Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi on Saturday called on the Jewish state’s leadership to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s appeal for Jews to observe the upcoming Shabbat.
Rabbi David Yosef in his weekly Torah lesson on Saturday night urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to encourage observance of the Jewish day of rest in Israel and among Jewish communities worldwide ahead of next Saturday’s Shabbat, which coincides with the Torah portion of Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1–4:20).
🔥BIG: Harav Dovid Yosef, the Rishon L’Tzion and Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, called on Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog to join President Donald Trump’s recent public call to honor Shabbos.
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Speaking during his weekly shiur, Harav Yosef connected Trump’s White… pic.twitter.com/g7PFzQhux2
“How important it is that we all unite around the holy Shabbat. If a non-Jewish person so greatly respects our religion and even calls on non-Jews to rest on Shabbat, then all the more so should we Jews, who have the Torah, our tradition and the precious gift called the holy Shabbat,” Yosef said in his remarks.
The chief rabbi said the upcoming Shabbat is particularly significant, as it precedes the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
“I expect and call upon the president of the state and the prime minister of the Jewish state to join the call of the American president,” Yosef said. “At the very least here in the Land of Israel, and also to call on Jews throughout the Diaspora to observe the coming Shabbat.
“May this merit bring redemption soon,” he added, referencing a rabbinic teaching that the Jewish people would be redeemed if they all observed two consecutive Shabbats.
Trump on May 4 called for Jewish Americans to observe a national Shabbat from sundown on Friday to nightfall on Saturday in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“In special honor of 250 glorious years of American independence and on the weekend of Rededicate 250—a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving—Jewish Americans are encouraged to observe a national Sabbath,” Trump wrote in his proclamation of the annual heritage month.
“From sundown on May 15 to nightfall on May 16, friends, families, and communities of all backgrounds may come together in gratitude for our great nation,” he wrote. “This day will recognize the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection and gratitude to the Almighty.”
The president also called on “all Americans to celebrate their faith and freedom throughout this year, during this month, and especially on Shabbat to celebrate our 250th year.”
