ההלכה מוקדשת לעלוי נשמת
כל הנרצחים בפרעות שביצעו צוררי נפשינו
ארץ אל תכסה דמם, וכן לרפואת הפצועים, ולזכות השבויים האומללים, ולהצלחת חיילי ישראל בכל מקום שהם, ה' יתברך יעמוד לימין צדקם, וימגר את כל אויבינו, לא יותיר בהם נשמה, המה יאבדו ואנו נעמוד לעד לעולם עד ביאת משיח צדקינו במהרה בימינו אמן.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the passing of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l. Let us therefore discuss some words in his memory and to elevate his soul.
Even in Maran zt”l’s early age, he began delivering classes to various audiences. He attributed much significance to these classes and indeed, he merited establishing an entire generation of students who, in turn, educated their children in the true path of Torah and Mitzvot. In this way, a new generation that knew their Creator emerged.
During those days, Maran zt”l’s students respected him boundlessly. However, this respect was not limited only to his students; even the leaders of the generation, who were themselves great in Torah and fear of Heaven, held Maran zt”l in the highest regard.
Rabbi Mordechai David Ludmir zt”l (Chairman of Torah and Judaism for Israel), a close confidant of the Tchebiner Gaon, Hagaon Harav Dov Berish Weidenfeld zt”l, recounted that once, over sixty years ago, he entered the Tchebiner Gaon’s home and saw some books of Yabia Omer on the Rav’s table. Rabbi Ludmir exclaimed to the Rav, “It seems that Rav Ovadia Yosef will be one of the luminaries of the generation.” The Tchebiner Gaon banged on the tabled and replied, “He already is one of the luminaries of the generation!”
Even in his advanced age, Maran zt”l would continue delivering classes to the public, even when it was extremely difficult for him. He once exclaimed after one of his lectures, “You see, I spoke using every last ounce of strength I had left.” Maran zt”l was always careful not to speak in overly complex or genius terms during his classes, for he wished to speak in a way that would be understood by and have an impact on all Jews, so that the Torah would be disseminated throughout the entire Jewish nation.
Once, Maran zt”l was invited to a convention of Dayanim (rabbinical judges). Needless to say, Dayanim of the highest caliber were in attendance and they expected to hear a brilliant discourse from Maran zt”l addressing some of the most pressing issues of the day.
To everyone’s surprise, Maran arrived and delivered a remarkably simple speech, seemingly meant for outreach. The speech included words of Mussar, parables, and cute anecdotes. The entire audience was shocked: How could the greatest sage of the generation speak before seasoned Torah scholars in a manner appropriate for simpletons?
When Maran zt”l turned to exit the hall, one of the organizers worked up the courage and asked Maran: “Honored rabbi, why did the rabbi not give a lecture befitting the stature of the attendees of the conference?”
Maran zt”l gazed at him with his pure eyes and whispered to him: “I saw that there was a photographer here!” Maran realized that among all the assembled rabbis, there was a photographer hired to record the event and he seemed far from Torah and Mitzvot observance. Maran thought to himself, what is more important, delivering a deep, analytical discourse before the rabbis or to try to reach out to this individual who was far from Torah and Mitzvot? Maran decided it more prudent to try and have a positive influence on that individual and the rest of the audience can think whatever they want!
Maran’s final public class was on Motza’ei Shabbat, 11 Elul 5783, and the last teaching he quoted from our Sages still reverberates in the hearts of those who heard it, for it was a line that summarized Maran’s entire life:
“Fortunate is one whose toil is in Torah and brings satisfaction to his Creator. He grows up with a good name and departs this world with a good name.”
This line summarizes Maran’s life work and his last will and testament after his passing, which is that “we have nothing left besides our Torah!” In all generations, especially this one, the very last anchor we have to keep the flame of the Jewish nation until Mashiach’s arrival is as much Torah study as possible, based on the tradition we have received from our Sages of yesteryear. This is the most important and precious thing of all.
Maran zt”l’s toil in Torah was legendary and boundless. Let us recount an incident related to it:
A great Ashkenazi Rosh Yeshiva, who is a great genius in Torah in his own right, told over that in the 1960s, he lived in Tel Aviv. Maran moved to Tel Aviv at that time when he was elected Chief Rabbi of the City. There was no special interaction between Maran and this Rosh Yeshiva during their years living together in Tel Aviv. Eventually, some years passed, Maran was elected Rishon Le’Zion, and he moved back to Jerusalem.
One night before Rosh Hashanah of the year 5732 (1972), there was an electrical outage in the Rosh Yeshiva’s apartment building. As he was walking home on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv at 11:00 PM, he noticed Maran standing under a streetlamp, learning from a Sefer.
The Rosh Yeshiva was under the impression that Maran needed to look something up and, not wanting to waste time, he went downstairs to read under the streetlight. He was shocked though when he awoke the next morning to recite Selichot in the synagogue that Maran was still under the same streetlight, in the same position, oblivious to what was going on around him.
This story is just one of thousands that attest to the relentless pursuit of Torah that defined Maran’s life. Maran merited that his words were accepted by the entire world in a wondrous manner and this, in turn, was due to his tremendous sanctity and the fact that he was totally immersed in and saturated with the words of the holy Torah. Even when he was about twenty-five years old, approximately one hundred manual laborers of diverse types would gather every night to hear words of Torah from Maran zt”l. These workers served as the foundation for a new and proud generation of Sephardic Torah scholars in Israel as we know it today. Their children and grandchildren were the groundwork for what is the Yeshiva and Kollel system we see in Israel today!
During that time, when the modern State of Israel was in its fledgling stages, the Torah was slowly being forgotten and the honor of the Torah was at a historic low. Nevertheless, anyone who basked in the presence of Maran felt clearly that there is no man more complete, successful, and venerated than a Torah scholar and that Torah study was the greatest and most satisfactory value of all. It was also clear to everyone that there was no greater pity than to be devoid of Torah knowledge. This was the legacy of Maran zt”l that he imparted to the public and only in the merit of the fact that he himself was completely immersed in the holy Torah amid sanctity and purity.
Let us draw strength from these words and realize how fortunate we are to have merited living in the generation of such a giant and to enjoy his great light which will surely continue to shine ever brighter, until the coming of our Righteous Redeemer, Amen!
