Israel – Speaking out tonight on recent events in Israel, particularly in Beit Shemesh, R’ Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party, made it clear that the Torah expects all Jews to love each other irrespective of their levels of observance.
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“The ways of the Torah are pleasant and peaceful and loving your neighbor is equivalent to the entire Torah,” said R’ Yosef. “We are one people, sons of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and those who attempt to cause strife between chareidim and those who are not chareidem are causing a great chilul Hashem.”
R’ Yosef called upon the media to do its part to encourage unity between all Jews and to avoid doing anything that would create a rift between different religious groups and expressed his hope that the entire nation could come together saying, “when the nation of Israel is united, there is no one in the world who can have power over them.”
All is true. But why dosnt he take the opportunity to speak out about modest dressing for woman? Is there anything in the torah about that as well?
Rabbbi yosef and sons. Please revert to learning and get out of politics. You have not faired well keeping up with both.
Thank you Hashem for giving us such Gedolim like Harav Ovadia (and more….).
He is the real rabbi.
What someone will do for little fame ?Why don’t you speak to them about Tzenious that’s not in the Tora ?
It is beyond me how previous commentators can lash out against Haham Ovadia when they clearly did not hear the entire Shiur. He did mention the importance of Tzeniut and he discussed the subject thousands of times.
Chazal say the mitzvah of v’ahavta l’reiachah k’mocha only applies to those k’mocha bTorah ubmitzvos. To love secular jews is racism unless you love goyim too. That does not mean you must hate them, it only means there is no special mitzvah to love good secular jews. I love them but i love good goyim too – often I feel I have more in common with a religious goy than with a secular jew.
I appreciate this speech by Rav Ovadia, I’m just curious, does a secular yid also have to love the charedim or the seculars may continue to hate frum yidden, since the seculars don’t abide by Torah, and all his nice talk only obligates charedim?
If only we would have listened to the chabad rebbe, he was saying this years ago…
to number 6:
The Baal Hatanya differs, in chapter 32 of Tanya (you can look this up for yourself) he writes that the only time you can hate the evil in another is if the other person is on your level.
But if the other was brought up differently then you etc. you can only love him (and teach him with love/ never rebuke).
Hurray for Rav Ovadia. The biggest problem in our generation is the hatred between Jews. “V’ohavta l’reyacha” is for all Jews. Let’s get on it and exemplify it.
Anyone who doesn’t think Rav Yosef is chareidi enough doesn’t know the first thing about him. He has been criticized left and right for saying exactly the same things chareidim say, and even more. Even now, he criticizes the media fanning the flames of hatred against chareidim. But sprinkle in a little “ve’ohavto lereacho komocho” and a bunch of internet morons assume he’s modernish.
The Chafetz Chayim (Margenisa Tava, end of Ahavas Yisrael) says that it is forbidden to hate even a Jew who is “completely wicked” (רשע גמור). The reason is that he does not have the status (din) of “wicked” unless he was rebuked and no one nowadays knows how to give rebuke properly.
Citing this reason, the Chazon Ish (Yoreh Deah, Hil. Shechitah 2:28) says that nowadays it is a mitzvah to love even the wicked (מצוה לאהוב את הרשעים)