Rabbi Sinai Ya’akovi, a neighbor of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spoke to Arutz Sheva about his feelings in the wake of the rabbi’s passing earlier this week. Rabbi Ya’akovi explained why Rabbi Yosef touched so many people, and shared the things that have given him comfort in the days after his death.
A massive mourners’ tent has been set up near Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s home for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been pouring in to pay their condolences. Security forces and first response personnel are in the area, both to ensure that things run smoothly and to guarantee the safety of the many well-known politicians and religious figures who are coming to visit the Yosef family.
The family has asked the public to come only at certain hours: from 10 am to 1 pm, and 4 pm to 7 pm. Police are considering closing the street to traffic during those times to prevent blocked traffic.
Thousands of people have traveled to visit the rabbi’s grave, as well. Already the day after Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s funeral, the grave had become a place of pilgrimage visited by scores of followers.