Reading the headline of the (Israeli) Yated newspaper, one can only wonder what exactly caused the storm that prompted the editors to lead with an attack against Chacham Ovadia Yosef Shlita. While not mentioning Rav Yosef by name, it makes reference to the Torah giant’s remarks at the “Dirshu” gathering, attributing derogatory remarks against the Chafetz Chaim to him.
Apparently, the storm surrounds this week’s “Dirshu” gathering in which Rav Yosef was quoted at stating one should not learn only Shulchan Aruch and Mishne Brura, but one should study Beis Yosef and Sephardi poskim in order to arrive at the “emes” (truth) and depth of Jewish law.
Yated condemned remarks made trivializing the stature of the Chafetz Chaim, leading to the opening story.
It now appears that on Thursday night, following a meeting in Rav Yosef’s home addressing the Shefa Shuk issue, Rav Yosef spoke with Rav Shiya Fein in private, explaining his remarks which he stated were taken out of context. “Listen to my opinion,” state Rav Yosef, “The Mishne Brura was a genius of geniuses, a giant in his generation,” in his reference to the Chafetz Chaim.
Rav Fein, a confidant of Rav Elyashiv, delivered the personal message, and according to Friday morning reports, the ‘crisis’ is over.
(NOTE: The Yated in Israel, and Yated in the USA are not owned or operated by the same people.)
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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29 Responses
If the Yeshivishe attitude in Eretz Yisroel towards Acheinu Bnei Sfarad would be a bit more positive, I’m sure they would have been Dan Lekaf Zchus and understood that Harav Yosef never meant anything derogotary. Why oh why can’t we live in peace between each other. We have enough Tzoros in Klal Yisroel and only with Achdus can we hope for a Ge’uloh.
A Sephardi Rav told me once that he learns Mishna Brura as a pirush to Shulchan oruch, and Kaf HaChayim etc. to get halocho lemaaseh.
CRISIS???
I think its more like an immaturity. Its quite understood he was speaking to the Sefardim at the gathering telling them that they should also be learning the Bais Yosef to get to thir halachik outcome.
The yated seems to have an agenda every time Rav Yosef opens his mouth.
This is not the first time that words of Chacham Yosef are taken out of context, and NOT the first time that the YATED writes before it rights.
typical Israeli fashion shoot from the hip before theyhave all the facts
It’s a disgace to see how the Yated has become our Daas Torah. How dare they speak out against any Rabbi, They do it again and again against one person or another, all for a good story.
It’s about time we do something about it, show them we want a real Jewish newspaper, not a newspaper about Jewish people!
I don’t understand the conflict. The C”C himself said that the M”B is not to learn from rather for Balei Batim, and you should continue to learn the Daos of all the Poskim.
I don’t understand. The Beis Yosef is THE starting point for understanding halachah in all the Ashkenazi yeshivos.
if one finds a fight hashem helps them to fight but if one finds and asks hashem to avoid a fight hashem helps him avert a fight
Hashem just wants our connection then hashem can a will take responsibility to help watch and protect us amen. In that merit of unity we will all merit the ultimate redemption amen
space in people! he wasn’t talking about ashkenazim rather to sfardim who don’t nessacerily poskin like the mishna berura cuz they go according to the bais yosef and not the Rema
one thing i could tell you all the chafetz chaim is crying about all this loshon harah if we all of a sudden care so much about him whats going to be with the loshon horah speaking he was so moser nefesh to be meorer klal yisroel to the isurim of loshon haroh………..
Baruch Hashem while this crisis is much ado about nothing. Certainly Chacham Yossef meant that by learning only MB and not the Sefardic opinions are missing part of the depth and breath of Halacha. If researching Halacha would one only look at the Aruch HaShulchan or the the Rav Shulchan aruch or only look at the Shutim of the the Igros Moshe without the Minchas Shlomo or Yabia Omar?
As Chacham Yoddef saidf at the siyum hahsas that Torah is compared to Pesach- Perushim, Shefardim & Chassidim.
At this time with real threats against Klal Yisrael and especially Eretz Yisrael and Toras Yisrael effort needs to be put into unity for Torah and Hashem. Chag Kosher v’Sameach.
shvermaseh-
U r right on target
Dave, actually the starting point is the Gemara then the rif rambam (with the bies yosef) and tur (with the bais yosef) and R’ Yosef has a good point, to that we are just learning M”b w/o going back to the sources.
