Chacham Ovadia Yosef, head of Shas’ Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah and one of the great Torah minds of the generations, was taken today to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital, where he will be undergoing surgery for debilitating back pain he has been experiencing.
It is about three weeks since Chacham Ovadia slipped in his house at 45 Rechov Hakablan in Har Nof, Yerushalayim, after which he began suffering from severe pain.
Last Shabbos, his pain intensified and he was unable to attend the tefillos in his shul adjacent to his home in Har Nof. Chacham Ovadia was taken after Shabbos to Hadassah Ein Kerem, where he underwent a series of tests. He was then released on Tuesday.
The pain has not subsided, requiring Chacham Ovadiah to be hospitalized once again, and this time physicians have decided that the 92-year-old gaon will have to undergo back surgery.
Two weeks ago, in his Motzoei Shabbos drashah, Chacham Ovadia addressed his health situation and asked the public to daven for him: “I ask you all please to please daven for me that I be healthy. I am in great pain; every step that I take involves pain. Bless me that I be healthy to raise the Torah, to strengthen the Torah.”
Chacham Ovadia is a former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel and currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Knesset.
All are asked to daven for Rav Ovadiah ben Georgia.
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
Terrifying news. May the Rabbi be blessed with a refuah shleimah and long, healthy life for many more decades to come.
Let us start doing teshuva now before things get worse chas vshalom
May he have a speedy recovery
Ovadya ben Georgia or Ovadya Yosef ben Georgia?
Just a small point: when davening for someone, even a Gadol B’yisrael, I don’t think that you add any titles. To us, he may be Rav Ovadia. But to Hashem, he is Ovadia ben Georgia.
Please post the correct name:
Rav Ovadia Yosef ben Gorjia
His name is Harav Ovadiah Yosef ben Gurjiya, he made his second name his last name. Heard it from his son this shabbos.
To number 4- you are correct that we do not use titles when praying for gedolim however since there me a problem with referencing, ones rebbi or gadol hador like Rav Ovadia, without a title, similar to the problem of referencing one’s parent by name, thats why I beleieve one would use one title but not two- ex. Rav Ovadia and not Harav Hagaon Ovadia. See the Chida Birkei Yosef Y.D. 240:4 who arites this outright, that if one is forbidden to reference a rebbi by name he should mention one title not two.