The non-Chasidic haredi community went to Rabbi Elyashiv as the final arbiter for any dilemma, not just in the field of religious practice, but also in matters of politics, business and even matchmaking. Followers saw him as the Gadol Hador — the greatest of his generation.

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the leader of the Lithuanian haredi Orthodox and considered this generation’s leading halachic authority, has died.