We’ve got Chief Rabbis! 150 member panel picks 2

The vote for the dual positions of Chief Rabbi of Israel came in on the Haredi side of the equation last week, with 150 representatives electing the sons of two previous chief rabbis.

Rabbi David Lau, 47, Modi’in’s chief rabbi and son of a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yisrael Meir Lau, was selected Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, 61, son of Shas spiritual leader and a former Sepahrdic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, was selected as Sephardic Chief Rabbi, the Rishon LeTzion.

Great Neck activist Dr. Paul Brody noted that he “had the privilege of spending two Pesach holidays with Rabbi David Lau” and said that based on the rabbi’s speech and demeanor predicted that he would someday be chief rabbi.

“Hopefully he will be a uniting, unifying force in Israel. He is Haredi but I think he is Tzioni and has strong feeling for the Zionistic State of Israel. The Lau family represents the victory of the Jews over Hitler.”

“Both candidates are very qualified and have experienced growing up in a household of chief rabbis,” said Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, Rosh Mesivta of Rambam in Lawrence and Dean of Midreshet Shalhevet in Valley Stream.

“In their own merit they are scholars and have great potential for leadership. I hope the election of the chief rabbis will result in the unity of Klal Yisroel and not just focus on the agenda of any particular segment of the population.

“I recall that Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l, was very concerned with the idea of a chief rabbinate being an elected position with political overtones. Politics and halacha should not mix. It was sad to see many very divisive comments made that didn’t lead to achdut as it should have to unite all the people.”

Each candidate accrued 68 votes of 147 votes cast for each position.

In the Ashkenaz contest, Rabbi David Stav, chief rabbi of Shoham and founder of Tzohar, an outreach organization for secular Jews, and a candidate favored by the religious Zionists, came in second with 54 votes. Another candidate, Rabbi Ya’acov Shapira of Mercaz HaRav, garnered 25.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Tzfat, was in second place for the Sephardic seat with 49 votes.

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a Holocaust survivor, served from 1993 to 2003; Rabbi Ovadia Yosef served from 1973 to 1983.

The new rabbis will serve for ten years and deal primarily with issues of kashrut, the rabbinical courts, and social matters relating to marriage, divorce, conversion and death.

A proposal by Likud MK Moshe Feiglin to end the duality of the chief rabbinate, electing only one at the end of the current ten year term, is also being backed by MKs Naftali Bennett and Tzipi Livni.

The election was held in Jerusalem’s Leonardo hotel. The 150 member panel voting for the two positions included 80 rabbis, with the 70 others including members of Knesset, heads of municipalities, regional authorities and religious councils, including ten women representing the Religious Affairs Ministry chosen by Minister of Religious Affairs Naftali Bennett.

“This is a joyous occasion, of course, but there is also a sense of great responsibility,” Lau told the Israel Hayom newspaper. He said that he was with his father who hugged him and said that he “has a heavy burden to carry. I pray that I will be everyone’s rabbi and the Chief Rabbinate will be everyone’s rabbinate.”

“I thank G-d that I have been blessed to sit on the same chair as my father,” said Yosef.

Rabbi David Lau studied at Yeshivat Hayishuv Hehadash and Yeshivat Bet Matityah, was the first rabbi of Shoham and then the chief Ashkenazic rabbi of Modiin. He is a major in the Intelligence Corps reserves. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef is the rosh yeshiva of Hazon Ovadia and author of the halacha books the Yalkut Yosef.

Among the critical issues facing both rabbis include agunot (women in need of a Jewish divorce), increasing accessibility to the rabbinate for secular Israelis, peace talks, and the upcoming shmittah (Sabbatical) year.

The National Council of Young Israel congratulated the rabbis on their new offices and welcomed the opportunity to work with them in the future. “At a time when the Jewish people desperately need to bridge the divide between the ultra-Orthodox and the religious Zionist communities, Rabbis Lau and Yosef are poised to play a pivotal role in the reunification of Jews in Israel and around the world.

“As the well-respected and popular chief rabbi of the city of Modi’in and as the long-time host of the ‘Ask the Rabbi’ program on Israeli TV, Rabbi Lau has earned a reputation as a knowledgeable Torah scholar who has the unique ability to relate to a wide array of people in a very diverse community. We are certain that Rabbi Lau will follow in the footsteps of his father … who was a great ambassador for the State of Israel. Rabbi David Lau is a devoted religious Zionist who recites Hallel with a blessing on Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), a religious practice that highlights his Zionistic sentiments and pro-Israel tendencies. With his stated intention to unite Jews both in Israel and in the Diaspora, and his proven track record of embracing Jews from all walks of life, Rabbi Lau will undoubtedly be an exceptional emissary for the State of Israel and for Jews worldwide.

“As the scion of former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef comes from a distinguished family that has dedicated itself to religious service.

A learned man whose breadth of knowledge in Torah law is extraordinary, Rabbi Yosef will be a true spiritual leader for the people of Israel and for all of Jewry.”