Halacha Date: 2 Cheshvan 5776 October 15 2015
Tomorrow, Friday, the 3rd of Marcheshvan, is the anniversary of the passing of our great leader and glory of the generation, Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l. Let us therefore quote some of his teachings as a merit for his lofty soul.
When delivering a eulogy for his great teacher, Hagaon Harav Ezra Attia zt”l, Rosh Yeshivat Porat Yosef, Maran zt”l quoted the Gemara (Sanhedrin 92a), “One who teaches Torah in this world shall merit teaching it in the World to Come as well, as the verse states, ‘And he who satisfies others abundantly shall be satisfied himself.’” Maran zt”l then asked, what is the great reward of meriting teaching Torah in the World to Come?
He proceeded to explain this matter based on the words of our Sages (Avodah Zara 5a), “Resh Lakish said: Let us be grateful to our ancestors, for if not for the fact that they sinned regarding the Golden Calf, it would be considered that we never came to this world.” Rashi explains that would our forefathers not have sinned in the desert, they would have remained alive forever and relative to this generation, we would be considered nothing. This is because the verse states regarding the generation of the desert, “I had said that you were godly beings and you are all sons of the Most High” meaning that they were never supposed to die and only as a result of the sin of the Golden Calf does the verse states, “Nevertheless you shall die like man and fall like one of the princes.” Thus, the fact that members of later generations are considered great in their generations is all relative since the previous generations have already passed on to the Next World.
When a righteous man among the later generations passes away, his soul ascends to Heaven where all of the great Tannaim and Amoraim, Geonim and Poskim Rishonim and Acharonim are found, all of whom are on tremendous levels of Torah greatness. Indeed, our Sages tell us (Eruvin 53a) that “the hearts of the earlier sages, such as Rabbi Akiva and his peers, is like the opening of the hall (of the Bet Hamikdash which was twenty Amot wide) while the hearts of the later sages, such as Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Oshaya, is the sanctuary (of the Bet Hamikdash, only ten Amot wide). Rabbi Yochanan said: And our hearts are as wide as the opening of a tiny needle.” If so, how is it that a scholar from the later generations will be able to speak words of Torah before the greatest luminaries of the previous generations?
Rather, when a righteous man who has toiled his entire life to teach Torah to the Jewish nation arrives at the Heavenly Yeshiva, Hashem, in all His glory, shall teach this individual Torah, as the verse states, “I am Hashem your G-d who teaches you for your benefit and who guides you on the way you shall go,” and broadens the individual’s wisdom until he is worthy of teaching Torah even in the upper realms. In this way, the righteous individual merits fulfillment of the verse, “I shall speak about your tenets before kings and I shall not be ashamed.” There is therefore a great merit to be able to teach Torah in Heaven about which the verse states, “He who satisfies others abundantly shall be satisfied himself,” meaning that although one will be in a place full of the greatest Torah giants of all times, one will nevertheless be worthy of teaching there as well.
Regarding Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l, clearly, the focal point of his method of halachic decisiveness was based on the fact that we are considered nothing in relation to the earlier halachic authorities; thus, when one wishes to blaze a trail in Halacha or behavior in one’s service of Hashem, one must lift one’s eyes to the great mountains that were the Tannaim, Amoraim, and Poskim and seek out their opinion on how to behave. It is for this reason that most of Maran zt”l’s works are filled with deep analyses of the words of the Poskim of earlier generations as opposed to relying on his own logic and understanding, whether to rule leniently or stringently.
When Maran zt”l was twenty-four years old, his teacher, Hagaon Harav Ezra Attia , appointed him as a member of his own Bet Din (rabbinical court) alongside himself and Hagaon Harav Yehuda Shako zt”l, one of the greatest Torah scholars in Jerusalem at the time. During the breaks between the various cases, Maran zt”l would speak out his novel Torah thoughts and rulings before Hagaon Harav Ezra Attia and Hagaon Harav Yehuda Shako and they would then add their input on the subject matter. Maran zt”l once exclaimed: “I have never ruled on a Halacha issue according to the way I believed was correct when my teacher, Rabbi Ezra, did not agree with me. Even if I was certain that I was correct, I would always ignore my view in favor of his.”
Behold, a true Torah genius who was an expert on every Torah topic but knew well how to establish a rabbi for himself and to subordinate himself before him. Certainly we should not rely on our own knowledge alone, for the generation before us merited serving those that preceded them and their intellect was sharper. We must therefore not consider ourselves wiser than those who preceded us; rather, we must constantly look up to them and march in their footsteps.
During our times when darkness engulfs the world and the values which our forefathers gave up their lives for are becoming increasingly blurry especially by those who try to introduce all sorts of “reforms” in the laws of our holy Torah, we must strengthen ourselves and others as well. We merited having a giant among men whom we can rely upon regarding halachic matters as well as being able to follow in his footsteps regarding leading the public. May we merit toiling in Torah in a clear and coherent manner, to educate our children in the way of the Torah and fear of Heaven, and establishing yet another blessed generation of Torah observant Jews. By doing so, we will be guaranteeing that the Torah does not cease from our descendants, G-d-forbid. Mat we merit the arrival of the Final Redemption when Maran zt”l will once again be alive in our midst and continue to disseminate his Torah to the masses more than ever before.
