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The funeral of Pope John Paul II

A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures.

The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves. Funerary art is art produced in connection with burials, including many kinds of tombs, and objects specially made for burial with a corpse.

Overview[link]

Funeral rites are as old as the human culture itself, predating modern Homo sapiens, to at least 300,000 years ago.^[1][2] For example, in the Shanidar cave in Iraq, in Pontnewydd Cave in Wales and other sites across Europe and the Near East,^[2] Neanderthal skeletons have been discovered with a characteristic layer of flower pollen.^[1] This has been interpreted as suggesting that Neanderthals believed in an afterlife,^[1][2] although the evidence is not unequivocal – while the dead were apparently indeed buried deliberately, the flowers might have been introduced by burrowing rodents.

Religious funerals[link]

Buddhist funerals[link]

Christian funerals[link]

Hindu funerals[link]

Hindu funeral

Antyesti or Hindu funeral rites, sometimes referred as Antim Sanskar, is an important Sanskara, sacrament of Hindu society. Extensive texts of such rites are available, particularly in the Garuda Purana.

Islamic funerals[link]

Jewish funerals[link]

Sikh funerals[link]

In Sikhism death is considered a natural process, an event that has absolute certainty and only happens as a direct result of God's Will or Hukam. To a Sikh, birth and death are closely associated, because they are both part of the cycle of human life of "coming and going" ( ਆਵਣੁ ਜਾਣਾ, Aana Jaana) which is seen as transient stage towards Liberation ( ਮੋਖੁ ਦੁਆਰੁ, Mokh Du-aar), complete unity with God. Sikhs thus believe in reincarnation.

However, by contrast, the soul itself is not subject to the cycle of birth and death.^{[citation needed]} Death is only the progression of the soul on its journey from God, through the created universe and back to God again. In life, a Sikh always tries to constantly remember death so that he or she may be sufficiently prayerful, detached and righteous to break the cycle of birth and death and return to God.

The public display of grief at the funeral or Antam Sanskar as it is called in the Sikh culture, such as wailing or crying out loud is discouraged and should be kept to a minimum. Cremation is the preferred method of disposal, although if this is not possible any other methods such as burial or submergence at sea are acceptable. Worship of the dead with gravestones, etc. is discouraged, because the body is considered to be only the shell and the person's soul is their real essence.

On the day of the cremation, the body is taken to the Gurdwara or home where hymns (Shabads) from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scriptures are recited by the congregation, which induce feeling of consolation and courage. Kirtan may also be performed by Ragis while the relatives of the deceased recite "Waheguru" sitting near the coffin. This service normally takes from 30 to 60 minutes. At the conclusion of the service, an Ardas is said before the coffin is taken to the cremation site.

At the point of cremation, a few more Shabads may be sung and final speeches are made about the deceased person. The eldest son or a close relative generally starts the cremation process – light the fire or press the button for the burning to begin. This service usually lasts about 30 to 60 minutes.

The ashes are later collected and disposed by immersing them in the Punjab (five famous rivers in India). Sikhs do not erect monuments over the remains of the dead.^{[citation needed]}

The Sidaran Paath The ceremony in which the Sidharan Paath is begun after the cremation ceremony, may be held when convenient, wherever the Guru Granth Sahib is present:

Hymns are sung from the scripture of the Guru Granth. The first five and final verses of "Anand Sahib," the "Song of Bliss," are recited or sung. The first five verses of Sikhism's morning prayer, "Japji Sahib," are read aloud to begin the Sidharan paath. A hukam, or random verse, is read from the Guru Granth. Ardas, a prayer, is offered. Prashad, a sacred sweet, is distributed. Langar, a meal, is served to guests. While the Sidharan paath is being read, the family may also sing hymns daily. Reading may take as long as needed to complete the paath.

This ceremony is followed by Sahaj Paath Bhog, Kirtan Sohila, night time prayer is recited 1 week and finally Ardas called the "Antim Ardas" ("Final Prayer") is offered the last week.

Funerals in Japan[link]

Sudangee or last offices being performed on a dead person, illustration from 1867

Religious thought among the Japanese people is generally a blend of Shintō and Buddhist beliefs. In modern practice, specific rites concerning an individual's passage through life are generally ascribed to one of these two faiths. Funerals and follow-up memorial services fall under the purview of Buddhist ritual, and 90% Japanese funerals are conducted in a Buddhist manner. Aside from the religious aspect, a Japanese funeral usually includes a wake, the cremation of the deceased, and inclusion within the family grave. Follow-up services are then performed by a Buddhist priest on specific anniversaries after death.

According to one estimate made in 2005, 99.82% of all deceased Japanese are cremated.^[3] In most of these cases, the cremated remains are placed in an urn and then deposited in a family grave. In recent years however, alternative methods of burial have gained in popularity; such methods include scattering of the ashes, burial in outer space, and conversion of the cremated remains into a diamond that can be set in jewelry.

Funerals in the Philippines[link]

Funerals in contemporary North America and Europe[link]

Traditional funerals[link]

A floral name tribute (spelling out the word "Mum") at a funeral in England.

Within the United States and Canada, in most cultural groups and regions, the funeral rituals can be divided into three parts: visitation, funeral, and the burial service.

A western-style funeral motorcade for a member of a high-ranking military family in South Korea.

Visitation[link]

At the visitation (also called a "viewing","wake" or "calling hours"), in Christian or secular Western custom, the body of the deceased person (or decedent) is placed on display in the casket (also called a coffin, however almost all body containers are caskets). The viewing often takes place on one or two evenings before the funeral. In the past, it was common practice to place the casket in the decedent’s home or that of a relative for viewing. This practice continues in many areas of Ireland and Scotland. The body is traditionally dressed in the decedent's best clothes. In recent times there has been more variation in what the decedent is dressed in – some people choose to be dressed in clothing more reflective of how they dressed in life. The body will often be adorned with common jewelry, such as watches, necklaces, brooches, etc. The jewelry may be taken off and given to the family of the deceased or remain in the casket after burial. Jewelry will most likely be removed before cremation. The body may or may not be embalmed, depending upon such factors as the amount of time since the death has occurred, religious practices, or requirements of the place of burial but in general embalming is preferable.^[4][5]

The most commonly prescribed aspects of this gathering are that the attendees sign a book kept by the deceased's survivors to record who attended. In addition, a family may choose to display photographs taken of the deceased person during his/her life (often, formal portraits with other family members and candid pictures to show "happy times"), prized possessions and other items representing his/her hobbies and/or accomplishments. A more recent trend is to create a DVD with pictures and video of the deceased, accompanied by music, and play this DVD continuously during the visitation.

The viewing is either "open casket", in which the embalmed body of the deceased has been clothed and treated with cosmetics for display; or "closed casket", in which the coffin is closed. The coffin may be closed if the body was too badly damaged because of an accident or fire or other trauma, deformed from illness or if someone in the group is emotionally unable to cope with viewing the corpse. In cases such as these, a picture of the deceased, usually a formal photo, is placed atop the casket.

However, this step is foreign to Judaism; Jewish funerals are held soon after death (preferably within a day or two, unless more time is needed for relatives to come), and the corpse is never displayed. As well, Jewish law^{[citation needed]} forbids anyone to embalm the body of the deceased. Traditionally flowers (and music) are not sent to a grieving Jewish family as it is a reminder of the life that is now lost.(See also Jewish bereavement.)

The decedent's closest friends and relatives who are unable to attend frequently send flowers to the viewing, with the exception of a Jewish funeral,^[6] where flowers would not be appropriate (and donations are given to a charity instead). The viewing typically takes place at a funeral home, which is equipped with gathering rooms where the viewing can be conducted, although the viewing may also take place at a church. The viewing may end with a prayer service; in a Roman Catholic funeral, this may include a rosary.^{[citation needed]} In parts of Ireland and Scotland it is traditional to display the body of the deceased in the family home. This is called a wake and usually includes food, drink and sometimes music and singing.

A visitation is often held the evening before the day of the funeral. However, when the deceased person is elderly the visitation may be held immediately preceding the funeral. This allows elderly friends of the deceased a chance to view the body and attend the funeral in one trip, since it may be difficult for them to arrange travel; this step may also be taken if the deceased has few survivors or the survivors want a funeral with only a small number of guests.

Funeral[link]

Traditional flower arrangement for funeral (Denmark)

A memorial service, often called a funeral, is often officiated by clergy from the decedent's, or bereaved's, church or religion. A funeral may take place at either a funeral home or church. A funeral is held according to the family's choosing, which may be a few days after the time of death, allowing family members to attend the service. This type of memorial service is most common in Christians, and they call it a mass when the casket is closed and a priest says prayers and blessings. Most of the time family members of the dead can say something.

The common open-casket service allows mourners to have one last opportunity to view the deceased and say good-bye. There is an order of precedence when approaching the casket at this stage that usually starts with the immediate family (siblings, parents, spouse, children); followed by other mourners, after which the immediate family may file past again, so they are the last to view their loved one before the coffin is closed. This opportunity can take place immediately before the service begins, or at the very end of the service.^[7]

The deceased is usually transported from the funeral home to a church in a hearse, a specialized vehicle designed to carry casketed remains. The deceased is often transported in a procession (also called a funeral cortege), with the hearse, funeral service vehicles, and private automobiles traveling in a procession to the church or other location where the services will be held. In a number of jurisdictions, special laws cover funeral processions – such as requiring other vehicles to give right-of-way to a funeral procession. Funeral service vehicles may be equipped with light bars and special flashers to increase their visibility on the roads. They may also all have their headlights on, to identify which vehicles are part of the cortege, although the practice also has roots in ancient Roman customs.^[8] After the funeral service, if the deceased is to be buried the funeral procession will proceed to a cemetery if not already there. If the deceased is to be cremated, the funeral procession may then proceed to the crematory.

Beethoven's funeral as depicted by Franz Stöber.

Funeral services commonly include prayers, readings from a sacred text, hymns (sung either by the attendees or a hired vocalist) and words of comfort by the clergy. Frequently, a relative or close friend will be asked to give a eulogy, which details happy memories and accomplishments; often commenting on the deceased's flaws, especially at length, is considered impolite. Sometimes the delivering of the eulogy is done by the clergy. Clergy are often asked to deliver eulogies for people they have never met. Church bells may also be tolled both before and after the service.

