Two senior rabbis, Yehuda Shlush and Rafael Delouya, writing on behalf of the Agudat Hakhamei HaMaharav in Israel, sent a letter Wednesday to Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi, David Yosef, saying they were deeply concerned by his public conduct. The letter followed Yosef’s comments at a closed meeting for female ritual attendants, where he urged opposition to women who immerse without such supervision and reportedly said, “Raise your voice and shout.”
The rabbis said they feared Yosef was continuing the confrontational public line associated with his brother, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, whom they accused of deepening alienation and division among large parts of the public. They wrote that “the Torah does not justify harming women’s dignity,” especially women who come willingly out of love of God and a desire to keep family purity, fulfill the immersion commandment, and become ritually pure.
The letter also tied the latest remarks to earlier disputes involving Yosef and women, including his pledge not to award certificates to female rabbinical trainees who pass ordination exams. The writers said the public expects the chief rabbi’s rulings and decisions to match his state role and his obligation to the law.
In a sharper passage, they said Yosef appeared to be trying to use disputed authority, with no basis in law, to force women to observe immersion according to his own judgment while ignoring their feelings and intentions. They added that the Torah is not the exclusive property of any one person, nor of a rabbinical council tied to a political party. The rabbis warned about the danger of “desecration of God’s name,” and ended by urging Yosef to consider apologizing to the women who were hurt, adopt a more unifying and calming approach, and restore public trust that his actions are guided by the public good and Torah values.
