If a Torah is accidentally dropped or destroyed in a fire or flood, the family, shul or Yeshiva that this Torah belonged to feels the pain of such a loss. Last week a living Torah, one that belonged to all of the Jewish people, was lost with the passing of HaChacham harav Ovadya Yosef. On Monday morning, Rabbi Hagler spoke with the Middle School students about the loss that all of Klal Yisrael suffered and explained to the students what it means to be a Gadol Hador.
Many Limudei Kodesh teachers took time during the week to share thoughts or memories of HaChacham Harav Ovadya Yosef z"l or to learn Torah in his zechut.
Rabbi Markowitz shared the following thoughts with his classes:
I had the privilege of meeting Rav Ovadyah Yosef during my year in Israel. I described to the students how my only opportunity to meet him was to wake up really early in the morning and to daven in his personal minyan that took place in his study in his in Har Nof, Yerushalayim. His study was full of seforim from the floor to the ceiling. It was an experience that I can remember as if it was yesterday.
I shared with the students how he has able to develop Psak Halacha from Gemara, Rishonim, and Achronim to situations that never had come up before. Several years ago, someone called me and explained that he was going to be out of the country for the night of Purim and wouldn't be near a place where he can hear Kriat Megillah (he was flying back early the next morning). He wanted to know what to do. Several years back I remember learning a teshuva from one of Rav Ovadyah's seforim, "Yechaveh Daat." I explained to the students that this set of teshuvot was developed based on a radio show that he would appear on weekly, people would call in and ask him halachic questions. He was probably one of the first Rabbanim to use technology as a way for others to learn Torah. On the spot, he would give lengthy answers to all of the callers questions. Someone wrote down Rav Ovadyah's answers and compiled it into a Sefer.
One of the questions was if someone could fulfill their mitzvah of Kriat Megillah by hearing it live over the radio. Rav Yosef concluded that ideally one should lain it on their own with a kosher Megillah, if this was not feasible then they may fulfill their mitzvah by hearing the Megillah over the radio. Upon learning this teshuvah, I called back my friend and explained to him the halacha according to Rav Ovadyah.
This is only one small example of how we utilize so much of Rav Ovadyah Yosef's Torah on a regular basis.
Morah Shira's class did the following:
The world of Torah lost one of its brightest lights on Monday when Harav Ovadiya Yosef zt”l passed away on Monday. He embodied the breadth, depth and beauty of Torah. The 6G1, 6G2 and 6B2 Halacha classes looked at maps generated by NASA and Google Maps that show what the entire world looks like in a cross-time-zone nighttime (see images below). We imagined that rather than the glows representing the lights on Earth, that they represented the light of Torah. We further imagined the strongest light in the world, burning brightly in Yerushalayim, going out with the passing of Harav Ovadiya Yosef. We resolved to make the light over Yeshivat Noam burn as brightly as possible to help restore the light of Torah that left this world when Rav Ovadiya did.
Working in small groups, students became experts in various parts of Harav Ovadiya Yosef’s life- such as his time spent in Egypt, his family life and his leadership as the Rishon l’Tzion, Chief Sephardic Rav of Israel. Once students mastered their various areas of concentration, they shared what they learned with fellow students. At the end of the day, students gained an appreciation for Harav Ovadiya Yosef’s whole life, and way of life so as to best kindle his inspiration within ourselves.
