Influential Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Dies

More than 300,000 black-robed mourners flooded Jerusalem’s streets Monday in a funeral procession for one of the nation’s most influential Jewish ultra-Orthodox rabbis.

Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, whose ultra-Orthodox followers relied on him to interpret Jewish law, died Sunday in Jerusalem at age 84.

Mourners stood on rooftops and clung to utility poles Monday along the processional route, which wound two miles from Auerbach’s home near the city’s center to the burial site.

The crowds brought downtown traffic to a halt for hours..