(JTA) — The largest gathering of Israelis ever amassed for the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Sephardi sage and political leader who died Monday at age 93.

Many of Jerusalem’s main streets were closed for the funeral, whose attendees crowded a portion of its northern district. Loudspeakers broadcast the proceedings to the crowds far from the ceremony itself.

After a series of penitential prayers, Yosef was eulogized by a string of leading haredi rabbis, including his son, current Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, as well as former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. Aryeh Deri, head of the Sephardi Orthodox Shas Party that Yosef founded in 1984, also delivered a eulogy.

“Who will unite us all?” Deri said, crying. “Who will lead us, rabbi? You left us in our hardest hour.”

Born in Baghdad, Yosef served as Israel’s Sephardi chief rabbi from 1973 to 1983, subsequently founding Shas and serving as its spiritual leader. He was revered among Sephardi and haredi Orthodox Israelis as a sage of Jewish law, and was known more broadly for his sometimes controversial political stances.

Israel’s secular leadership also paid its respects to Yosef earlier on Monday. Israeli President Shimon Peres called him “a great man with an unbelievable memory and the wisdom to share his knowledge with others.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Yosef was “a giant in Torah and Jewish law and a teacher for tens of thousands.”

“”He worked greatly to enhance Jewish heritage and at the same time, his rulings took into consideration the times and the realities of renewed life in the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “He was imbued with love of the Torah and the people.”

Ben Sales is JTA’s Israel correspondent. He reports on Israeli politics, culture, society and economics, in addition to covering Palestinian and regional affairs. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and the Columbia University Journalism School, he is the former editor-in-chief of New Voices, the national Jewish student magazine.