Ovadia Yosef
Ovadia Yosef | |
|---|---|
עובדיה יוסף | |
Ovadia Yosef in the synagogue below his house | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | September 24, 1920 |
| Died | October 7, 2013 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Spouse | Margalit Fattal |
| Children | 11, including Yitzhak Yosef, Ya'akov Yosef, David Yosef and Adina Bar-Shalom |
| Parent(s) | Yaakov and Gorjiya Ovadia |
| Alma mater | Porat Yosef Yeshiva |
| Occupation | Author, Politician, Rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and recognized halakhic authority |
| Signature | |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Sephardi Haredi Judaism |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Yitzhak Nissim |
| Successor | Mordechai Eliyahu |
| Position | Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel |
| Organisation | Chief Rabbinate of Israel |
| Began | 1973 |
| Ended | 1983 |
| Other | Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv Spiritual leader of the Shas political party |
| Buried | Sanhedria Cemetery |
| Residence | Jerusalem |
| Semikhah | Rabbi Ben Zion Hai Uziel |
Ovadia Yosef (Hebrew: עובדיה יוסף, romanized: Ovadya Yosef, Arabic: عبد الله يوسف, romanized: ‘Abd Allāh Yūsuf; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) also known as Maran (Hebrew: מרן) "Our Master", was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983. Also known as Gadol Yisrael "great one of Israel". He is highly regarded as one of the most influential Sephardic religious authorities of all time. He is also a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Yosef's responsa were highly regarded within Haredi circles, particularly among Mizrahi communities, among whom he was regarded as "the most important living halakhic authority".