In his final official lesson as Israel's chief rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef on Saturday night commented on the controversy he sparked with his statements in recent months about the ultra-Orthodox draft bill. "I was criticized," said Yosef. "Who criticized me? Secular judges who don't know a single page of Talmud."
Yosef, who is supposed to conclude his term on Monday after nearly 11 years in office, added: "What do they know? They're no match for our rabbis, I do not need to fear them, do not be afraid of anyone. We do our part, what we can, we haven't succeeded in everything."
This is the second time Yosef has referred to the Supreme Court ruling n recent days. late last week, the rabbi said in an interview with "HaDerech" newspaper: "The sons of the Torah are the reason for Israel's existence, that's what kept us alive through the generations. But they don't understand that, they're victims of their own making who don't understand what saved the people of Israel. Without the Torah, we have no right to exist, and certainly no right to the land of Israel."
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Supreme Court halted yeshiva money for not enlisting Ultra-Orthodox
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
About a month ago, Yosef came out against the Supreme Court's interim injunction that suspended government-allocated budgets for yeshivas with students who are not enlisting in the IDF. "These dumb judges, yes, dumb. Instead of the judges empowering and funding the yeshivas, to every yeshiva boy they give pennies. Instead of raising the budget, they went and cut it. For almost two months there has been no money for the yeshivas."
Yosef will conclude his term at the same time as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau. Their replacements have not yet been chosen, but they will have interim successors. Rabbi Eliezer Igra will preside as the president of the Rabbinical Court and Rabbi Yaakov Roja, the chief rabbi of Bat Yam, will head the rabbinic council. Roja is considered an expert in burial and identifying missing persons.