In some religious denominations, for example, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), eulogies from loved ones are somewhat discouraged during this service, in order to preserve respect for traditions. In such cases, the eulogy is only done by a member of the clergy. This tradition is giving way to eulogies read by family members or friends in a desire to ensure that it is done, "just right." Also, for these same religions, the coffin is traditionally closed at the end of the wake and is not re-opened for the funeral service.^{[citation needed]}

During the funeral and at the burial service, the casket may be covered with a large arrangement of flowers, called a casket spray. If the deceased served in a branch of the Armed forces, the casket may be covered with a national flag; however, in the US, nothing should cover the national flag according to Title 4, United States Code, Chapter 1, Paragraph 8i.

Funeral customs vary from country to country. In the United States, any type of noise other than quiet whispering or mourning is considered disrespectful.

A traditional Fire Department funeral consists of two raised aerial ladders.^{[citation needed]} The firefighter(s) travel under the aerials on their ride, on the fire apparatus, to the cemetery. Once there, the grave service includes the playing of bagpipes. The pipes have come to be a distinguishing feature of a fallen hero's funeral. Also a "Last Alarm Bell" is rung. A portable fire department bell is tolled at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Burial service[link]

John Everett Millais – The Vale of Rest

A burial service, conducted at the side of the grave, tomb, mausoleum or cremation, at which the body of the decedent is buried or cremated at the conclusion.

Sometimes, the burial service will immediately follow the funeral, in which case a funeral procession travels from the site of the memorial service to the burial site. In some other cases, the burial service is the funeral, in which case the procession might travel from the cemetery office to the gravesite. Other times, the burial service takes place at a later time, when the final resting place is ready.

If the decedent served in a branch of the Armed forces, military rites are often accorded at the burial service.

In many religious traditions, pallbearers, usually males who are close, but not immediate relatives (such as cousins, nephews or grandchildren) or friends of the decedent, will carry the casket from the chapel (of a funeral home or church) to the hearse, and from the hearse to the site of the burial service. The pallbearers often sit in a special reserved section during the memorial service.

According to most religions, coffins are kept closed during the burial ceremony. In Eastern Orthodox funerals, the coffins are reopened just before burial to allow loved ones to look at the deceased one last time and give their final farewells. Greek funerals are an exception as the coffin is open during the whole procedure unless the state of the body does not allow it.

The morticians will typically ensure that all jewelry, including wristwatch, that were displayed at the wake are in the casket before it is buried or entombed. Custom requires that everything goes into the ground; however this is not true for Jewish services. Jewish tradition is that nothing of value is buried with the deceased.

There is an exception, in the case of cremation. Such items tend to melt or suffer damage, so they are usually removed before the body goes into the furnace. Pacemakers are removed prior to cremation – if they were left in they could possibly explode and damage the crematorium.

Local burial traditions[link]

Even within a single country many local areas have their own unique burial traditions. For example, funerals on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland are often followed by a traditional Lewis funeral procession^[9] which involves mourners taking turns at carrying the coffin en route to the graveyard.

Similarly burials on the Isle of Jura and parts of the Isle of Islay are often followed by whisky, cheese and biscuits at the graveside, a tradition which stems from the time when the long journey to the graveyard was taken on foot.

Luncheon[link]

In many traditions, a meal or other gathering often follows the burial service, also called a repast. This gathering may be held at the deceased's church or another off-site location. Some funeral homes have large spaces set aside to provide funeral dinners.^{[citation needed]}

Etiquette in different countries[link]

Generally speaking, the number of people who are considered obliged to attend each of these three rituals by etiquette decreases at each step:

• Distant relatives and acquaintances may be called upon to attend the visitation.
• The decedent's closer relatives and local friends attend the funeral or memorial service, and subsequent burial (if it is held immediately after the memorial service).
• If the burial is on the day of the funeral, only the decedent's closest relatives and friends attend the burial service (although if the burial service immediately follows the funeral, all attendees of the memorial service are asked to attend).

Traditionally etiquette dictated^{[citation needed]} that the bereaved and other attendees at a funeral wear formal clothing, such as a suit and tie for men or a dress for women. The most traditional color is solid black (with a matching solid black tie for men) preferably without any underlying pinstripes or patterns in the weave. But failing that charcoal gray or dark navy blue may be worn.

Wearing short skirts, low-cut tops, t-shirts with advertising slogans or suggestive images, or, at Western funerals, a large amount of white (other than a button-down shirt or blouse, a military uniform, or in the Swedish tradition, white ties worn by male members of the immediate family) is often seen as disrespectful.^{[citation needed]}

Women who are grieving the deaths of their husbands or close partners sometimes wear a veil to conceal their faces, although this practice is not presently common. Increasingly, the deceased have requested before their death that the attendees of their funeral should wear something of their favorite color or wear something specific, such as a football shirt.

A guest book may be placed in a prominent place during the viewing. It is intended to let the next of kin know who came to the funeral, so that thank-you letters can be mailed. It is not intended to be read by the funeral directors as a source of referrals, so it is not the best place for comments on the appropriateness of the funeral arrangements. Disagreements on such matters can have lasting effects and can even affect inheritances.

Private services[link]

On occasion, the family of the deceased may wish to have only a very small service, with just the deceased's closest family members and friends attending. This type of ceremony means it is closed to the public. One may only go to the funeral if one is invited. In this case, a private funeral service is conducted. Reasons vary but often include the following:

• The deceased was an infant (possibly, they may have been stillborn) or very aged, and therefore has few surviving family members or friends.
• The deceased may be a crime victim or a convicted criminal who was serving a prison sentence or executed. In this case, the service is made private either to avoid unwanted media coverage (especially with a crime victim); or to avoid unwanted intrusion (especially if the deceased was convicted of murder or sexual assault).
• The family does not feel able to endure a traditional service (due to emotional shock) or simply wants a quiet, simple funeral with only the most important people of the deceased's life in attendance.
• The family and/or the deceased, as more frequently preplanned, prefer simplicity and lower cost to that of traditional arrangements. The choice of cremation as an option to casketed burial is increasing and often includes disposition of the cremated remains at a time privately convenient to the deceased's family members.
• The deceased is of a distinct celebrity status, and holding public ceremony would result in too many guests who are not acquainted with the deceased to participate. On the other hand, if a state funeral is offered and accepted by the deceased's immediate family, a public funeral would ensue.

Memorial services[link]

The memorial service is a service given for the deceased without the body present. This may take place after an earth burial, donation of the body to an institution such as a school, cremation (sometimes the remains are present), entombment, or burial at sea. Typically these services take place at the funeral home and may include prayers, poems, or songs to remember the deceased. Pictures of the deceased are usually placed at the altar where the body would normally be.

After the sudden deaths of important public officials, public memorial services have been held by communities, including those without any other connection to the deceased. For instance, memorial services were held after the James A. Garfield assassination and the William McKinley assassination.

Other types of funerals[link]

New Orleans jazz funeral[link]

A unique funeral tradition in the United States occurs in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition arose from a combination of African spiritual practices, French musical traditions, and African-American cultural influences. A typical jazz funeral begins with a march by the family, friends, and a jazz band, starting from the home, funeral home, or church, and proceeding to the cemetery. Throughout the march, the band plays very somber dirges. Once the final ceremony has taken place, the march proceeds from the cemetery to a gathering place, and the solemn music is replaced by loud, upbeat, raucous music and dancing where onlookers join in to celebrate the life of the deceased. This is the origin of the New Orleans dance known as the "second line" where celebrants do a dance-march, frequently while raising the hats and umbrellas brought along as protection from intense New Orleans weather and waving handkerchiefs above the head that are no longer being used to wipe away tears.

“Green” funeral[link]

Photograph (1871–2) of a Toda green funeral.

Those with concerns about the effects on the environment of traditional burial or cremation may choose to be buried in a fashion more suited to their beliefs. They may choose to be buried in an all natural bio-degradable green burial shroud, sometimes a simple coffin made of cardboard or other easily biodegradable material. Further, they may choose their final resting place to be in a park or woodland, known as an eco-cemetery, and may have a tree planted over their grave as a contribution to the environment and a remembrance.

Humanist funeral[link]

Non-religious funerals are legal within the UK. The British Humanist Association organises a network of humanist funeral celebrants or officiants across England and Wales,^[10][11] and a similar network is organised by the Humanist Society of Scotland. Humanist officiants are trained and experienced in devising and conducting suitable ceremonies.^[12] Humanist funerals recognise no "after-life", but celebrate the life of the person who has died.^[10] Humanist funerals have reportedly been held in recent years for Claire Rayner,^[13] Keith Floyd,^[14][15] Linda Smith,^[16] and Ronnie Barker,^[17] among others.

Civil funeral[link]

Civil funerals are an increasingly popular alternative to religious or humanist ceremonies in the UK. Unlike a humanist funeral, a civil funeral can contain some religious content, such as hymns or reading if the family wish.^{[citation needed]}

Internet visitation/funeral[link]

A funeral home in North Syracuse, New York was the first to offer and broadcast a visitation and funeral "live" on the Internet. A funeral director at the home said "It's not new technology, just a new application." The use of a web-camera allows friends or relatives who could not otherwise attend services to do so from any computer. Family members and friends separated by distance, weather or circumstance can now become part of the support network by being connected electronically to the ceremonies.^{[citation needed]}

Police/fire services funerals[link]

Funerals for fallen members of fire or police services are common in North America (namely United States and Canada). These funerals involve honour guards from police forces and/or fire services from across the country and sometimes from overseas. The presence of outside members is regarded as a sign of respect and support from the brotherhood of fellow officers.^{[citation needed]}

In the case of a fallen firefighter, the casket is often placed on top of a fire engine and draped with a flag. For both fire and police, a parade of officers often precedes or follows the hearse carrying the fallen comrade.^{[citation needed]}

East Asian funerals[link]

Funeral procession in Beijing, 1900

A traditional armband indicating seniority and lineage in relation to the deceased, a common practice in South Korea.

