Maran Harav Ovadia

He had a mind big enough to master all of Torah. A spirit big enough to lead his people. And a heart big enough to contain all of Klal Yisrael.

Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef met with Prime Ministers, Presidents, great rabbis — and the humblest Jew seeking advice or a berachah. He inspired and led a revolution in Sephardic society. But whether he was the ten-year old son of a poor grocer pleading to study Torah constantly, or an ailing man in his '90s keeping a schedule that would have tired someone half his age, Harav Ovadia Yosef had only one agenda: Torah. Always Torah. And everyday life according to the Torah.

The brilliant gaon was an unyielding warrior for Torah. As a young rabbi in Cairo, he courageously stood firm for halachah even as a gun was pointed at his head. In the early days of the State of Israel, he struggled to bring his Sephardic brethren back to the magnificent Torah traditions that many were abandoning with terrifying haste.

His encyclopedic knowledge was breathtaking and unparalleled. In his scores of brilliant sefarim he "restored the crown to its glory," fighting the battles of Torah and maintaining the preeminence of Maran Beit Yosef. As unyielding as he was in defense of Torah, so was he compassionate in personal encounters. He loved all Jews, and they loved him. When there were hundreds of agunot after Israel's wars, it was to him that all turned to find the keys to their chains.

So multifaceted a leader needs a multifaceted biography. In Maran Harav Ovadia we meet the sage, the leader, the visionary, the loving father of all in distre