Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas, who was Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1972 to 1983 and an outstanding authority of Jewish law, passed away today, Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem has announced. He was 93. The funeral will take place at 18:00 today from Yeshivat Porat Yosef in Jerusalem's Geula district. Rabbi Yosef will be buried in the Sanhedria cemetry alongside his wife Margalit, who died 20 years ago.
Hadassah Hospital chairman Avigdor Kaplan said, "The medical team fought unceasingly for his life up to the final moments. We bow our heads to the sage Rabbi Ovadia Yosef."
Rabbi Yosef's doctor, Prof. Dan Gilon, said, "Despite the best efforts to support him and stem his decline, after a great struggle, the rabbi passed away."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau spoke of "heavy sorrow". "Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was a giant of the Torah and a guide to tens of thousands. He did a great deal for the tradition of Israel… The rabbi was imbued with love of the Torah and the people. From my meetings with him I emerged wiser and better informed. The people of Israel has lost one of the sages of this generation."
After being anesthetized and put on life support on Sunday, Rabbi Yosef's condition sharply deteriorated during the night. "The situation is critical, it seems that only a miracle will help," a member of the family said this morning.
Rabbi Yosef was born in Baghdad in 1919, the eldest son of Yaakov and Georgia Ovadia. He immigrated at the age of 4 with his family to Israel, residing in Jerusalem's Beit Israel neighborhood. In his childhood, he stood out as a bright and apt pupil. At 12, he began studying at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, and wrote his first book (with two of his friends). At 20, he was ordained as a rabbi and religious court judge. Through his marriage to his wife Margalit at that time he began to be exposed to Zionist ideas.
In the period 1947-1950, Rabbi Yosef was chief rabbi of Egypt. Upon his return to Israel, he was appointed a dayan (rabbinical court judge) in Petah Tikva, founded a yeshiva for outstanding Sephardi rabbinical scholars, and published books on Jewish law. He became known for his far-reaching rulings, sometimes contrary to the position of the Chief Rabbinate. In 1965, he was appointed to the Chief Rabbinate Council, and in 1968 he was made Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.
In 1972, Rabbi Yosef was appointed Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Rishon LeZion, a position he held until 1983.
After the end of his term, Rabbi Yosef turned to politics, and, together with Rabbi Elazar Shach, served as spiritual leader of the Shas party, founded before the 1984 elections. After the 1992 elections, Shas joined the coalition led by Yitzhak Rabin, resulting in a split with Rabbi Shach. Rabbi Yosef remained as the undisputed leader of Shas, and as a key figure in Israeli politics.
Rabbi Yosef was known for his daring religious rulings, but also for unfortunate, wounding statements attacking political opponents and social groups of which he disapproved, particularly secular Israelis.
Among other things, Rabbi Yosef allowed about 1,000 women who were wives of men missing in action in the Yom Kippur War to remarry, and confirmed that the Jews of Ethiopia were authentically Jewish.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 7, 2013
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