Second funeral of top Haredi rabbi set to be held today in Jerusalem

A second funeral of a top ultra-Orthodox rabbi is expected tonight, with authorities bracing for the possibility of thousands showing up again in violation of lockdown rules.

Rabbi Yitzhok Scheiner, 98, head of Jerusalem’s Kamenitz yeshiva, died today of the coronavirus, while some 10,000 packed the funeral of Brisk Yeshiva head Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, 99, who also succumbed to the virus.

Scheiner’s funeral will begin at 8 p.m., with the procession starting at the Kamenitz yeshiva and making its way to Har Hamenuhot cemetery.

Nathan Rozenblum, who attended today’s funeral, tells Channel 12 news that lessons have been learned and that will be evident in the second funeral.

Rozenblum tells the network that the ultra-Orthodox community should be commended since during normal times, the crowd at Soloveitchik’s funeral would have been 10 times bigger.

“Sadly, I have had to attend many such funerals recently because of COVID-19, and lessons have been learned.” But, he adds, Soloveitchik was “a yeshiva head for 75 years who taught tens of thousands.”

That “4,000 attended,” he says, shows restraint by the community. Reports have estimated that in fact, around 10,000 people attended.