HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, who flew to the UAE on Thursday on a historic visit of Israel’s first Chief Rabbi to visit an Arab country, spent Shabbos with the Jewish community in the UAE, as well as with about 400 Jewish tourists, mostly Israelis.

HaRav Yosef delivered several shiurim over the course of Shabbos.

On Motzei Shabbos, HaRav Yosef participated in the writing of the first Sefer Torah to be written in the Emirates.

JCC DUBAI pic.twitter.com/7Vty9upiUh

— Naum Koen (@KoenNaum) December 19, 2020

HaRav Yosef davened Shacharis on Sunday in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. There he met with about 20 Teimani Jews, who settled in the UAE after fleeing Yemen several months ago. HaRav Yosef told them that despite the generosity of the Emirati government, they should ultimately settle in Eretz HaKodesh.

הראשון לציון הרב יצחק יוסף נפגש באמירויות עם יהודים מתימן שקיבלו שם מקלט אחרי שברחו מהמדינה המדממת. יוסף מבקר שם באירוחו של לוי דוכמן, מרבני וראשי הקהילה היהודית שם pic.twitter.com/nS2QaX3NUb

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) December 20, 2020

Later on Sunday, HaRav Yosef met with members of the Emirati royal family and senior government figures, including the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Minister of Tolerance and the Minister of Economic Development.

HaRav Yosef noted during his visit that his father, HaGaon HaRav Ovadiah Yosef, z’tl, who also served as Israel’s Chief Rabbi, was born in Iraq and served as a Rav in Egypt, which illustrates the ability of different faiths to co-exist in harmony.

One of the purposes of the meeting and the main purpose of HaRav Yosef’s visit was the regulation of permits regarding full Jewish observance in the UAE. HaRav Yosef addressed various issues on this topic, including the establishment of a shul and mikveh, the establishment of a kashrus agency and the establishment of a Jewish cemetery.

The mikvah will be the first mikvah built in a Gulf state and will service all the countries of the region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

In the course of his visit, HaRav Yosef attended an opening ceremony of a Jewish nursery school, broke ground on the community’s planned mikvah, inspected the local shechita, and officiated at a special ceremony at the Jewish Community Center in Dubai. The ceremony marked the first certification of a shul in the Emirates, Beit Tefillah shul in Abu Dhabi, and also invested Rav Levi Duchman as the Rav of the Emirati Jewish community.

One of Israel’s two chief rabbis, Yitzhak Yosef, is visiting the United Arab Emirates. pic.twitter.com/HzPV4mIwz9

— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) December 19, 2020

#عاجل

حاخام #إسرائيل الأكبر إسحاق في زيارة تأريخية لدبي ومن المقرر أن يلتقي مسؤولين إماراتيين بارزين وسيفتح إن شاء الله مدرسة يهودية ومعبداً في دولة #الإمارات كما المطعم الجديد في #برج_خليفة الذي يقدم الطعام الكاشير (الحلال وفق الشريعة اليهودية). pic.twitter.com/bpsePU2Op2

— جاي معيان Guy Maayan (@guy_telaviv) December 19, 2020

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)