A Jewish man who became Orthodox late in his life once sent a letter to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef with a question: "Am I allowed to drink kiddush wine from the bottle that my father opened-" The rabbi answered: "You just adopted Orthodox Judaism and the first thing you're doing is transgressing [the commandment] to honor your father and mother-" Basically, Yosef noted that the question of whether he could drink from the bottle was inappropriate. The answer to that enquiry was trivial, apparently. Many other rabbis, among them rabbis in the national-religious movement, would have given the opposite answer. This response conveyed Yosef's halachic approach, which preferred leniency within the traditional spirit of Eastern rulings, unlike the stricter Ashkenazi rabbis. Yosef was not looking to flaunt stringent dictates. He pursued a worldly approach, appropriate for a religiously observant way of life. When it comes to his halachic greatness, people often point out Yosef's knowledge of Jewish law, his legal profundity and the numerous books he wrote. But such attributes and achievements are also applicable to stricter, extremist rabbis. What set Yosef apart were his permissions, many of which were important, valued and influential. Several of the rabbi's historic rulings significantly contributed to the State of Israel and Israeli society. But alongside the rabbinical Yosef was Rabbi Ovadia the political figure. Though some will object to that definition, Yosef was indeed the "spiritual leader" of Shas, and whoever launches a party, makes political decisions and appoints the party chairman, is a political figure. Shas could have channeled a social message. The party bore the rebellion of an underprivileged Sephardi-haredi public, humiliated by Ashkenazi haredim. Shas was meant to straighten the community's back and imbue it with pride and a sense of self-worth. One could have expected Shas to offer a new model for the haredi party, advocating moderate positions in the spirit of Yosef's bold rulings. But instead Shas aligned with the extremist and stringent policies of United Torah Judaism on almost every issue at hand. Yosef the politician prodded his opponents with ridicule. Who didn't Yosef attack? Shulamit Aloni and Benjamin Netanyahu, Yossi Sarid and Naftali Bennet, Avraham Burg and Miriam Ben-Porat, Rabbi Haim Amsalem and Habayit Hayehudi, Supreme Court justices ... and the list goes on. He failed to comprehend the public, national responsibility he had to mitigate and bring people together. Additionally, we cannot forget that Shas, even if it was not corrupt at birth, was one of the most corrupt parties in Israeli political history. Presently and in the past, Shas's leadership and party members have been infected with corruption both public and criminal. No party ever seemed to give so much legitimacy to corruption, fighting for its corrupted officials while making accusation at law enforcement officials every step of the way. Take, for example, how Yosef emphatically backed Aryeh Deri during legal proceedings against the former interior minister for bribery. Yosef said Deri was "innocent" though every judge at every court determined unequivocally, according to the evidence, that he was guilty. The rabbi secured Deri at the head of Shas' list, using ethnically tinged incitement to leverage his conviction for electoral gains. Yosef then reappointed Deri to head Shas after the former leader had been released from prison and his period of disgrace had ended. So who was the real Rabbi Ovadia Yosef? Who will be remembered by the generations to come? Will it be the great rabbi of Torah, a halachic authority and the lenient rabbi who made humanistic rulings and embodied a life of Torah? Or will is be the leader of Shas, who spoke with a wild tongue and endorsed corrupted officials? Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was a man of two personalities, and that's how he'll be remembered.
