Rabbi David Yosef Clarifies Remarks After Two Days

The office of Israel’s Chief Rabbi, David Yosef, said Thursday evening that recent remarks attributed to him about women who want to immerse without the presence of bath attendants did not reflect his full meaning and distorted what he intended to say. The statement said that “half of the quotes” attributed to the Sephardi Chief Rabbi had harmed the accuracy of his words, and stressed that he never meant to offend women.

According to the clarification, Yosef’s comments at the conference were meant to emphasize that women must always be received warmly, with love and closeness. The harsh criticism, the office said, was directed only at a small group that seeks to challenge halachic rulings through the courts.

The office said that when Yosef warned strongly against a demand by a minority of women to immerse without a balanit, an act it described as contrary to Jewish law and the enactments of the sages, he also insisted that this should be explained to them gently. At the same time, the message should be firm and clear.

The statement added that the rabbi’s sharp tone came from deep pain and was aimed only at women it described as defiantly trying to uproot the Torah and undermine what is sacred to the Jewish people, while relying on Supreme Court rulings that, it said, interfere with rabbis and halachic authorities. The office concluded by reaffirming that every person, and especially women coming to perform a commandment, must be treated with respect and dignity, and that halachic boundaries should be explained only with gentleness and a pleasant manner.