In most East Asian, South Asian and many Southeast Asian cultures, the wearing of white is symbolic of death. In these societies, white or off-white robes are traditionally worn to symbolize that someone has died and can be seen worn among relatives of the deceased during a funeral ceremony. In Chinese culture, red is strictly forbidden as it is a traditionally symbolic color of happiness. Exceptions are sometimes made if the deceased has reached a high age, particularly between their mid-80s to age 100. In which case, the funeral is considered a celebration, where wearing white with some red is acceptable. Contemporary Western influence however has meant that dark-colored or black attire is now often also acceptable for mourners to wear (particularly for those outside the family). In such cases, mourners wearing dark colors at times may also wear a white or off-white armband or white robe.

In Southern China a traditional Chinese gift to the attendees upon entering is a white (and sometimes red) envelope, usually enclosing a small sum of money (in odd numbers, usually one dollar), a sweet, red thread, and a handkerchief, each with symbolic meaning. Chinese custom also dictates that the said sum of money should not be brought home. The sweet should be consumed the day of and anything given during the funeral must not be brought home. The exception is the red thread, which is tied to the front doorknob of the guest's house to ward off bad luck. The repetition of 3 is common where people at the funeral may brush their hair three times or spit three times before leaving the funeral to ward off bad luck. This custom is also found in other East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures however the custom the deceased's immediate family giving gifts and money to others involved in the funeral is not practiced in Northern China.^{[citation needed]}

Most Japanese funerals are conducted with Buddhist rites. Many feature a ritual that bestows a new name on the deceased; funerary names typically use obsolete or archaic kanji and words, to avoid the likelihood of the name being used in ordinary speech or writing. The new names are typically chosen by a Buddhist priest, after consulting the family of the deceased. Most Japanese are cremated.

South Korean funerals typically mix western culture with traditional Korean culture, largely depending on socio-economic status, region, and religion. In almost all cases, all related males in the family wear woven arm bands representing seniority and lineage in relation to the deceased, and must grieve next to the deceased for a period of three days before burying the body. During this period of time, it is customary for the males in the family to personally greet all who come to show respect. Due to South Korea's limited land mass, bodies are usually cremated.

African funerals[link]

West African funerals[link]

The custom of burying the dead in the floor of dwelling-houses has been to some degree prevalent on the Gold Coast of Africa. The ceremony is purely animist, and apparently without any set ritual. The main exception is that the females of the family of the deceased and their friends may undergo mournful lamentations. In some instances they work their feelings up to an ostentatious, frenzy-like degree of sorrow. The revelry may be heightened by the use of alcohol, of which drummers, flute-players, bards, and singing men may partake. The funeral may last for as much as a week. Another custom, a kind of memorial, frequently takes place seven years after the person's death. These funerals and especially the memorials may be extremely expensive for the family in question. Cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry, may be offered involved and then consumed.

The Ashanti and Akan ethnic groups in Ghana will typically wear red and black during funerals. For special family members, there is typically a funeral celebration with singing and dancing to honor the life of the deceased. Afterwards, the Akan hold a somber funeral procession and burial with intense displays of sorrow. Other funerals in Ghana are held with the deceased put in elaborate "fantasy coffins" colored and shaped after a certain object, such as a fish, crab, boat, and even an airplane.^[18] The Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop in Teshie, named after Seth Kane Kwei who invented this new style of coffins, has became an international reference for this form of art.

East African funerals[link]

In Kenya funerals are an expensive undertaking. Keeping bodies in morgues to allow for fund raising is a common occurrence more so in urban areas. Some families opt to bury their dead in the countryside homes instead of urban cemeteries, thus spending more money on transporting the dead.

Thus funeral culture, from some viewpoints, may appear retrogressive both socially and economically. For example, the bereaved will take days off work to travel and to mourn. In addition to this much time is spent preparing large amounts of food that will be consumed during the period and expenditure is high. Similarly, as families are big, funerals may add to their financial burdens. Between 55% and 70% of the population earn less than $1 per day. Losing a loved one also means losing an income. Both the bereaved and the mourners are poor, but the endless stream of those paying their last respects, and expecting to be fed, make a bad financial situation even worse as mourners do not make any contribution. Funeral attendance is highly depended on status of the bereaved. Funerals are a forum for the display of wealth and status, as reflected by such aspects as the type of casket to the clothing of the immediate family members.

Ancient funeral rites[link]

The most simple and natural kind of funeral monuments, and therefore the most ancient and universal, consist in a mound of earth, or a heap of stones, raised over the body or ashes of the departed: of such monuments mention is made in the Book of Joshua, and in Homer and Virgil.

The place of burial amongst the Jews was never particularly determined. Ancient Jews had burial-places upon the highways, in gardens, and upon mountains. In the Hebrew Bible (known as the Christian Old Testament), Abraham was buried with Sarah, his wife, in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Machpelah, the field he bought from Ephron the Hittite; David, king of Israel, and the other kings after him (including Uzziah of Judah) "rested with [their] ancestors" in the burial field that pertained to the kings.

The primitive Greeks were buried in places prepared for that purpose in their own houses; but later they established burial grounds in desert islands, and outside the walls of towns, by that means securing them from disturbance, and themselves from the liability of catching infection from those who had died of contagious disorders.

Funerals in ancient Rome[link]

In ancient Rome, the eldest surviving male of the household, the pater familias, was summoned to the death-bed, where he attempted to catch and inhale the last breath of the decedent.

Funerals of the socially prominent were usually undertaken by professional undertakers called libitinarii. No direct description has been passed down of Roman funeral rites. These rites usually included a public procession to the tomb or pyre where the body was to be cremated. The most noteworthy thing about this procession was that the survivors bore masks bearing the images of the family's deceased ancestors. The right to carry the masks in public was eventually restricted to families prominent enough to have held curule magistracies. Mimes, dancers, and musicians hired by the undertakers, as well as professional female mourners, took part in these processions. Less well-to-do Romans could join benevolent funerary societies (collegia funeraticia) who undertook these rites on their behalf.

Nine days after the disposal of the body, by burial or cremation, a feast was given (cena novendialis) and a libation poured over the grave or the ashes. Since most Romans were cremated, the ashes were typically collected in an urn and placed in a niche in a collective tomb called a columbarium (literally, "dovecote"). During this nine day period, the house was considered to be tainted, funesta, and was hung with Taxus baccata or Mediterranean Cypress branches to warn passersby. At the end of the period, the house was swept out to symbolically purge it of the taint of death.

Several Roman holidays commemorated a family's dead ancestors, including the Parentalia, held February 13 through 21, to honor the family's ancestors; and the Feast of the Lemures, held on May 9, 11, and 13, in which ghosts (larvae) were feared to be active, and the pater familias sought to appease them with offerings of beans.^{[citation needed]}

The Romans prohibited cremation or inhumation within the city limits, both from a sacred and civil consideration, so that the priests might not be contaminated by touching a dead body, and so that houses would not be endangered by funeral fires.

Restrictions on the length, ostentation, expense of and behaviour during funerals and mourning were gradually placed by a variety of law-givers. Often the pomp and length of rites could be politically or socially motivated to advertise or aggrandise a particular kin group in Roman society. This was seen as deleterious to society and conditions for grieving were set – for instance, under some laws, women were prohibited from loud wailing or lacerating their faces and limits were introduced for expenditure on tombs and burial clothes.

The Romans commonly built tombs for themselves during their lifetime. Hence these words frequently occur in ancient inscriptions, V.F. Vivus Facit, V.S.P. Vivus Sibi Posuit. The tombs of the rich were usually constructed of marble, the ground enclosed with walls, and planted round with trees. But common sepulchres were usually built below ground, and called hypogea. There were niches cut out of the walls, in which the urns were placed; these, from their resemblance to the niche of a pigeon-house, were called columbaria.

Funerals in Scotland[link]

An old funeral rite from the Scottish Highlands is to bury the deceased with a wooden plate resting on his chest. In the plate were placed a small amount of earth and salt, to represent the future of the deceased. The earth hinted that the body would decay and become one with the earth, while the salt represented the soul, which does not decay. This rite was known as "earth laid upon a corpse". This practice was also carried out in Ireland, as well as in parts of England, particularly in Leicestershire, although in England the salt was intended to prevent air from distending the corpse.^[19]

Funerals in Greece[link]

Funeral with flowers on marble

The Greek word for funeral – kēdeía (κηδεία) – derives from the verb kēdomai (κήδομαι), that means attend to, take care of someone. Derivative words are also kēdemón (κηδεμών, "guardian") and kēdemonía (κηδεμονία, "guardianship"). From the Cycladic civilisation in 3000BC until the Hypo-Mycenaean era in 1200–1100 BC the main practice of burial is interment. The cremation of the dead that appears around the 11th century BC constitutes a new practice of burial and is probably an influence from the East. Until the Christian era, when interment becomes again the only burial practice, both cremation and interment had been practiced depending on the area.^[20]

The ancient Greek funeral since the Homeric era included the próthesē (πρόθεση), the ekphorá (εκφορά), the burial and the perídeipno (περίδειπνο). In most cases, this process is followed faithfully in Greece until today.^[21]

Próthesē is the deposition of the body of the deceased on the funereal bed and the threnody of his relatives. Today the body is placed in the casket, that is always open in Greek funerals. This part takes place in the house where the deceased had lived. An important part of the Greek tradition is the epicedium, the mournful songs that are sung by the family of the deceased along with professional mourners (who are extinct in the modern era). The deceased was watched over by his beloved the entire night before the burial, an obligatory ritual in popular thought, which is maintained still.

Ekphorá is the process of transport of the mortal remains of the deceased from his residence to the church, nowadays, and afterward to the place of burial. The procession in the ancient times, according to the law, should have passed silently through the streets of the city. Usually certain favourite objects of the deceased were placed in the coffin in order to "go along with him." In certain regions, coins to pay Charon, who ferries the dead to the underworld, are also placed inside the casket. A last kiss is given to the beloved dead by the family before the coffin is closed.

