Rabbi Chaim Amsellem, who heads the Am Shalem party, is back in the news on Sunday, 17 Adar as he announced in his opinion, HaGaon HaRav Meir Mazuz Shlita is not following in the path of Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L as the rav claims to be the case.
Rabbi Amsellem explains talmidim of Rav Mazuz have gone out of their way to document how Rav Mazuz is following Rav Ovadia’s derech. He states that this is not so.
“Rabbi Mazuz is not continuing Rav Ovadia’s derech and he does not have to. He is continuing the derech of Chachmei Sephardim over the generations in limud, piskei halacha, lomdus and iyun…He is strengthening the traditions of our predecessors whose place is not found in litvish and Shas yeshivos” stated Rav Amsellem.
Rav Amsellem adds that the Shas party Moetzas Gedolei Yisrael has ignored Rav Mazuz and his Torah, adding “Shas only knows how to play on the sensitivities of Sephardim and takes advantage of it on election eve. Nothing to complain about because the day after the petira of Rav Ovadia Rav Mazuz decided to break away from the Shas dictatorship, the Shas Litvish/Sephardi conception…”
Amsellem added he is not coming out in support of any party but “I am against ignorance, lies and twisting reality.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Mr. Amsellem is a joker. Maran called him a rasha; who is HE to tell anyone anything about Maran.
Does it make sense to defend someone against what that same person holds of rav mazuz holds he is rav ovadia and to defend him saying he is not doesn’t make sense to me
כל הפוסל במומו פוסל
Rav Amsalem was saying it is a compliment. Read the article again, dear fellow commenters.
R’ Amsalem is not criticizing Rav Mazuz – he’s stating that Rav Mazuz is following a derech different from Rav Ovadia’s, but Rav Mazuz’s derech is based on the Chachmei Sefarad of prior generations. As such, R’ Amsalem’s view is that it’s a legitimate derech.
For clarity’s sake – I’m expressing no opinion on R’ Amsalem – I’m just trying to clarify what he’s reported to have said.
an Israeli Yid
Apparently after Maran booted Amsellem, he is following a “different derech”.
“Rav Mazuz decided to break away from the Shas dictatorship, the Shas Litvish/Sephardi conception”
So now Rabbi Amsellam is bashing the Litvisha Bnei Torah?