Chief Rabbi Harav Yosef to Mandelblit: Freeze the Ruling to Allow Chametz in Hospitals on Pesach

Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rishon LeTzion Harav Yitzchak Yosef, shlita, sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit requesting that he try to postpone the entry of a High Court ruling that would allow bringing chametz over Pesach into Israeli hospitals.

It will be recalled that the High Court’s decision on the matter was given a 10-month extension, which Harav Yosef is now seeking to extend, so that the ruling does not apply on the upcoming Pesach.

In his letter to Mandelblit, Harav Yosef adds: “Needless to say, the coronavirus crisis that befell the State did not allow the parties concerned to devote their time properly to the reality created by the ruling, and particularly because such a response requires the cooperation of the Health Ministry.”

He notes, “Following the ruling, parts of the bill were tabled in the Knesset to address this issue. But due to the upcoming elections for the 24th Knesset, and the coronavirus crisis that befell us nothing has advanced.

“Following the request for a further hearing,” Harav Yosef explains, “we hoped that the ruling, which has very problematic implications for kosher guards in hospitals and which will harm patients who will avoid being hospitalized on Pesach unless the ban will be lifted, will be changed.”

The Rav concludes his letter: “We are very grateful to you for approving the submission of an appropriate urgent application to the court to postpone the date of entry into force of the ruling and to extend the 10-months set forth in the ruling, in a way that will deal with the new reality.”