Cicero describes the habit of planting flowers around the tomb as an effort to guarantee the repose of the deceased and the purification of the ground, a custom that is maintained until today. After the ceremony, the mourners return to the house of the deceased for the perídeipno, the dinner after the burial. According to archaeological findings–traces of ash, bones of animals, shards of crockery, dishes and basins–the dinner during the classical era was also organized at the burial spot. Taking into consideration the written sources, however, the dinner could also be served in the houses.^[22]

Two days after the burial, a ceremony called “the thirds” would take place, while eight days after the burial, the relatives and the friends of the deceased assembled at the burial spot, where “the ninths” would take place, a custom that is maintained until today. In addition to this, in the modern era, memorial services take place 40 days, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year after the death and from then on every year on the anniversary of the death. The relatives of the deceased, for an unspecified length of time that depends on them, are in mourning, during which women wear black clothes and men a black armband.

Mutes and professional mourners[link]

From about 1600 to 1914, there were two professions in Europe now almost totally forgotten. The mute is depicted in art quite frequently but in literature is probably best known from Dickens' "Oliver Twist." Oliver is working for Sowerberry's when this conversation takes place: "There's an expression of melancholy in his face, my dear ... which is very interesting. He would make a delightful mute, my love". The main purpose of a funeral mute was to stand around at funerals with a sad, pathetic face. A symbolic protector of the deceased, the mute would usually stand near the door of the home or church. In Victorian times, mutes would wear somber clothing including black cloaks, top hats with trailing hatbands, and gloves.^[23]

The professional mourner, generally a woman, would shriek and wail (often while clawing her face and tearing at her clothing), to encourage others to weep. These people are mentioned^{[citation needed]} in ancient Greek plays, and were commonly employed throughout Europe until the beginning of the nineteenth century. They continue to exist in Africa and the Middle East.^{[citation needed]} The 2003 award-winning Philippine comedy Crying Ladies revolves around the lives of three women who are part-time professional mourners for the Chinese-Filipino community in Manila's Chinatown. According to the film, the Chinese use professional mourners to help expedite the entry of a deceased loved one's soul into heaven by giving the impression that he or she was a good and loving person, well loved by many.

State funeral[link]

Military and high-ranking political figures such as Lord Nelson, Sir Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan were offered state funerals.

Final disposition of the dead[link]

Some cultures place the dead in tombs of various sorts, either individually, or in specially designated tracts of land that house tombs. Burial in a graveyard is one common form of tomb. In some places, burials are impractical because the ground water is too high; therefore tombs are placed above ground, as is the case in New Orleans, Louisiana. Elsewhere, a separate building for a tomb is usually reserved for the socially prominent and wealthy. Especially grand above-ground tombs are called mausoleums. Other buildings used as tombs include the crypts in churches; burial in these places is again usually a privilege given to the socially prominent dead. In more recent times, however, this has often been forbidden by hygiene laws.

Burial was not always permanent. In some areas, burial grounds needed to be re-used because of limited space. In these areas, once the dead have decomposed to skeletons, the bones are removed; after their removal they can be placed in an ossuary.

"Burial at sea" means the deliberate disposal of a corpse into the ocean, wrapped and tied with weights to make sure it sinks. It is a common practice in navies and seafaring nations; in the Church of England, special forms of funeral service were added to the Book of Common Prayer to cover it. Science fiction writers have frequently analogized with "burial in space."

Cremation, also, is an old custom; it was the usual mode of disposing of a corpse in ancient Rome (along with graves covered with heaped mounds, also found in Greece, particularly at the Karameikos graveyard in Monastiraki). Vikings were occasionally cremated in their longships, and afterwards the location of the site was marked with standing stones. In recent years, despite the objections of some religious groups, cremation has become more and more widely used. Orthodox Judaism and the Eastern Orthodox Church forbid cremation, as do most Muslims. Orthodox Judaism forbids cremation according to Jewish law (Halakha) believing that the soul of a cremated person cannot find its final repose. The Roman Catholic Church forbade it for many years, but since 1963 the church has allowed it so long as it is not done to express disbelief in bodily resurrection. The church specifies that cremated remains are either buried or entombed. They do not allow cremated remains to be scattered or kept at home. Many Catholic cemeteries now have columbarium niches for cremated remains, or specific sections for those remains. Some denominations of Protestantism allow cremation, the more conservative denominations generally do not.

Hindus consider the funeral as the final "samskar" or ritual of life.^{[citation needed]} Cremation is generally mandatory for all Hindus, except for saints and children under the age of 5 years.^{[citation needed]} Cremation is seen as the only way in which all the five elements of fire, water, earth, air and space would be satisfied by returning the body to these elements as after cremation the ashes are poured into the sacred river Ganges or into the sea. After death the body of the deceased is placed on the ground with the head of the deceased pointing towards south which is considered the direction of the dead. The body is anointed with sacred items such as sandalwood paste and holy ashes, tulsi (basil) leaves and water from the river Ganges. The eldest son would whisper "Om namah shivay" or "Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya" near the ear of the deceased.^{[citation needed]} An oil lamp is lit besides the deceased and chapters from the holy Bhagavad Gita or Garud Purana are recited. Traditionally the body has to be cremated within 24 hours after death, as keeping the body longer is considered to lead to impurity and hinder the passage of the dead to afterlife. Hence before cremation as the body lies in state, minimal physical contact with the body is observed.

A Hindu priest is called in to lead the formal religious rituals, after which the body is taken to the cremation ground, where the eldest son normally lights the funeral pyre, this act is considered to be the most important duty of a son as it is believed that he leads his parents from this world into moksha. Immediately after the cremation, the family members of the deceased all have to take a purifying bath and observe a 12-day mourning period. This mourning period ends on the morning of the thirteenth day on which a Shraddh ceremony is conducted in which offerings are given to ancestors and other gods in order to grant liberation or moksha to the deceased.

Recently a new method of disposing of the body, called promession or an Ecological funeral, has been patented by a Swedish company.^[24] Its main purpose is to return the body to soil quickly while minimizing pollution and resource consumption.

Rarer forms of disposal of the dead include exposure to the elements and to scavenger animals. This includes various forms of excarnation, where the corpse is stripped of the flesh, leaving only the bones, which are then either buried or stored elsewhere, in ossuaries or tombs for example. This was done by some groups of Native Americans in protohistoric times. Ritual exposure of the dead (without preservation of the bones) is practiced by Zoroastrians in Bombay, where bodies are placed in "Towers of Silence", where vultures and other carrion eating birds then dispose of the corpses. In the present-day structures, the bones are collected in a central pit where (assisted by lime) they too eventually decompose. Exposure to scavenger birds (with preservation of some, but not all bones) is also practiced by some high-altitude Tibetan Buddhists, where practical considerations (the lack of firewood and a shallow active layer) seem to have led to the practice known as jhator or "giving alms to the birds."

Cannibalism is also practiced post-mortem in some countries. The practice has been linked to the spread of a prion disease called kuru.^[25]

Mummification is the drying of bodies to preserve them. The most famous practitioners of mummification were ancient Egyptians: many nobles and high-ranked bureaucrats of the old Egyptian kingdom had their corpses embalmed and stored in luxurious sarcophagi inside their funeral mausoleum or, in the cases of some Pharaohs, a pyramid.^{[citation needed]}

Control by the decedent of the details of the funeral[link]

In law in the United States, the deceased have little say in the manner in which their funerals can be conducted. The law generally holds^{[citation needed]} that the funeral rituals are for the benefit of the survivors, rather than to express the personal whims and tastes of the deceased.

The decedent may, in most U.S. jurisdictions, provide instructions as to his funeral by means of a last will and testament. These instructions can be given some legal effect if bequests are made contingent on the heirs carrying them out, with alternative gifts if they are not followed. This assumes, of course, that the decedent has enough of an estate to make the heirs pause before doing something that will invoke the alternate bequest. To be effective, the will must be easily available, and some notion of what it provides must be known to the decedent's survivors.^{[citation needed]}

Of course, most family members of a deceased person would regard any wishes the deceased had made known as carrying considerable moral authority.

Some people choose to make their funeral arrangements in advance, so at the time of their death, their wishes are known to their family.

Anatomical gifts[link]

Another way of avoiding some of the rituals and costs of a traditional funeral is for the decedent to donate some or all of her or his body to a medical school or similar institution for the purpose of instruction in anatomy, or for similar purposes. Students of medicine and osteopathic medicine frequently study anatomy from donated cadavers; they are also useful in forensic research.

Making an anatomical gift is a separate transaction from being an organ donor, in which any useful organs are removed from the unembalmed cadaver for medical Organ transplant. Under a Uniform Act in force in most jurisdictions of the United States, being an organ donor is a simple process that can often be accomplished when a driver's license is renewed.^{[citation needed]} There are some medical conditions, such as amputations, or various surgeries, that can make the cadaver unsuitable for these purposes. Conversely, the bodies of people who had certain medical conditions are useful for research into those conditions. All US medical schools rely on the generosity of "anatomical donors" for the teaching of anatomy. Typically the remains are cremated once the students have completed their anatomy classes, and many medical schools now hold a memorial service at that time as well.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

The burial of a bird

• Dead bell
• Funerary art
• List of funerals
• Wake (ceremony)

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies?. Tucson, AZ: Galen Press, Ltd.. 1994. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Funeral

• Funeral at the Open Directory Project
• Funeral Planning Guide Resources for planning and conducting a funeral.

Kris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s comprising Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. The duo are best known for their hit 1992 song "Jump", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. Kris Kross was also noted for their fashion style, which consisted of wearing their clothing backwards. The duo sung the Rugrats Rap for Nickelodeon in 1993.

Career[link]

Atlanta natives Kelly (born August 11, 1978) and Smith (born January 10, 1979) were discovered in 1990 by 18-year-old Jermaine Dupri at an Atlanta shopping mall.^[1][2] Along with Dupri they signed a deal with Ruffhouse Records, and recorded their debut album Totally Krossed Out. Entirely produced by Dupri, Totally Krossed Out, was released March 31, 1992 and sold four million copies in the U.S. It included the hit single "Jump", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.

