Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef visited the grave of his father, Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef zt"l, at the Sanhedria cemetery in Jerusalem this morning (Tuesday), moments before casting his ballot in the national elections.
At the gravesite, he recited an emotional prayer, asking his father to continue interceding in Heaven for the protection of the Jewish people and the strengthening of Torah and religious observance in the Holy Land.
Speaking at the grave, Rabbi Yosef said: "We ask of Abba, Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef ben Georgia, who fought all his days for the sanctity of Israel, that he stand and plead before the Holy One, Blessed be He, to protect the people of Israel in the Land of Israel."
The Rav continued with an emotional prayer regarding current decrees, asking: "That the strength of Judaism, those who keep Torah and mitzvos, should grow stronger, and that they should not succeed in harming us, against our holy Torah, against the observance of mitzvos, against those who learn Torah, and against faithful Judaism and the keeping of mitzvos. That we should be able to continue, and on the contrary, go from strength to strength and merit to magnify and glorify Torah. Amen, may it be His will."
After the prayer and the recitation of names at the holy gravesite, the Rav proceeded to the polling station near his home to vote and fulfill his civic duty, calling on the broader public to go out and vote for the sake of Jewish sanctity and the elevation of Torah.
