Our community mourns the sudden petirah of Hacham Leon Gindi, zt”l, a longtime rav at Shaare Zion and a distinguished talmid hacham, who was niftar at the age of 79 on Shabbat, September 19, 2026. The levayah was held Sunday morning, Erev Yom Kippur, before a standing room only crowd at Magen David Congregation in Brooklyn.
The petirah (passing)_of “Hacham Leon,” as he was reverentially known, occurred just as this issue was being prepared to go to press. Because of the timing, we are able to provide only this brief notice at this time. A fuller tribute to Hacham Leon, zt”l, – honoring his life, his Torah, and his many years of service to our community –– will, with Hashem’s help, appear in the November issue.
For decades, after arriving from Halab, Hacham Leon was a familiar and respected presence at Shaare Zion. He served the congregation as a rav, teaching Torah and providing guidance to his faithful students.
Beyond the position he held, those who knew Hacham Leon remember a man deeply devoted to Torah. His learning was not simply an accomplishment, but the foundation around which he built his life. He continued to learn, teach, and serve the community well into his later years.
There was a poignant significance to the circumstances of his petirah. Hacham remained actively engaged in the life of the community until the very end. He was delivering words of Torah before the congregation at the time of his sudden passing.
His passing, just before Yom Kippur, was particularly painful for the many people who had heard him speak and learned from him over the years. A rav who devoted his life to teaching and guiding others was taken suddenly as the community prepared for the holiest day of the year.
The son-in-law of Hacham Yom Tov Yedid, zt”l, the last Chief Rabbi of Aleppo, Hacham Leon was part of the distinguished rabbinic tradition that has long been a defining feature of our community, in which hachamim have served not only as shul rabbis, but as teachers, poskim, spiritual guides, and pillars of communal life.
He leaves behind his devoted wife, children, grandchildren, and a legacy of commitment to Torah, avodah, and service to the Syrian Jewish community.
We look forward to honoring his memory more fully in the November issue Yehi zichro baruch (may his memory be a blessing).