The duo landed a spot on Michael Jackson's 1992 Dangerous World Tour, as well as a cameo appearance on Jackson's "Jam" music video. The music videos from their own album also experienced major success. The video for "Jump", directed by filmmaker Rich Murray went to No. 1 on MTV and sold over 100,000 copies as a VHS 'video single' and the video for their followup single "Warm It Up", also directed by Murray won a Billboard video award for "Best New Artist". In addition to this, they also made appearances in the music videos for Run-D.M.C.'s "Down with the King" and TLC's "Hat 2 Da Back". They were also featured in an episode of A Different World, and the closing musical act on May 29, 1992 episode of In Living Color.

In 1992, a video game was released starring the pair titled Kris Kross: Make My Video. It was released on the Sega CD system, and consisted of the player editing together the group's music videos to a few of their hit songs—using portions of the original music videos, stock footage, and general video animation effects. Players were prompted before each edit session to make sure to have certain footage compiled into the video. The game was released only in the United States to poor sales figures and dismal reviews. It was ranked 18th on Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the "20 Worst Games of All Time".^[3]

Kris Kross recorded the Rugrats Rap for Rugrats ( A Nickelodeon cartoon) for Nickelodeon in 1993. The song is available on the Rugrats Chuckie the Brave VHS and The Best of Nicktoons CD which is a compilation album of theme songs and other material from several Nicktoons that was released by Nickelodeon and Rhino Records in 1998.

Kris Kross made a cameo appearance in Ted Demme's 1993 film Who's the Man?, which starred Ed Lover and Doctor Dré of Yo! MTV Raps fame.

Their second album, Da Bomb (1993), was certified platinum, and spawned the hit "Alright", although it failed to match their earlier success. Most of their songs had been directed at rivals Da Youngstas, Illegal and Another Bad Creation. A third album, Young, Rich & Dangerous, was released in early 1996 and was certified gold. It spawned the two hits "Tonite's tha Night" and "Live and Die for Hip Hop".

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Remix albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

• US: Gold^[18]

References[link]

External links[link]

• One Life Entertainment Chris Smith's official website
• Chris Kelly at BlackHistoryDaily.com

For the 3rd generation Amoraic sage Rav Yosef bar Chiyah, see Rav Yosef.

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (September 2010)

Ovadia Yosef עובדיה יוסף
Ovadia Yosef, 2007
Born	(1920-09-23) September 23, 1920 (age 91) Basra, Iraq
Nationality	Israeli
Ethnicity	Jewish
Occupation	Rabbi, Talmudic scholar and recognized halakhic authority
Title	former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel
Political party	Spiritual leader of the Shas political party
Religion	Haredi Judaism

Ovadia Yosef (Hebrew: עובדיה יוסף‎) (born September 23, 1920) is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel,^[1] a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.

He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament. His halakhic responsa are highly regarded within Orthodox circles and are considered binding in many Mizrahi communities, among whom he is regarded as "the most important living halachic authority."^[2]

Yosef has made a number of controversial statements which have been widely criticised and condemned.^[3]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Yosef was born in Baghdad, Iraq the day after Yom Kippur. In 1924, when he was four years old, he immigrated to Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine with his family. As a teenager he studied at the Porat Yosef Yeshiva, where he advanced to the highest shiur taught by the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Ezra Attiya.^{[citation needed]}

A story retells how Attiya was instrumental in keeping the young Yosef in the Torah world. At one point, the diligent young scholar suddenly stopped coming to yeshiva for several days. Attiya paid a visit to his home and was shocked by the poverty he saw there. Yosef's father explained that he ran a small grocery and needed the boy to work for him. Attiya attempted to convince the father of the importance of Torah learning, to no avail. The next morning, when the father entered his store, he found Attiya standing there, wearing a work apron. The rosh yeshiva explained that he had come to the store early that morning when Yosef was opening up. He had told the youth that he had found a substitute worker who would work without pay, and sent him back to yeshiva. "You said that you needed someone to help and could not afford to pay. I am that someone. Your son's learning is more important than my time!" he told the father, who finally conceded and allowed his son to continue learning in yeshiva.^[4]

Yosef received rabbinical ordination at the age of 20. He became long-time friends with Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul, who began his yeshiva career in the same class and who advanced to become rosh yeshiva of Porat Yosef in 1983.^{[citation needed]}

Residing in Egypt[link]

In 1947, Yosef was invited to Cairo by Rabbi Aharon Choueka, the founder of yeshiva 'Ahavah VeAchvah', to teach in this yeshiva.^[5] Yosef also served, at the request of Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, as head of the Cairo beth din (rabbinical court). Yosef found that religious observance among both the Jewish community at large, and its leadership, including the local Rabbis, was lax. One of the major Halachic issues was the lack of any organised system of Kashrut, which led to conflict between him and other members of the community. Following these events Yosef resigned from his position, two years after having arrived in Cairo. Approximately one year after his resignation, he returned to what, in the meantime, had become Israel.^{[citation needed]}

Return to Israel[link]

After returning to Israel, Yosef studied at midrash "Bnei Zion", then headed by Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank. He also served on the rabbinical court in Petah Tikva. His boldness as a posek was already revealed in his first term as a dayan when, at the age of 30, he wrote a Halachic ruling permitting Yibbum instead of Halitza which contradicted a religious ruling made by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel a year earlier which had forbidden Yibbum.^{[citation needed]}

In 1951–1952 (תשי"ב by the Jewish calendar) he published his book on the laws of Pesach titled 'Chazon Ovadia.' The book won much praise and received the approval of, among others, the two Chief Rabbis of Israel at that time, Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel and Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog. Two years later he founded 'Or HaTorah' Yeshiva for gifted Sephardic Yeshiva students. This Yeshiva (which did not remain open for long) was the first of many which he established, later with the help of his sons, in order to facilitate Torah education for Sephardic Jews and establish the leadership of the community for future generations. In 1953-4 (תשי"ד) and 1955-6 (תשט"ז) he published the first two volumes of his major work 'Yabia Omer', which also received much praise.

Between 1958 and 1965 Yosef served as a dayan in the Jerusalem district Beth Din. He was then appointed to the Supreme Rabbinical Court of Appeals in Jerusalem, eventually becoming the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Tel Aviv in 1968, a position which he held until his election as Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel in 1973.^{[citation needed]}

Chief Rabbi of Israel[link]

In 1973 Yosef was elected the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel by a majority of 81 to 68 votes, replacing Yitzhak Nissim. His candidacy was criticised by some as he was competing against an incumbent Chief Rabbi. The election process was characterised by tension and political controversy because of the Psak Din of the Brother and Sister and tense relations between Yosef and Nissim. The tension between the two Rabbis began in the 1940s, when Yosef came out openly against the Halachic rulings of the Ben Ish Chai. In the same election, Rabbi Shlomo Goren was chosen as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. The relationship between the two Rabbis was difficult. The Council of the Chief Rabbinate was controlled by Goren, and for some time Yosef decided that, as a consequence, there was no point in attending its sessions. During his years as Chief Rabbi, Yosef dealt with a variety of important social and Halachic issues (See: Halakhic Authority below).^{[citation needed]}

Assassination attempt[link]

In April 2005, Israeli security services arrested three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who had been observing Yosef in public and were^[update] held on the suspicion of intended murder.^[6] One, Musa Darwish, was convicted on December 15, 2005 of Yossef's attempted murder and of throwing firebombs at vehicles on the Jerusalem-Ma'aleh Adumim road. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison and three years probation.^[7]

Present day[link]

Yosef lives in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Har Nof.^{[citation needed]} He remains an active public figure in political and religious life in his capacity as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party and through his regular sermons. He has been referred to as the Posek HaDor ("Posek of the present Generation"), Gadol HaDor ("great/est (one of) the generation"), Maor Yisrael ("The Light of Israel") and Maran.^{[citation needed]}

Yosef's responsa are noted for citing almost every source regarding a specific topic and are often referred to simply as indices of all previous rulings. Yosef has two central projects, intertwined with each other, which are embodied in the slogan "Restoring the Crown to its Old State". The first, a Halakhic project, is an attempt to create a unified Halakhic codex subject to the rulings of Rabbi Yosef Karo. This project is essentially innovative, in that its attempt to unify the various Halakhic traditions in light of the rulings of Yosef Karo does not constitute a return to the traditionally accepted Sephardic approach (nor, indeed, to the traditional approach of the Jews of Baghdad, where Yosef was born). As part of this project Yosef aims to unify the minhagim of the various Jewish groups in Israel by calling upon them to relinquish minhagim and traditions (often rooted in the Kabbalah) which they practiced in the lands where they resided prior to their immigration to the Land of Israel. His second project, a social one, is to improve the status of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in light of the hegemony of Ashkenazi Jews in the Torah world. This hegemony has somewhat diminished over the past few decades^{[citation needed]}, in no small part because of his own political and religious activities.^{[citation needed]}

Halakhic approach and worldview[link]

Meta-Halakha: Restoring the crown to its old state[link]

Yosef frequently makes use of the slogan "Restoring the Crown to its Old State" (להחזיר עטרה ליושנה) as a metaphor embodying both his social and halakhic agenda.

On a social level, it is widely viewed as a call to pursue a political agenda that will restore the pride of the Mizrahi Jews in Israeli society, which historically suffered from discrimination and were generally of a lower socio-economic status than their Ashkenazi counterparts.

From a halakhic perspective, the metaphor is more complex. It is widely agreed by Rabbis and secular researchers alike that the 'Crown' of the metaphor refers to the halakhic supremacy which Yosef attaches to the rulings of Rabbi Yosef Karo. According to Yosef's approach, Karo is crowned as the Mara D'atra of the Land of Israel, and thus all Jews living within his realm of authority should be bound by his rulings.^[8] Yosef says this explicitly and in very strong terms in Yalkut Yosef (note that 'Maran' refers to Rabbi Yosef Karo):

Even if a hundred acharonim disagree with him ... no teacher is permitted to rule with chumra contrary to Maran's instructions to rule leniently, even if many disagree with Maran ... and it is not even permitted to act with chumra where Maran has ruled leniently on the matter, since the rulings of Maran, who is the Mara D'Atra and we have received his instructions, were determined as Halakha to Moses at Sinai over which there is no dispute, and he who deviates right or left dishonours his teachers.

