From the time of Rabbi Yosef Karo until that of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, there was no halachic authority among Mizrachi Jews (Jews who hail from the Middle East) with a greater influence. Many Torah geniuses and authorities have arisen throughout the generations. Many wrote exemplary works whose mark is felt for generations. Rabbi Yosef's greatness lies in the fact that his halachic vision did not stay buried in houses of study and among select individuals but trickled down to the people. Hundreds of thousands of prayer books have been printed in the last two decades based on Rabbi Yosef's halachic decisions. These prayer books can be found in every Sephardi home and synagogue and, without anyone realizing it, have replaced the prayer books used in Sephardi Jewish communities for generations. The same is true of his book "Yalkut Yosef," a book of Halachah that has been reissued in many popular editions and is studied by multiple thousands. Rabbi Yosef was distinguished in three ways: in his vision, in his halachic rulings and in his Torah knowledge. From a young age he set himself the goal of "restoring the crown of the divine attributes to its ancient completeness" (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 69b). For more than 50 years he worked persistently and tirelessly to fulfill this mission, and he succeeded. Instead of a body of Halachah that is subject to Ashkenazic interpretation, there is a Sephardi Halachah where the rulings of the "house of Yosef" take precedence. His rulings were dominated by the approach of "kocha dehetera adif," the power of leniency is greater. Anyone can interpret the law strictly and issue prohibitions. But Rabbi Yosef knew how to be lenient, and he courageously did so on more than one occasion. Thus he permitted the Karaites and the Jews of Ethiopia to marry other Jews. He is also the person who entrenched the use of the heter mechira (a halachic leniency that allows land in Israel to be sold to a non-Jew for the duration of the Sabbatical year so that it can continue to be farmed). He also facilitated the conversion of thousands and released many women from a state of being agunot (chained in unwanted marriages when divorce could not be obtained). Rabbi Yosef was great in Shas, the political party; as well as Shas, the six orders of the Mishna. He was a great adjudicator of the law, and wrote great works of Halachah. The first of these were the ten packed volumes of responsa, "Yabia Omer." Among the wider public Rabbi Yosef was known for his sharp-tongued pronouncements (often excessive) as well as his political involvement. But first and foremost Rabbi Yosef was a halachic ruler and disseminator of Torah. That is how he saw himself, and that, we can imagine, is how he will be remembered by history. The small boy from Jerusalem's Bukharim Quarter, the son of an impoverished grocer, became one of the world's greatest disseminators of Torah, written and oral. When the curses against his enemies and political intrigues are forgotten, what will be left is his tremendous life's work, whose power will last for generations.
