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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Rav Yitzhak Yosef Shlit"a in Merkaz Harav: My Father ZT"L Prayed That They Wouldn't Return Territories

Kikar reports that Rav Yitzhak Yosef Shlit"a, the Rishon Letzion, spoke at a Yom Yerushalayim gathering in Yeshivat Merkaz Harav.  He first praised the Rosh Yeshiva - Rav Yaakov Shapira Shlit"a - and said that whenever he hears praises about a certain Dayan, he guesses and asks, "Did he learn in Merkaz Harav?" and they tell him, "Yes."

Regarding the Six Day War, he said:
I was a boy, but I remember how scary it was.  They thought that there would be thousands of corpses, Has Veshalom.  What miracles and wonders we had!

They were shelling Yerushalayim.  I was with Maran Abba A"H.  Our building got shelled and it shook the building.  Abba was sitting below and said, "We need to pray for the success of our soldiers."  He learned with Hacham Ben Tzion Abba Sha'ul A"H as a Havruta.  Rav Ben Tzion would briefly stop and was afraid that there was a shelling.  Abba grabbed him and would tell him, "Come on, let's continue."

When the Kotel was captured, I went together with Maran Abba ZT"L to the Kotel.  Abba arrived and prayed, "Master of the universe, give strength to our leaders that they will withstand the tests not to return the captured territories."  Maran Abba knew that the day will come when all different types of groups will come, from the Geneva Initiative, and will want to return all types of territories.  He stood and prayed that they will withstand these tests.
Whenever we see anything that shows that Rav Ovadia believed that giving up territories was the correct move, such as this recently publicized handwritten note by Rav Ovadia, it was always in the context of saving lives and not as a general principle.  If it is necessary to save lives, such as the peace accord with Egypt, it is permitted.  Otherwise, such as the Disengagement, which Rav Ovadia was vehemently against, it is forbidden.  In cases like the Oslo Accords, Rav Ovadia initially backed it based on the advice of generals and the information he had at the time, thinking that it would save lives.  When he realized it wouldn't and would do just the opposite, he admitted his mistake and rescinded his support for it.

So, the next time someone tells you that Rav Ovadia ZT"L was a leftist (and I've unfortunately heard this lie many times), you can explain the truth to that person.  May Rav Ovadia's prayer be realized and may the full reunification of Yerushalayim - including Har Habayit - come to us speedily in our days, Amen.

3 Comments:

At Tue May 27, 10:00:00 PM 2014, Anonymous Anonymous said...

thank you yy. you have made my day.
it has been very heartbreaking to read jews, and religious or zionist religious jews criticising the HaRav Ovadia even after he passed away, when he was not there to defend himself. i left a couple of blogs because of the harsh criticisms against their fellow jews. as a xtian during my rist 40 years, i thought i had left behind all this kind of tongue lashing which is saw in the xt world. everything was blamed on the jews. and now we see jews themselves blaming jews. its horrifying. they are not rebuking fellow jews out of love. they are lashing out at them, like how the non jews behave. and then after continuous reading of criticisms against any jew, i felt i might forget my own standing as a non jew, forget jacob's appeal to Hashem to bless those who bless ysr and curse those who curse ysr and one day inadvertently criticise a jew. so i left a couple of blogs. as a non jew, albeit noahide, i need to be even more careful than a jew what i think or speak of jews. moreover,i truly believe Hashem will not allow things to go out of control for ysr. when we speak ill of the torah scholars when we are no where near the dust of their feet in knowledge or understanding, i feel we are delaying the long awaited mosiach. thanks again for this wonderful and truthful article on HaRav Ovadia. may his merits bring redemption to ysr.

 
At Tue May 27, 10:45:00 PM 2014, Anonymous Anonymous said...

GreaT article on Rav Ovadia May The Tzaddik Be a Blssing . I agree with 10 rainbow we must be careful of lashon harah and rechilus of our sages . Theres chabad, breslov , sefard , litvauk etc etc our aim should be unity not disunity B"H . There were 31 kings in israel when Joshua ben nun conqured it. There are 31 mitzvot of lashon harah and rechilus in the Torah . To be succesful in war we need unity , especially amongst the religious who set the example for all of Israel and all of the olam . Tikkun olam bemalchut Shaddai B"BB"H

 
At Wed May 28, 09:20:00 AM 2014, Anonymous Anonymous said...

10 Rainbow & Anon: Unity is imperative for the Jewish nation; but there is a big problem, today more than ever, most of the Jewish people everywhere have no idea of what a Jew means or is. Their unwarranted hatred is for the G-D fearing and righteous, because they have taken on the ways of the non-Jewish world, including its hatred for Jews. As far as the nationlist religious right, who are G-D fearing, they have been brainwashed by the leftist, religious-hating media and the gov it represents and sometimes these good Jews seem to have 'more' loyalty to the State than to G-D. Leadership of all true Torah Jewry must get together and unite, thereby strengthening themselves because H' will be with them. Am echad, lev echad. May the holy neshamas of HaRav Ovadia Yosef, ztzl, and all the other Tzadikim in Olem Emet intercede on behalf of Bnei Yisrael, which I'm sure they are doing.

 

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