However, there remains some disagreement over who exactly Yosef considers to be bound by the rulings of Karo.

Rabbi Ratzon Arusi argues that Yosef distinguishes between his ideal and the reality. Ideally, all Jews of the Land of Israel should be bound by Karo's rulings, but practicality dictates that first all of the Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews should unite under them first. As Arusi puts it, "The unity of Israel is desirable, and shall be achieved by a unified system of halakhic ruling. A unified system of halakhic ruling will be achieved, in his opinion, by a consolidation around the tradition of the Land of Israel, which he thinks is the tradition of the Sephardim to rule as does Karo in the Shulchan Aruch. However the reality at this time is different. Every community retains its own traditions, and thus halakha should be ruled for each community according to its own tradition. However because he believes that there is a trend of Ashkenazi ruling dominating, he cries aloud to save and preserve the Sephardic system of ruling."^[9]

Tzvi Zohar argues that Yosef adopts a melting pot approach, in that he seeks to unify the traditions of all Jews in Israel, Sephardic and Ashkenazi alike. Zohar claims that Yosef's main distinction is not between Ashkenazim and Sephardim, but between the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. In his view, Yosef seeks to apply the rulings of Karo on the entire Land of Israel, but not necessarily outside of it. According to Zohar, this represents an anti-Diaspora and "anti-Colonialist" approach, since it seeks to strip the various immigrant communities of their traditions from their countries of origin and replace them with the custom of the Land of Israel, rather than importing and implanting foreign customs in Israel. He compares between Yosef and religious reformers such as Martin Luther and Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, and claims that Yosef has adopted a religious restorative-reformist worldview. Specifically, he argues that Yosef's halakhic approach is not, as Yosef attempts to portray it, a return to a traditional form of Sephardic ruling, but rather an innovative formulation of a particular Sephardic approach to Halakha which Yosef himself fashioned.^[10]

Rabbi Binyamin Lau disagrees with both of the preceding interpretations. According to Lau, Yosef claims that all Sephardic Jews accepted the rulings of Karo as binding in the Diaspora, but over time deviated from them. Presently, upon their return to the Land of Israel where Karo is the Mara D'atra, they should return to adhering to his rulings. Thus, Lau believes that Yosef directs his rulings only at Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, since the Ashkenazi Jews never accepted upon themselves the rulings of Karo. Lau views Yosef as operating on two fronts: the first against the Ashkenzi leadership which seeks to apply Ashkenazi rulings and customs to the Sephardim, and the second against the Sephardic and Mizrahi communities themselves, in demanding that they unite under the rulings of Karo.^[11]

In any case, it is agreed that alongside the conservative aspects of his approach to Halacha, there are also significant reforms: his preference for the rulings of Karo, and his preference for leniency over chumra. The fulfillment of his Halakhic vision has entailed significant clashes with his Ashkenazi counterparts. On his predecessors in the post of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinate, he wrote:

And I have heard that there are those who claim that since the Chief Rabbis of Tel Aviv-Jaffa who preceded me set a custom of ruling with chumra, the custom is not to be changed. And it is not true that I have been allowed space to express myself. And in any case it is known that the Rabbis who preceded me were subordinate to their Ashkenazi counterparts, the Gaon Rabbi Benzion Uziel Z"l was subordinate to the Gaon Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook ZT"L ... and the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Toledano Z"l in his capacity as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa could not even raise his head towards his colleague, may he be chosen for a good life, the Gaon Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman Shlit"a and to disagree with him on Halakha ... But I who am not subordinate, praise be to God, will stand on my guard to Restore the Crown to its Old State and instruct according to Maran whose instructions we have received.

Kocha D'hetera Adif (leniency)[link]

Yosef adopts the Talmudic dictum that "the power of leniency is greater." Therefore, one of his fundamental principles of halakhic ruling is that lenient rulings should be preferred over chumra. Yosef sees this as one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Sephardic approach to Halakha compared to the Ashkenazi approach. In one of his rulings, he quotes Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai as saying: "The Sephardim are seized by a measure of piety and therefore are lenient in the Halakha, and the Ashkenazim are seized by a measure of bravery and therefore they rule strictly." Yosef considers this principle an ideal, so that if "he is asked [a question] on a ritual-halakhic matter and succeeds in proving that a lenient position is a correct one from a halakhic standpoint, he sees this as a positive achievement."

In Yosef's opinion, the chumra of Ashkenazi poskim results from their method of teaching, and a lack of familiarity with the Mishna, Talmud and poskim. In a 1970 article Yosef wrote about Rabbi Jacob Saul Elyashar, he says:

But being that they [the Ashkenazim] are venerative in their teaching, they do not [bravely] rule halakha l'ma'ase ['practical halakha'], especially on matters of new developments or new technologies which create halakhic problems, it is far from them to be interested and express their view of Daat Torah... Our Rabbi the Gaon [ Jacob Saul Elyashar ] was among those few virtuous ones who took upon themselves this burden to resolve the actual problems of his time, and among them are some which are relevant to this day, and he did not avoid answering his questioner...

Yosef regards ruling with chumra as especially harmful in the current generation ("the generation of freedom and liberty"), since strict ruling might lead individuals not to comply with the Halakha. Writing in Yabia Omer, he says: "And truly the growth of chumrot leads to leniency in the body of the Torah."

Examples of lenient rulings[link]

Following this principle of leniency Yosef has made a number of Halakhic rulings which are significantly more lenient than those made by his Ashkenazi Haredi counterparts. Among them are:

• That it is permissible to hear a recording of a woman singing (e.g. through a radio or recording), provided that the listener has never seen the woman in person. Seeing a photograph of the singer does not constitute having seen her in person. For the rulings of other Rabbis, see kol isha.
• That it is permissible for boys and girls to study together up to the age of 9.
• That a married woman who covers her hair may expose one or two strands of hair from beneath the covering.
• That it is permissible for a female widow or divorcée to wear a wig as a head covering, despite prohibiting it for married women (see below).
• That it is permissible for unmarried women to leave their hair loose and untied.

The least of evils[link]

Yosef aims to encourage maximal observance of Mitzvot among as many Israelis as possible. In order to achieve this, "he is willing to follow a halakhic policy which, on the one hand, will minimize violations of the halakha, but on the other, concedes absolute adherence to the halakha." This is evident in a number of his rulings: providing kashrut certification to a restaurant that serves milk and meat; the slaughter of a chicken where there is a concern of it being trefa; and the wearing of pants among women.

Turning a blind eye[link]

Yosef applies a policy of turning a blind eye to deviations from the halakha in circumstances where, if strict adherence to the halakha were required, it is likely that it would not be followed at all. Examples of this include: the recital of the priestly benediction by Kohanim who do not have a religious lifestyle; and a shaliach tzibur or person performing a Torah reading who shaves.

Sinai Adif[link]

In the Talmudic debate over Sinai and Oker Harim, Yosef is of the opinion that Sinai is preferable. Specifically, he emphasizes that the Sephardic system of learning, which emphasizes Bkiut (extensive familiarity with the Talmud, Mishna and Poskim), is superior to the Ashkenazi system which relies on deep analysis employing pilpul. This preference is based upon his support for ruling halakha on practical contemporary issues rather than ruling halakha as a purely theoretical pursuit. In a eulogy he wrote for Rabbi Yaakov Adas, his teacher at Porat Yosef Yeshiva, he said:

The distinguished deceased who was our Teacher and Rabbi at Porat Yosef Yeshiva in the Old City taught us to [learn halakha for practical purposes] and not engage in futile pilpulim which shall fade and be carried away by the wind. Regretfully there are Yeshivas where one who learns from Yoreh De'ah must hide in back rooms lest he be noticed and labelled an "idler" for learning a "psak" halakha, and the shame of a thief [will be upon him] if he is found and ... anger and disgrace [too].

According to Yosef, the preoccupation with Pilpul at the expense of Bkiut causes lack of knowledge among Ashkenazi poskim, which in turn leads to unnecessary chumra in making halakhic rulings, since the Posek is unaware of lenient Psikot and approaches to Halakha used by previous Rabbis upon which the Posek could rely to rule leniently.

Attitude towards kabbalah[link]

Yosef is sometimes willing to accept rulings which rely on the rulings of the Ari zal, provided that these do not contradict rulings by Karo. Nevertheless, in many cases he comes out strongly against the rulings, saying "we have no business with mysticism" and rejecting rulings based upon the Zohar and the Kabbalah more generally. This position is contrary to the traditional long-standing Sephardic approach to ruling Halakha, including many Sephardic poskim to this day. In contrast with the position of Rabbi Chaim Joseph David Azulai, who wrote that "None may reply after the Ari" (that is, none may dispute the rulings of the Ari), Yosef argues that no special weight should be attached to the rulings of the Ari and the ordinary principles of Halakhic ruling should continue to apply. He writes:

As is written in the book Iggrot HaTanya in the name of the Gaon of Vilna who does not believe in the Kabbalah of the Ari in its entirety that it is wholly from the mouth of Elijah z"l, only a small portion is from the mouth of Elijah z"l, and the rest is from his great knowledge and it is not required to believe it ... and thus wrote Rabbi Chaim Volozhin in the foreword to his book ... and if so, why all this awe that we should put aside the words of all the Poskim and all of the laws [simply] because of the opinion of the Ari z"l?^[12]

Yosef's attitude towards the Kabbalah, the rulings of the Ari, and consequently the rulings of the Ben Ish Chai have been the cause of strong disagreements between him and Jewish immigrants from the Muslim world in Israel, especially the Jews of Iraq. The rulings of the Ben Ish Chai were at the heart of the disagreement between him and the Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Nissim and Mordechai Eliyahu.

Attitude towards minhag and traditions[link]

Yosef gives strong preference to the written word and does not attribute significant weight to minhagim and traditions which are not well anchored in the Halakha. For example, he has expressed opposition to two minhagim observed in the Synagogues of North African Jewry: standing during the reading of the Ten Commandments and the involvement of the congregation in certain parts of the prayer service. His attempts to change popular and deeply rooted traiditions have led to opposition to his approach among some North African Rabbis.