Bring to mind the famous story of the Chidushei Harim, he wrote a pirush on Choshen Mishpat that was like the mishna berura and when he came to his rebbe (the chozeh? kotzker?) he was told to burn it because it will cause people to stop learning the Shach and taz…..
With that said the chofetz chaim saved klal yisroel with his m’b because the hamon am didnt know halachos and when ever the chofetz chaim say a breach in any part of ya’hadut he wrote a sefer to combat that and fill the breach, loshon horah was a problem so he wrote a sefer, taharos was being forgotton he wrote a sefer, staying jewish in the army etc taharas hamishpocha, etc and finally the Mishna Berura which brought the halachos in a clear concise manner to the masses
The Yated is the new Panim Chadashos. don’t know what I’m talking about? Panim Chadashos was a hate filled newspaper that basically made up stuff just to cause conflict and hate in the Frum community.
Imanonov #1 may have a point. Sometimes a statement may be “clearly” understood by us, but based on our own biases. When the shvatim heard Yosef’s dreams their interpretations of his dream were all congruent. In their mind Yosef was out for himself to be Melech and rule over his brothers instead of Yehuda.
Each of them came to the same conclusion that his dream was not N’vuah because after all the moon clearly represented his mother who was not alive. Their “mistaken” interpretation was based on a hidden disdain DEEP within their hearts.
If they would have viewed Yosef with brotherly love they would have come to a different conclusion.
Perhaps we are guilty of a tiny degree of sinas chinam towards our Sefardi brethren that caused misinterpretation of HaRav Ovadiya Yosef’s statement.
The truth is, at least according to the way Rav Yoef is quoted here, I would have understood him to mean that if you truly want to grasps the depth of Halacha you shouldn’t just learn the Mishna Brura and the Shulchan Aruch (which in deed were written as kitzurei halachas. See comment #7), but rather should learn seforim such as the Beis Yosef, etc.
I can’t imagine why any poskim would have a problem with such a statement.
Another point: We mustn’t be two faced here and immediately condemn the Yated so quickly. Doing so is acting in the same manner as we are condemning them of doing. Perhaps they did check into the matter and came to the conclusion that they did. They made a mistake. It wouldn’t be te first scenario in Yiddishkeit where someone made a mistake. Let’s not condemn so fast. Let’s see if they write up a follow up article exonerating Rav Yosef of any wrong doing.
B”H all is clarified now and Shalom Al Yisroel.
A Gut Shabbos to all and a Geula Shaleima! 🙂
#6 is right on the mark. Does Yated believe that they are the “Pose Acharon” of our generation and the decisor of what is “Emes”
Who really cares what a newspaper says? Does anyone really think R Elyashiv thought that Hacham Obadyah was disrespecting the Chafetz Chaim with his comments? If you do, you have too much time on your hands to think about these things…These torah giants have more important things to think about and do with their precious time.
This would have been a NON STORY, however the Yated which for reasons not known to us choose to emulate the NY Times, by making a non issue into a full blown story and consequently a מחלוקת.
Even if a Yid makes a mistake there are הלכות which specifies when & how to give someone מוסר, however over here we are talking about a Godol & the Posek Hador for the Sephardim, who is the Yated to speak against him? it needs to be left for our Ashkenazy Gedolim.
How ironic is it for some one to speak LOSHON HORAH in the name of the CHOFETZ CHAIM, something to think about!
Shame on them!
I hope my comment makes it on, unless YW is part of the Bias I spoke about!! I know that not to be the case. So i wait eagerly and hear what others have to say
Isn’t it odd that the cries “Daas Toyrah” and “Emunas Chachomim” which call on us to accept what our Gedolim say suddenly don’t apply to Harav Yosef, Shlita?
A shanda!
TO SOFTWORDS:
Unfortunately we can not deal with the Yated with all the soft words, that we wish we could use.
This story keeps repeating itself with different words, and the Yated is known, for making up, misunderstanding, and worse, Chacham Ovadia’s comments. They turned Our holy Torah into down and dirty politics. They long ago lost there Chazaka as G-d Fearing Jews.
Thank you Yeshiva World for bringing up this important issue.
