David Yosef

{{short description|Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (born 1957)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}

{{EngvarB|date=January 2024}}

{{Infobox Jewish leader

| honorific-prefix = Hacham

| image = דוד יוסף עם גלימה.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = HaGaon HaRishon LeZion, Hacham David Yosef, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel

| title = Rishon LeZion
Chief Rabbi of Israel

| birth_place = Jerusalem, Israel

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|08|10}}

| nationality =

| father = Ovadia Yosef

| organisation = Chief Rabbinate of Israel

| organisationposition = Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (2024{{snd}}present)

| predecessor = Yitzchak Yosef

| successor =

| other_post = Chief Rabbi of Har Nof, Rosh Kollel of Yechaveh Da'at

| honorific-suffix =

| alma_mater = Hebron Yeshiva (Knesset Yisrael),

Ponevezh Yeshiva

| mother = Margalit Yosef

| denomination = Sephardic Orthodox

| main_work = The "Halacha Berura" and others

| spouse = Sofia Yosef

| name = David Yosef
דוד יוסף

}}

Hacham David Yosef ({{Langx|he|דוד יוסף}}; born August 10, 1957) is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel and Rishon LeZion. He has authored dozens of books in Jewish Law mainly based on the rulings of his father, Hacham Ovadia Yosef. His most notable work is a set of books named Halacha Berura, which is an encyclopedia like commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, with letters of approbation from his father and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.

On September 29, 2024, Yosef was elected to serve a ten-year term as the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, The Rishon LeZion.{{cite news |last= Breuer|first= Eliav |date= September 29, 2024|title= Rabbi David Yosef chosen as Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi|url= https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-822442|work= Jerusalem Post |access-date=September 30, 2024}}{{cite news |last= Fiske|first= Gavriel |date= September 29, 2024|title= David Yosef elected as Sephardic chief rabbi, the third from his family in the role

|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/david-yosef-elected-as-sephardic-chief-rabbi-the-third-from-his-family-in-the-role/|work= Times of Israel |access-date=September 30, 2024}} Both his older brother Yitzchak Yosef and his father Ovadia Yosef previously served in the office. Yosef was formally inaugurated in a crowning ceremony on December 11, 2024 in Jerusalem, where he officially donned the traditional garments of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2340499/watch-turban-of-harav-ovadia-ztl-is-placed-on-harav-dovids-head-inaugurating-him-as-chief-rabbi.html {{cite web |title=In a gown and turban: Rabbi David Yosef crowned as Rishon Lezion |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/400595 |website=Israel National News |language=en |date=11 December 2024}} Yosef honored the legacy of his father by wearing his fathers vestments during the ceremony.{{cite web |last1=Isaacson |first1=Gila |title=Israel's new Sephardi Chief Rabbi inaugurated in historic ceremony |url=https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/sobwnw |website=JFeed |language=en |date=11 December 2024}} Yosef's personal vestments will resemble the design of his father's. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2340499/watch-turban-of-harav-ovadia-ztl-is-placed-on-harav-dovids-head-inaugurating-him-as-chief-rabbi.html Yosef currently serves as the president of the Chief Rabbinate Council, and will rotate with his Ashkenazi counterpart, to later serve as Head of the Rabbinic Court.{{Cite web |last=כהן |first=ישי |date=2024-09-30 |title=הערכה: הכתרת הראשון לציון הגאון .. |url=https://www.kikar.co.il/haredim-news/skm4me |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=כיכר השבת |language=he}}

File:HaGaon Rav David Yosef, Rishon L'Tzion, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel.jpg

He previously served as the chief rabbi of the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem,{{cite web|url=http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/264729/rav-david-yosef-shlita-will-not-run-in-jerusalem-race.html|title=Rav David Yosef Shlita Will Not Run in Jerusalem Race|publisher=Yeshiva World News|date=8 October 2014}} the head of the Yechaveh Da'at Kollel, and a member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of the Shas party.{{cite news |title=Tens of thousands gather again in Jerusalem in remembrance of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef |author=Jeremy Sharon |url=http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Tens-of-thousands-gather-again-in-Jerusalem-in-remembrance-of-Rabbi-Ovadia-Yosef-328617 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date= October 13, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Rabbi-Ovadia-Yosefs-son-David-to-take-his-place-at-Shas-council-328616|title=Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's son David to take his place at Shas council|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=13 October 2013}}

He is regarded as one of the most influential Sephardic Rabbis in the world due to having scores of students serving as Rabbinic figures across the globe. He is fluent in multiple languages, including English, and often travels the world delivering Shiurim. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2319924/the-torch-has-been-passed-hagaon-harav-david-yosef-elected-sephardic-chief-rabbi-of-israel.html

Yosef is also a lecturer at Chazaq, a New York City-based outreach organization with a special emphasis on outreach for Jewish public school students. He is a frequent guest by the Syrian American community in Brooklyn and the Sephardic community in France, Argentina and Mexico.

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Early life and education

David Yosef was born and raised in Jerusalem. He is the ninth child of the former Israeli Chief Rabbi and Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef,{{cite web |last1=Scarr |first1=Cindy |title=The Next Link - Mishpacha Magazine |url=https://mishpacha.com/the-next-link-2/ |date=18 April 2023}} and is paternally of Iraqi Jewish descent. Yosef studied at the Or Israel Yeshiva in his youth, a year at the Ponevezh Yeshiva and then at the Hebron Yeshiva (Knesset of Israel) in Jerusalem. During his studies at the Hebron Yeshiva he met Aryeh Deri and the two became friends for many years.

Personal life

File:דוד יוסף ויצחק יוסף.jpg Yosef is married to Sofia, daughter of Yosef Suissa, and sister of former MK Eli Suissa. They have nine children. Yosef lives in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Controversies

In October 2020, Yosef was forced to resign as a state-paid rabbi due to violating regulations for public servants, which prohibit public servants from expressing political opinions in public, and also prohibit offensive or discriminatory speech against groups. Violations include speaking negatively about the Reform movement and the Women of the Wall prayer rights organization including statements such as: “One must stand up in every place and talk about the lie of the Reform movement which has distorted authentic Judaism”. He has spoken disparagingly about the Women of the Wall, saying: “these idiots put on tefillin,” that their activity was “promiscuous, coarse, vulgar, immodest and shameless,” and that “they have no connection to authentic Judaism.”{{cite news |title=Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's son forced to quit post for political comments |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/rabbi-ovadia-yosefs-son-forced-to-quit-post-for-political-comments-667182 |work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com}}{{cite news |title=High Court Rejects Reform Petition Against Harav David Yosef {{!}} Hamodia.com |url=https://hamodia.com/2021/05/05/high-court-rejects-reform-petition-harav-david-yosef/ |work=Hamodia |date=5 May 2021 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615120902/https://hamodia.com/2021/05/05/high-court-rejects-reform-petition-harav-david-yosef/ |archive-date=15 June 2021}}

References