Attitude towards the State of Israel and its citizens[link]

Yosef holds a Halakhically ambivalent view towards Zionism as the Atchalta D'geula (beginning of the redemption). Religious Zionists, in contrast, view Israel as the first flowering of the redemption. In a well-known Halakhic ruling regarding the saying of Hallel on Yom Haatzmaut, Yosef writes that although the Jewish people experienced a miracle with the establishment of the State of Israel, the miracle did not include all of the Jewish people and, therefore, Hallel should not be said with a blessing. Nevertheless, he writes that "If the congregation wishes to say Hallel without a blessing after the prayer service, they should not be prevented." Thus, Yosef's position can be seen as a middle ground between the Religious Zionists, among whom saying Hallel is compulsory, and the Ashkenazi Haredim, who do not say Hallel at all.

In a newspaper interview in which Shas was accused of being anti-Zionist, Yosef responded:

What is anti-Zionist? It is a lie, it is a term which they have concocted themselves. I served for ten years as a Chief Rabbi – a key public position in the State of Israel. In what way are we not Zionists? We pray for Zion, for Jerusalem and its inhabitants, for Israel and the Rabbis and their students. What is Zionist? By our understanding, a Zionist is a person who loves Zion and practices the commandment of settling the land. Whenever I am overseas I encourage Aliyah. In what way are they more Zionist than us?

In 2010, Yosef and Shas' Moetzet Chachamei HaTorah (Council of [Wise] Torah Sages) approved Shas' membership in the World Zionist Organisation, making Shas the first officially Zionist Haredi party in Israel.

Yeshiva students and military service[link]

Yosef regards the wars fought by the State of Israel as falling within the Halakhic classification of Milkhemet Mitzvah. Nevertheless, he encourages young students to remain in the Yeshivas rather than be drafted into the military, because "despite the sensitivity which Rabbi Yosef feels towards the Israel Defense Forces he is deeply rooted in the Rabbinic tradition of the Yeshivas in the Land of Israel, and holds their position which opposes the integration of Yeshiva students in the military." Rabbi Binyamin Lau makes a cautious distinction between Yosef's public rhetoric which presents a unified front with the Ashkenazi Haredim, and between internal discussions, where Yosef is said to be more receptive to solving the problem of integrating the Haredim into the military.

Yosef's grandson points out his grandfather's positive attitude towards the IDF, in that whenever the Torah Ark is opened Yosef blesses "mi sheberech" for IDF soldiers. Yosef's son, Rabbi Avraham Yosef, served in the IDF as a military Rabbi for 13 years.

Secular Israelis[link]

Yosef frequently refers to the present situation in Israeli and Jewish society as "the generation of freedom and liberty." By this, Yosef is referring to a modern reality of a Jewish community which is generally not committed to the Halakha, and where Rabbinic authority has lost its centrality. In this context, Yosef draws a distinction between those who are non-observant out of spite, and those who are non-observant in the sense of a weak or incomplete commitment to Halakha accompanied by a strong belief in God and the Torah:

And I knew clearly when I was in Egypt, that many of these people (who worked on Shabbat for their livelihood), when they leave work, are careful not to desecrate the Sabbath, and indeed do not smoke on the Sabbath and all that follows from that. And some of them pray on the Sabbath in the first minyan so as to get to their workplace on time, and in secret their soul would weep that they are forced to desecrate the Sabbath for their livelihood.

This latter kind of non-observant Jews are, in Israel, mainly Mizrahi Jews who practice aspects of Judaism as a tradition (known as Masortiyim, not to be confused with Conservative Judaism, which is sometimes called Masorti Judaism). Yosef seeks to bring this demographic closer to the Torah, while relying upon traditional Jewish sources for his rulings. Thus, for example, he has ruled that those who desecrate the Sabbath are not considered as having abandoned the Torah, and thus if they have touched wine it remains Kosher. This sort of ruling differs from Ashkenazi Haredi rulings. Yosef actively aims to engage in Kiruv, while still strictly adhering to Halacha.

Yosef, however, is generally perceived by the Israeli media as not being as accepting of Jews who are entirely secular to the point of being anti-religious.

Israeli legal system[link]

Yosef is opposed to bringing civil actions in the Israeli courts because they decide outcomes by applying Israeli law rather than Halakha. His opposition is consistent with the position of the Ashkenazi Haredi Rabbis and some Religious Zionist Rabbis (e.g. Yaakov Ariel) as well. On this matter, Yosef has written:

And know that even though the legal authority vested by the government to decide cases is with the secular courts and the judges there are Jews, with all this it is clear that according to the law of our holy Torah – he who sues his friend in their courts commits a sin too great to bear, and he is as was decided by the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, that any who sues in their courts is evil and it is as though he has been spiteful and blasphemed and raised his hand against the Torah of Moses our Rabbi.

In matters of criminal law, however, Yosef is among the moderate Rabbinic voices who support the application of the rule dina d'malchuta dina ('the law of the land is the law'), and therefore it is forbidden to engage in criminal conduct such as tax fraud. It is only in civil matters in which he forbids going to the Israeli courts.

In February 1999 Yosef caused a controversy by strongly criticizing the Supreme Court of Israel:

These call themselves the Supreme Court? They're worthless. They should be put in a bottom court. They, for them [God] created all of the torments in the world. Everything that [the people of] Israel suffer from, is just for these evil people. Empty and reckless... What do they know? One of our children of 7–8 years knows better than they how to learn Torah. These are the people who have been put in the Supreme Court. Who chose them, who made them judges, but the Justice Minister, persecuter and enemy he liked them and he recommended that the President would appoint them as judges. What, were there elections? Who says that the nation wants such judges, such evil [ones]... They have no religion and no law. All of them have sex with Niddot. All of them desecrate the Sabbath. These will be our judges? Slaves rule over us.

Following these statements the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel, demanding that Yosef be put on trial. The Supreme Court dismissed the application, saying that the comments were within Yosef's right to freedom of speech. Nevertheless, then Supreme Court President Aharon Barak wrote in his judgment:

The words of Rabbi Yosef are harsh. The content is hurtful. It harms the confidence of his followers in this court. Neither a gadol in the Torah nor a political leader [should] speak thus. This is not the message that a former dayan – who knows and understands the complexity of judicial work – needs to be sending to the community...

Political activity[link]

Government influence[link]

Ovadia Yosef, 2007

In 1990, Yosef used his position as Shas spiritual leader to pressure Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir into agreeing to hold negotiations with Arab states for a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Shamir, a member of the Likud Party, refused to make any commitments.

According to one biography of the rabbi, Ben Porat Yosef, the relationship between the two had never been comfortable because of Shamir's unstudious personality. As a way of gaining a character analysis of politicians, Yosef had invited both Shamir and Shimon Peres to learn Talmud with him. While Peres proved an engaging and fluid learner, Shamir was stoic toward the material, a trait that led Yosef to instead use one of Shamir's cabinet members, Housing and Construction Minister David Levy, as his key partner in dealing with the Likud. Levy had a relatively warm relationship with the rabbi due to his moderate approach to Israel's security and foreign affairs policies, his charismatic personality, and his connection with Sephardi traditions (Levy, a Moroccan, was the highest ranking Sephardi politician in the 1980s).

In 1990, Rav Yosef pulled Shas out of the coalition with the Likud and attempted to form a partnership with Peres's left-centre Labour Party. The bold move, engineered but opposed by Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, backfired when the highly respected Ashkenazi rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Elazar Shach (who subsequently founded the Degel HaTorah party) fiercely commanded Yosef to return Shas to the coalition with the Likud. During this time, Yosef was severely criticised by other major members of the Haredi religious community in Israel, particular the Ashkenazic Jews who generally sided with the Likud and the right in opposition to the perceived secularist tendencies of Labour and the left.

The failure of the scheme, today called "the dirty trick", or maneuver,^[13] was responsible for Peres' downfall as leader of Labour, and his 1991 defeat in internal elections to former Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Since the 1980s, Yosef has approved the participation by Shas in most Israeli governments, except for the last two governments of Ariel Sharon since January 2003. In the last Knesset, Shas was one of the few parties to have been in the opposition for the duration of that Knesset's term, along with the leftist Meretz party and the Arab factions Ra'am (United Arab List), Hadash, and Balad. This was largely because of the rise of Shinui to the powerful third party position, a position that was previously held by Shas. Shinui demanded to create a government without Shas.

In the 2007 Israeli Presidential election, Yosef endorsed his long-time friend Shimon Peres, who ultimately won the election due in part to the support of Shas's 12 MKs.^[14]

Cultural influence[link]

In a 2004 article by Maariv,^[15] Yosef was mentioned as one of the most influential rabbis in Israel. He was described as:

The spiritual leader of Shas. The man most identified with the honorific title maran. He has considerable political strength, mainly because he controls the Knesset members of Shas.

However, the key influence of Rabbi Yossef is in the arena of Judaism, specifically in halakha.

In addition, he has great influence in teaching and endowing of his halakhic way. Jewish prayers according to Yosef's verdicts are the most common in Sephardic synagogues, and his halakhic books gained circulation beyond compare. Almost no one disputes the fact he is a Torah phenomenon, one of a kind. Despite this, he is "field rabbi" and goes down to the common people with countless sermons.

