Chief Sephardi Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef spoke passionately at a synagogue on Saturday during his weekly sermon, focusing on the lifestyles and challenges of Israelis.
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The sermon was part of his weekly lesson, which is broadcast live.
Yosef, who is the son of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef blasted secular Israelis, remarking, "I find myself in a rabbinical court handling cases and witnessing everything that happens in the secular community. They are in danger, unsatisfied with their lives."
Video: Lag B'Omer celebrations in Meron/Usage under Israeli intellectual property law Section 27a
He went on to express his concern about secular individuals, stating, "They do everything just in order to gratify their worldly desires; this is unbelievable. But we must reach out to them and, thank God, various organizations are working to bring them closer and guide them back to the religious fold. This is what needs to be done, and this is what Rabbi Ovadia Yosef did. He once said that in such cases, the first thing you need to tell the would-be religious is to observe kashrut (the dietary laws)."
Rabbi Yosef then explained why this should be the first thing a religious person did. "A person who eats non-kosher becomes dull-witted and this makes it difficult to understand. But when they keep kosher, you can continue to influence them positively."
He also touched on the socioeconomic disparities between Israelis who were religious and secular. "They [the secular] envy us; they see the religious community, our children, our festivals. We spend holidays together. Their envy stems from jealousy, and this jealousy fosters hatred."
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