It’s been over a week now since the passing of Rav Ovadia Yosef. With almost a million people who went to his funeral, I keep on wondering what was it about him that made him so great. Two things defined him: his love for Torah and his love for his people. The underlying strand that connects them both is, well, love. He loved deeply and intensely. Whether you agreed or disagreed with him, glorified or vilified him, you cannot withhold respect for him.
Behind all greatness the defining feature is love. Be it the love of a scientist for science, the love of a religious man for G-d, or the love of man for his woman, what makes greatness is love. And when our love for power, love of money, love for honor can one day be triumphed by our love for love, then we can realize that greatness is attainable by not only the great but by everyone one of us.
2013