month and was treated at home until his oxygen saturation levels dropped and he was hospitalized in serious condition.

He tested negative for the virus in recent days, but his condition deteriorated over the past day and he died.

He was the son of Rabbi Shmuel Wosner, who was the top spiritual leader in the Hasidic world for decades until his death in 2015 at the age of 101.

Some 100,000 people attended Shmuel Wosner’s funeral at the time, with two people dying due to the dense crowds.

Thousands attend the funeral of Rabbi Shmuel Wosner in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, April 4, 2015. (photo credit: Flash90)

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