Brilliant Rabbi, brilliant outfitOvadia Yosef is, without doubt, the most highly regarded Sefardi* rabbinical figure in Israel and the de facto kingmaker of the Shas political party. He also used to be the Sefardi chief rabbi of Israel. The prestige of being chief rabbi, which is normally a ten year term, was so thoroughly enjoyable, that he refused to return the clown suit that goes with the privilege and wears it to this day. He still thinks he’s chief rabbi. Or maybe he just plays one on TV.

It seems like Rav Ovadia, in spite of having an allegedly encyclopedic memory and being a posek (interpreter of Jewish law) of great renown, just might be a bit retarded. Just what does it mean for the rabbinate and its followers when rabbis like Yosef barf out gems like,

It is no wonder that soldiers are killed in war; they don’t observe Shabbat, don’t observe the Torah, don’t pray every day, don’t lay phylacteries on a daily basis – so is it any wonder that they are killed? No, it’s not.

The monumental idiocy of such a comment, offered last Saturday night on Ovadia’s kick-ass public access show (video clip here), is simply mindblowing. Not only is it stupid on an astonishing scale, but it’s mean-spirited, vicious and offensive to anyone who,...well, to anyone, I suppose. I wonder what Ovadia has to say about all the dead soldiers who did observe Shabbat and the mitzvot? Nothing, apparently. I wonder if he even knew any soldiers killed in any of Israel's wars. Oh, that's right, he's Haredi. Sorry.

Everyone is entitled to put one's foot in one's mouth one time or another. But this is just one in a series of dumbass comments made by this awesome genius.

On Hurricane Katrina:

There was a tsunami and there are terrible natural disasters, because there isn’t enough Torah study… black people reside there (in New Orleans). Blacks will study the Torah? (God said) let’s bring a tsunami and drown them.

On Holocaust victims:

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."

On Nose-picking:

Among the more important issues he’s addressed in his many responsa, and, in spite of the large scale excavations which often take place, Rav Yosef wrote a tshuva permitting nose-picking on the Sabbath.

Nose picking is not work!His followers always tout Ovadia’s greatness as a posek when it comes to defending bullshit like this. But that’s no defense. Can we just cut to the chase, admit he’s a senile freak and put him in the old folks home where his insane mutterings won’t garner international coverage?

On the other hand, he’s living proof of the canard of Jewish genius.

*Ovadia Yosef was born in Baghdad and is not actually Sefardi. Nobody seems to mind though. As long as he's not Ashkenazi, it's okay.**

**Actually it's not okay. Mizrahi is the appropriate designation.