Position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict[link]

Despite his controversial public comments, Yosef has long been a distinguished rabbinical authority advocating peace negotiations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has done so since the late 1980s. His main justification is the halakhic principle of Pikuach Nefesh, in which all the Jewish commandments (excluding adultery, idolatry, and murder) are put on hold if a life is put in danger. Using an argument first articulated by the late American rabbinical leader Joseph Soloveitchik, Yosef claims that the Arab-Israeli conflict endangers human lives, thereby meeting the above criteria and overruling the priority of commandments pertaining to settling the land of Israel.^[16] Therefore, Israel is permitted — even obligated if saving lives is a definitive outcome — to make serious efforts to reach a peace settlement as well as to make arrangements to properly protect its citizens.^[17][18] Yosef first applied the Pikuach Nefesh principle to Israel's conflicts with its neighbors in 1979, when he ruled that this argument granted Israel authority to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. Some claimed, however, that the ruling was also motivated by Yosef's desire to oppose his Ashkenazi colleague, Rabbi Shlomo Goren.^[19]

Using this precedent, Yosef instructed Shas to join Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's government coalition, and later that of Ehud Barak as well. However, Shas abstained on Oslo I and voted against the Oslo II agreement. Furthermore, as Oslo stalled and relations between Israelis and Palestinians began to deteriorate, and particularly following the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Yosef and the party pulled "rightward", supporting the Likud.

In 2005, Yosef repeatedly condemned the Gaza Disengagement. He argued that he was opposed to any unilateral action that occurred outside the framework of a peace agreement. Yosef again cited the principle of Pikuach Nefesh, saying that empowering the Palestinians without a commitment to end terror would result in threatening Jewish lives, particularly in areas near Gaza in range of Qassam rocket attacks.^[20] In contrast to some of his rabbinical colleagues, such as Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, Yosef refused to entertain the idea of holding a referendum on the disengagement, and instructed his MKs to vote against the plan when it came up in the Knesset.

Yosef still maintains that Pikuach Nefesh applies to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supports negotiations with the Palestinians. However, he no longer appears totally convinced that diplomacy with the present leadership can necessarily end the violence. Some media analysts had suggested that then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may have been able to convince the rabbi to sign on to further unilateral actions by the government if concerted efforts toward negotiation failed.^[21]

Yosef has protested strongly against demands by the United States and other foreign countries that Israel freeze construction in East Jerusalem, saying that "it's as if we are their slaves."^[22] Nevertheless, he has shown some flexibility on the issue and may take a pragmatic approach. In the wake of the diplomatic row between Israel and the US over Jewish housing in east Jerusalem, Yosef is reported to have said, in a private meeting with Shimon Peres, that "[i]t is not permissible to challenge the nations of the world or the ruling powers" and that Israel should agree to a partial building freeze in east Jerusalem, at least temporarily.^[23]

Halakhic authority[link]

Yosef is generally considered one of the leading living halakhic authorities, particularly for Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews ("Maran").

Some of his more famous legal rulings include:

• That it is legitimate and permissible to give territory from the Land of Israel in order to achieve a genuine peace. When the Oslo Accords were followed by an intifada, this opinion was later retracted.^[24]
• That it is permissible for a Rabbinic Jew to marry a Karaite.
• Supports heter mechira during the Shmita year, following the Sephardic tradition.
• Ordered the Shas political party to vote in favour of a law recognizing brain death as death for legal purposes. The Ashkenazi Haredi political party United Torah Judaism voted against the law on instructions from their spiritual leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.
• A collective recognition of the Jewishness of the Beta Israel, after there was a suspicion that their conversion to Judaism was not in compliance with halakha.
• Allowing the wives of Israel Defense Force soldiers who have been missing in action for a long time to remarry, a verdict which is known as "the releasure of agunot" (התרת עגונות).
• That a woman should not wear a wig (sheitel) as a form of head covering, but should wear headscarves instead. (According to Jewish Law, Jewish married women must cover their hair in public for reasons of modesty). Many Ashkenazi Jews have the practice of wearing sheitels, while some wear a covering on top of the sheitel.

Criticism and controversy[link]

Both during and after his term as Chief Rabbi, and continuing today, there is much criticism of Yosef. Critics have questioned his theodicy, his halakhic rulings, and actions as spiritual leader of Shas.

Theodicy[link]

Some of Yosef's theodicy-related pronouncements have also been controversial. In 2000, he described the Holocaust as God's retribution against the reincarnated soul of Jewish sinners: "The six million Holocaust victims were reincarnations of the souls of sinners, people who transgressed and did all sorts of things that should not be done. They had been reincarnated in order to atone.".^[25][26] Shas chairman Eli Yishai said criticism of the rabbi is unjustified, explaining, "Rabbi Ovadia weeps for every Jew who is killed ... but nobody, not even a saint, has not sinned. Everyone dies in a state of sin. It's even stated that he declared that Hitler was a messenger sent to do God's work before the arrival of the Messiah."^[25]

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Yosef blamed the tragedy on the Godlessness of New Orleans, on U.S. support for the Gaza disengagement, and on a general lack of Torah study in the area:

There was a tsunami and there are terrible natural disasters, because there isn’t enough Torah study... Black people reside there [New Orleans]. Blacks will study the Torah? [God said], Let’s bring a tsunami and drown them... Hundreds of thousands remained homeless. Tens of thousands have been killed. All of this because they have no God... Bush was behind the [expulsion of] Gush Katif, he encouraged Sharon to expel Gush Katif... We had 15,000 people expelled here [in Israel], and there [in America] 150,000 [were expelled]. It was God’s retribution... God does not short-change anyone.^[27][28]

Part of the controversy surrounding Yosef's comments was his use of the Hebrew word "Kushim" to refer to the black people of New Orleans which in biblical Hebrew refers to an ancient African people and in contemporary Hebrew is considered derogatory.^[29]

Halakhic rulings[link]

Breslov Hasidim have the custom of going on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman for Rosh Hashanah. Yosef has been highly critical of this practice, and has stated, "There are here [in Israel] the tombs of the greatest sages in the world. Holy Tannaim, amongst whom even the least will merit being resurrected. They leave and shame these Geonim by going to Uman."^[30]

In 1973, as Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, he ruled based on the Radbaz and other accounts, that the Ethiopian Beta Israel were Jews and should be brought to Israel. He was later joined by a number of other authorities who made similar rulings, including the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Shlomo Goren.^[31] Other notable poskim, from non-Zionist Ashkenazi circles, placed a halakhic safek (doubt) over the Jewishness of the Beta Israel. Such dissenting voices include Rabbis Elazar Shach, Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, and Moshe Feinstein.^[32][33]

Remarks regarding gentiles[link]

In an October 2010 sermon, Yosef stated that "The sole purpose of non-Jews is to serve Jews". He said that Gentiles served a divine purpose: "Why are Gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That is why Gentiles were created."^[34] In the same article on the Jerusalem Post, according to the journalist who interviewed him, Yosef compared Gentiles to donkeys whose life has the sole purpose to serve the master: “In Israel, death has no dominion over them... With gentiles, it will be like any person – they need to die, but [God] will give them longevity. Why? Imagine that one’s donkey would die, they’d lose their money. This is his servant... That’s why he gets a long life, to work well for this Jew."

"Gentiles were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world – only to serve the People of Israel."^[35]

The American Jewish Committee condemned the Yosef's remarks, stating that "Rabbi Yosef’s remarks – suggesting outrageously that Jewish scripture asserts non-Jews exist to serve Jews – are abhorrent and an offense to human dignity and human equality [...] Judaism first taught the world that all individuals are created in the divine image, which helped form the basis of our moral code. A rabbi should be the first, not the last, to reflect that bedrock teaching of our tradition." ^[36] The remark was also condemned by the Anti-Defamation League.^[37]

Remarks regarding Arabs and Palestinians[link]

In 2001 Yosef was quoted as calling for the annihilation of Arabs, instructing his followers that "It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable."^[38] Yosef later said that his sermon was misquoted, that he was referring to annihilation of Arab terrorists and not of all Arab people.^[39] He called for improving the living conditions of Arabs in Israel, and said that he has deep respect for peace seeking Arabs.^[40]

Israeli Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit condemned the sermon, saying: "A person of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's stature must refrain from acrid remarks such as these. (...) I suggest that we not learn from the ways of the Palestinians and speak in verbal blows like these." Salah Tarif, an Arab Israeli minister, also criticized Yosef, saying "his remarks add nothing but hatred".

Yosef drew criticism from the US State Department in August 2010 following a Saturday morning sermon in which he called for "all the nasty people who hate Israel, like Abu Mazen (Abbas), vanish from our world... May God strike them down with the plague along with all the nasty Palestinians who persecute Israel."^[41]

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Yosef's statements were tantamount to a call for genocide against Palestinians and demanded a firm response from the Israeli government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself and his government from the sermon, stating that Yosef's words "do not reflect my approach or the stand of the Israeli government."^[42]Sources in the rabbi's home reported that since the statements were made, the rabbi "was very sorry" and looked for a way of sending a conciliatory message to the Palestinians.^[43] Three weeks later, Yosef sent out a conciliatory message reiterating his old positions in support of the peace process. He wished the Palestinians and their leaders, “who are partners to this important [peace] process and want its success long days and years”. He continued, “The People of Israel are taught to seek peace, and three times daily pray for it. We wish for a sustainable peace with all our neighbors". He blessed "all the leaders and peoples, Egyptians Jordanians and Palestinians, who are partners to this important process and want its success, a process that will bring peace to our region and prevent bloodshed."^[44]

Awards[link]

In 1970, Yosef was awarded the Israel Prize for Rabbinical literature.^[45]

In 2005, he was voted the 23rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.^[46]

Published works[link]

Among Yosef's earliest works was a detailed commentary on the Ben Ish Chai titled Halikhot Olam. He was asked to finish the commentary Kaf Ha'Chaim by Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer after the author's death. Two sets of Yosef's responsa have been published, Yabbia Omer and Yechaveh Da'at (both titles are references to Psalm 19). His responsa are noted for citing almost every source regarding a specific topic and are often referred to simply as indices of rulings. There is also another series of books under the title of Chazon Ovadia (not to be mistaken with the original books which were responsa on Passover), which he has written laws concerning the sabbath, holidays and other topics.^{[citation needed]}

Yosef has printed a commentary on the Mishnah tractate Pirkei Avot ("Ethics of the Fathers") under the title, Anaf Etz Avot, and Maor Israel, a commentary on various parts of the Talmud. His son, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, has published a widely-read codification of Yosef's rulings entitled Yalkut Yosef. Another son, Rabbi David Yosef, has printed various siddurim and liturgy according to Yosef's rulings, and another halachic compendium entitled Halachah Berurah.^{[citation needed]}