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Ovadiah Yosef (1920 - )
Former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
His Life
Born in Baghdad, Ovadiah Yosef was brought to Jerusalem when he was four
years old. At age 20 he received rabbinical ordination from Rav Ben-Zion
Ouziel. In 1945 he was appointed a dayan or judge of the Sephardi Bet Din
(rabbinical court) in Jerusalem. Two years later he was elected head of
the Cairo Bet Din and deputy Chief Rabbi of Egypt. After establishment of
the State of Israel, he was appointed a member of the Rabbinical Court of
Petah Tikva and then in Jerusalem (1958-1965). In 1965 he was appointed
a member of the Supreme Rabbinical Court of Appeals in Jerusalem, and in
1968, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. He was elected Sephardi Chief
Rabbi of Israel (Rishon le-Zion) in 1973. In 1984 he became spiritual mentor
of Israel's Shas party.
His Accomplishments
A prolific writer and halachic thinker, Rav Ovadiah published his first
work at the age of 18. While he was in Egypt he displayed great courage
by refusing to speak against the State of Israel, while forbidding contribution
to Egyptian military equipment. He also insisted on his right to speak in
Hebrew.
He was awarded the Israel Prize for Torah literature in 1970 in recognition
of both the quality and quantity of his work. He is known to be equally
versed in both Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions in granting his halachic
rulings, which are recongnized for both their erudition and their directness.
Rav Ovadiah is generally inclined to leniency in his rulings.
He was head of the Torah veHora'ah yeshiva in Tel Aviv and a founder
of the Porat Yosef yeshiva in Tel Aviv and then Jerusalem.
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