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| Sephardi Chief Rabbi R' Yitzhak Yosef (Jewish Press) |
Sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree. This was surely the case with the late R’ Shmuel Auerbach whose religious zealotry caused one of the biggest rifts in the non Chasidic Charedi world. This was the opposite of the quiet and peaceful ways of his illustrious father, R’Shlomo Zalman.
I think the same can be said of the current Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, R’ Yitzchak Yosef. Although his father, R’ Ovadia Yosef was more of a Kanoi (religious zealot) than R’ Shlolmo Zalman, I do not recall him making anywhere near the number of controversial statements his son has made.
R’ Ovaida was a beloved and highly respected figure in both the Ashkenzic and Sephardic communities. A giant of Psak Halacha who had written a copious amount responsa on all aspects of Jewish life. The same cannot be said about his son.
This is not to say that they necessarily disagreed with each other in matters of Halacha or public policy. It is, however, to say that with rare exception, R’ Ovadia ‘knew when to hold em’ and ‘knew when to fold em’. He spoke his mind frequently on a variety of subjects. But I don’t recall his doing that when he was the Sephardic Chief Rabbi. And even if he did, certainly not as frequently as his son.
R’ Yitzchak Yosef’s penchant for speaking his mind in the most hyperbolic of ways has caused the Reform Center for Religion and State to complain about him to Israel’s ombudsman who commenced an investigation.
That resulted in a recommendation that he be impeached from his office as Sephardic Chief Rabbi. For those that are unaware of R’ Yosef’s comments, some of them have been published in the Jewish Press:
In March 2016, Rabbi Yosef told religious Jews to keep their children away from their secular and traditional relatives to avoid negative influences.
Also in March 2016, he said that non-Jews “should not live in the Land of Israel” if they don’t practice the seven Noahide Laws, in which case they should be sent to Saudi Arabia. He also suggested non-Jews are allowed to live in Israel only to serve the Jews…
In December 2016, he said it was “not the way of the Torah” for women to serve in the IDF or national service: “All the great sages through the generations, including all Israel’s chief rabbis, believe that it is forbidden for girls to go into the army… not just to the army – but to national service too.”
In May 2017, he compared immodestly dressed secular women to animals. In March 2018, he allegedly compared blacks to monkeys, but that was most likely a gotcha, as the Chief Rabbi was teaching a Talmudic segment about the blessing of “He who changes people” and used blacks as an illustration.
In 2020, following Rabbi Yosef’s comment at a rabbinical conference about the state’s bringing tens of thousands of non-Jews from the former Soviet Union…
Regardless of whether or not any of his comments have any Halachic validity, they do not bring honor to his office nor to the State of Israel. And I am personally appalled by them. R’ Yosef is certainly entitled to his opinion on Halachic matters. But it is not always wise to publicize them. Especially when they are controversial; there are legitimate differences of opinion; and in any case have no chance of changing things.
It’s too bad that it was the Reform movement that generated all this. It taints their legitimate complaints about R’ Yosef terrible rhetoric - by making it the an ‘us versus them’ debate – Reform against Orthodox. Even though we might agree with them in this instance, it would be impossible to side with them against an Orthodox rabbi for expressing his views.
In any case, I agree with Religious Affairs Minister, Matan Kahana. He was urged by Israel’s ombudsman to ‘severely reprimand and look into impeaching R’Yosef. Kahana will not comply. Beleiving as I do that rabbis – no less than anyone else - have the right to publicly express their views in a country that believes in freedom of speech.
That being said, just because someone has a right to express their views does not always mean they should. I am disgusted by his remarks and strongly protest them - despite defending his right to do so.