On the Passing of Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l

The Rabbinical Council of America joins the entire Jewish world in mourning the passing of one of the greatest Torah scholars of our generation, the Rishon LeTziyon, HaRav Ovadia Yosef, former Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel. Rabbi Yosef was a prodigious, prolific scholar and courageous arbiter of Jewish law whose writings and rulings will continue to be studied and have influence on Jewish practice for generations. For decades he was a visionary leader in Israel, particularly of his Sephardic community. Rabbi Leonard Matanky, president of the RCA, stated, “Chacham Rav Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, was a man of great vision, who worked indefatigably to fulfill his life’s mission ‘to restore the crown of Torah to its ancient glory’.”