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Ovadia Yosef (born 1920) is an Orthodox Judaism 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.1 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 ( posek, posek) among religious Jews. He is generally considered the highest authority for SephardiIn the strictest sense, a Sephardi Standard Hebrew Sfardi Tiberian Hebrew Spard plural Sephardim Standard Hebrew Sfardim Tiberian Hebrew Spardim is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain and Portugal: Standard Hebrew Sfarad Tiberian Hebrew Spara 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 IsraelThe Land of Israel (Hebrew: Eretz Yisrael refers to the land making up the ancient Jewish Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The term has been used by Jews and Christians throughout history. This territory includes the modern State of Israel, the West Bank and in order to achieve true peace.
- A collective recognitation in the Jewishness of the EthiopiaThe Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ityop'iya Amharic ) is a country of northeastern Africa. It has one of the most extensive known histories as an independent nation in the continent. Unique among African countries, the Ethiopian monarchy maintain 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).
2 Controversy
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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 speechHate speech is a controversial term for speech intended to hurt and intimidate someone because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other personal characteristics, or to incite violence or prejudicial act.
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.
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