Yitzhak Yosef facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yitzchak Yosefיצחק יוסף |
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| Religion | Judaism |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Born | January 16, 1952 Jerusalem |
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| Senior posting | |
| Title | Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel |
| Predecessor | Shlomo Amar |
| Position | Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel |
| Organisation | Chief Rabbinate of Israel |
| Other | Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia Talmudic scholar and recognized halakhic authority |
Yitzhak Yosef (Hebrew: יצחק יוסף, born January 16, 1952) is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (known as the Rishon LeZion), the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia, and the author of a set of books on halakha (Jewish law) called Yalkut Yosef.
Yosef is the son of Ovadia Yosef, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, and bases his halakhic rulings on his father's methodology. His books are considered foundational among large sectors of Sephardic Jews in Israel and the world. For these books, he has won the Rabbi Toledano Prize from the Tel Aviv Religious Council, as well as the Rav Kook Prize.
Biography
Yitzhak Yosef was born in Jerusalem in 1952, the sixth son of the former Shas spiritual leader and Israeli Chief Rabbi, Ovadia Yosef. He attended school at Talmud Torah Yavneh in the Independent Education System. At age 12, he began his studies at the junior yeshiva of Porat Yosef in Katamon, Jerusalem. After that, he studied at Yeshivat HaNegev in Netivot, and from there, at Hebron Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
Yosef did not finish high school, and called secular studies "nonsense".
In 1971, when he was 18 and studying at Yeshivat HaNegev, Yosef collected halakhic rulings from the five volumes of Yavia Omer, the book of his father's responsa, that had been published by then, and published them in the book Yalkut Yosef. The book was published with his father's support and supervision. It is often considered one of his father's books, since not only is it a summary of his father's rulings, but the latter also went over it section by section and added his own comments.
Yosef is married to Ruth, daughter of the kabbalist Rachamim Attia. They have five children. His eldest son, named after his father Ovadia, is married to the daughter of Shlomo Amar. His daughter Margalit is married to the son of Yehuda Deri. His youngest daughter is married to the son of Meir Sage. Yosef lives in the Sanhedria Murhevet neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Rabbinic career
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In 1973, with his father's election as Chief Rabbi of Israel, together they established the Kollel and Yeshiva Hazon Ovadia. In 1980, Yosef was ordained as a rabbi and judge, along with the rest of the first class of the graduates, by the chief rabbis of Israel and by the chief rabbi of Jerusalem Shalom Messas. With the beginning of the second class, he was appointed head of the school.
In 1975 Yosef was appointed rabbi of the moshavim Nes Harim and Mata, both near Jerusalem, and began to deliver classes on halakha several times a week and care for other Jewish matters in the villages. As part of his responsibilities, he gave lectures and classes in the secular public schools and strengthened religious education there.
In 1992 Yosef expanded Hazon Ovadia to a yeshiva for boys high school age and older. This was necessary because of unrest among the Sephardi Haredi community stemming from disagreements with the Ashkenazi Litvak yeshiva.
On 24 July 2013 Yosef was elected to serve as Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel and Rishon Lezion, a position he will hold for a decade. The inauguration took place on 14 August 2013 at the official residence of the President of Israel.
With the death of Yosef's father, the Shas political party lost its spiritual leader. Having been elected Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Yosef appeared to be in a healthy position to inherit the authority of his father as the spiritual leader of Shas. But since he holds a position of public office, Yosef is prohibited by law from being politically active. Until the election, he never held any formal public office.
On 21 August 2013 Yosef released a psak halakha stating it is an obligation and mitzvah for parents to have their children vaccinated for polio virus.
In 2021 he endorsed the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States and serves as its Halachic guide.
See also
In Spanish: Yitzhak Yosef para niños