Way to go #11 !!! I think your comment should be in bold letters above all others here! Can you imagine that there is a “Machlokes” ABOUT the Chafetz Chaim??? I don’t think The Chafetz Chaim zt”l would approve!! Rav Mattisyahu Solomon shlit”a said at a vaad last week in the name of Reb Elchonon Wasserman zt”l (Koveitz Maamarim) that each year Pesach time we are being judged again for the reason we are in Galus-Sinaas Chinam- to see if we have eradicated it from our midst. The Ben Ish Chai says that the two dippings in at the Seder represent the two dippings in the Torah. The first was the dipping in of Yosefs clothing which was caused by Sinas Chinam. The second is the dipping of the Ezov by the Para Aduma which we all hope to merit to perform soon. R’ Elchonan zt”l says that it is very possible that we were not forgiven for the aveira of the Sinas Chinam which began with Yosef. And until we stop this bickering and hatred & begin to fargin someone else, we can’t get to the dipping that we want to get to. That of the Para Aduma. Let’s step back a moment here the week before Pesach and take it to heart a little. Enough with this machlokes. Even if you THINK it’s leshaim Shamayim. May this be the year that we merit the coming of Mashiach.
I was at a shiur in Lakewood where Chacham Ovadias son, the one who wrote the Yalkut Yosef, was talking to a predominantly Sefardi crowd. He said that although we pasken like the Kaf Hachaim..it is basic and neccesary for everyone to learn the Mishne Berurah, and he stressed that his father held the same way.
typical israeli (non jewish) politics
Above talk about the Yated is clearly hate speech from my perspective. Yated is known as the premier “Torah” newspaper and I am proud to bring it into my home. I bring it into my home as it has proven itself to be the newspaper that truly seeks out “Daas Torah” in all aspects of it’s reporting. I have personally seen this paper in the houses of Roshei Yeshiva etc. It is well known that this paper is the paper of record in Torah homes.
>font color-“red”>Editors Note: Not sure if you failed to read the note at the bottom of the article or not, but here it is once again:
(NOTE: The Yated in Israel, and Yated in the USA are not owned or operated by the same people.)
Please let us all know which Roshei Yeshivos Etc in Eretz Yisroel you have seen reading the paper. We would like to know.
Thanks.
So what exactly did the chacham mean?
When Chacham Yosef was much younger he made the point that Psak should not be based solely on the Ben Ish Chai. He felt that he was standing up for the honor of the Beit Yosef. Many of the older Rabbonim from Baghdad were very upset with him and he needed to leave Eretz Yisroel for Egypt. Fifty years later Rav Ovadiah Yosef is more widely accepted but his opinion has not changed.
While Rav Ovadia may have been misunderstood, I believe that the historical context and the methology of his teshuvos justify some of the ‘jumping to conclusions’.
If anyone knows what is doing in the chareidi political arena, it is well known that gedolim and rabbonim are very upset the way the yated has a political agenda for everything. The yated was created years ago under the direction of hagram schach and the steipler zt”l and at the time they felt that the oilam hatorah was not represented and anyone reading newspapers was either reading the secular ones or one that represented groups that were far from the oilam hatorah. It was for this reason only that ravs schach zt”l led a fierce war against anything that was foreign to the chareidi philosyphy and it turned out that he was totally correct. Since then the yeshivos and kollelim grew to a point where the gedolim of today think that the days of fighting are over and it is time to live besholom. It is for this reason that we have seen that rav shteinman shlit”a has made it his daily chore to meet with rabbonim and gedolim of all groups, whether they are chassidish, sephardi etc. He has made numerous trips to chutz laaretz together with the gerrer rebbe shlita to show a sign of solidarity. There are also many gedoilim and rabbonim that are reaching out to other groups. For this reason and others there has been a movement in e”y to drop the yated and they even started a new newspaper “yom chadash” under the auspices of many gedoilim including rav sheinman, reb chaim kanievsky, rav nissim karelitz and countless others, in order to show thier disaproval of the way the yated has reported political news. By us supporting the bnei torah who are interested in the news in a clean fashion we are sending a clear message to the yated that it is time to change your ways. Let us all hope that hashem should give sechel and daas to all editors of the chareidi newspapers and they should not be nichshol.( The yated in the usa is not involved with the yated in e”y).