Ovadia Yosef (born 1920) is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar and a recognized authority in halakha (Jewish Law). He is the former Chief Sephardic Rabbi of the State of Israel and current spiritual leader of the Shas political party in Israel. A major figure in Haredi Judaism and revered by his followers, he considers voting in elections the key to influencing the State of Israel.
Biography
He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, but moved to Jerusalem with his family when he was four years old. He received semicha (rabbinical ordination) at the age of 20.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is considered to be a genius scholar and a grand Halacha arbiter (פוסק הלכות, posek halakot) among many religious Jews. He is generally considered the highest authority for Sephardi Jews. It is widely known that he makes himself available to any who need to meet with him at his home in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Har Nof.
Some of his more famous verdicts are:
- It is legitimate and allowed to give territory from the land of Israel in order to achieve true peace.
- A collective recognitation in the Jewishness of the Ethiopian immigrants, after there was a suspicion that they were not properly converted to Judaism according to halakha (Jewish law).
- Allowing wives of soldiers who have been missing in action for a long time to marry again, a verdict which is known as "התרת עגונות" (the unchaining of agunoth).
Controversy
Among secular Israelis, Yosef is mainly famous for being the leader of Shas and for his fierce and sharp rhetoric, often combined with curses and ill-wishes to hated political leaders. Some argue that Yosef's quotes are hate speech.
Reactions to Yosef's "political" quotes have ranged from fury (the extreme Hofesh movement called for Yosef to be tried for incitement) to laughter. Shas spokespeople and Yosef's followers argue that his quotes were taken out of context and that they include technical religious terms (which the average person is not familiar with) and therefore misunderstood. For instance, Yosef is sometimes quoted as saying "The Lord shall return the Murderers' deeds on their own heads, waste their seed and exterminate them, devastate them and vanish them from this world." However, this is a quote from the Jewish scriptures.
Influence
In an article by Maariv, Yosef was described as the second most influential Rabbi in Israel, second only to Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv. He was described as:
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The spiritual leader of Shas. The man most identified with the honorific title "Maran ". He has considerable political strength, mainly because he controls the Knesset members of Shas.
However, the key influence of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is in the religious arena of halakha:
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In addition, he has great influence in teaching and endowing of his Halakha way. Prayers Siddur according to Yosef's verdicts are the most common in Sepharadi synagogues, and his Halakha books gained circulation beyond compare. Almost no one disputes the fact he is a Torah phenomenon, one of a kind. Despite this, he is "field Rabbi" and goes down to the common people with countless sermons. ...
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... Despite his controversial quotes and despite the damage caused to him by Shas's behavior in recent years, in the test of history books and studies that will be written in Universities after 50 years, and in the test of Halakha verdicts that will be taught, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef could be considered as the most influential Rabbis in Israel.
Despite this, Yosef has gained relatively little respect from the Ashkenazi segment of Haredi Judaism.
Bibliography
Two sets of Yosef's responsa have been published, Yabia Omer and Yechavei Da'ath (both titles are references to Psalm 19).
External links
Last updated: 08-30-2005 11:55:49
Last updated: 09-12-2005 02:39:13
