How Does the Yom L'Yom Newspaper Cope with Maran's Absence?

About a year ago, the giant who led the nation in general, and the Sephardic community in particular, Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed and holy memory, passed away. Among the significant contributions left behind was his mouthpiece – the orthodox weekly "Yom L'Yom." As a trying year comes to a close, we set out to interview one of the closest people to Maran's household, the newspaper's editor, Yitzhak Kakun.

"Yom L'Yom was in the rabbi's blood," Kakun says right from the start, even before I present the first question. "Everything in the newspaper went through him. Every word was checked by people he appointed for this purpose. Naturally, the spiritual committee was also formed according to those he demanded." Yom L'Yom is not a place to find interpretations or references to world-affecting issues, simply because it suits one person’s preference. "Everything happened according to his will, not anyone else's."

Don't think it's easy to run a big newspaper system when you know you'll sometimes enter conflicts with entire communities, and people might think you have something personal against them, "We didn't think about anything, because we knew everything was under the rabbi's guidance, and with Hashem's help, we didn’t see any fault."

Missing Maran, of blessed memory. Kakun sits opposite Maran, listening.

How different is the management after Maran's departure?

"Maran's spirit is always with us, as well as his views and decisions. It's not easy; we were accustomed to consulting about everything, getting regular instructions, and staying updated on any new issue that arose in the public agenda. Today, it's somewhat different, but with all the challenges, mainly the mental ones of longing and sorrow for our orphanhood. We remain with a father who manages everything and left behind the people he trusted to continue the required way for publishing the newspaper. Anyone who reads the paper today can rest assured nothing deviates from Maran's views, and that is how he would want it."

When Kakun refers to the people Maran left behind, he means his son, the first among us, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, or Shlita, and the President of the Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Shalom Cohen, Shlita. "In recent years, Maran requested to heed the advice of Chacham Shalom Cohen, and additionally, at his request, even in his lifetime, we established a special halachic section by Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who replaced Maran in matters of halacha. People don't know that Maran did things just so that after he was gone, we'd be left with the people he trusted, and they would continue to lead."

Maran Prepared the Generation Through the Newspaper and Assigned Roles

One significant event that occurred before Maran's passing left a strong impression on the newspaper's staff, demonstrating their actions were favorable to their rabbi. "It was on Passover eve, half a year before his passing," Kakun recalls. "The entire Yom L'Yom team gathered at Maran's house, and there he praised the writers, the things I wrote in the editorial, and the way the newspaper operates according to Torah knowledge. He encouraged us, blessed us, and gave us general guidance, as if knowing we would be left without him. This essentially passed a stamp of approval on how we knew to operate according to his wishes.

"No one can say Maran did not prepare the generation through the newspaper. Many times he asked me to write on sharpening the matter of Torah knowledge so that the public understands what it means to submit to Torah knowledge. We indeed created a series on the subject. When I asked him why we needed such a series if the entire public listens to Maran's voice, Kakun provided the winning answer: 'To make them understand they need to rely on the community's rabbis. Maran knew he would leave. So what would be then? This is why he prepared the public, making sure they know to listen to the community rabbis. I received instructions and established a suitable mechanism, and part of these things are documented and kept with me. No one can say anything against what's happening in our newspaper; the truth is documented.

100 Glossy Pages with Stories You've Never Heard

Throughout the last year, Yom L'Yom accompanied Maran's departure. Every day, every hour, from every possible angle, including interviews with anyone who ever had the privilege of being at Maran's side. Rabbis, sons, literally everyone. Articles were published, investigations were conducted, "and there is much more to come," Kakun says confidentially. "No other newspaper did what we did for Maran’s memory. During Sukkot, other newspapers bragged about the number of pages they dedicated for their readers. We did not dedicate for the Sukkot newspaper, but for the essential things that interest Yom L'Yom readers more than any magazine article. We invested in a special booklet, 100 glossy pages, ‘The President of Israel – A Year Since Maran's Passing.’ The booklet consisted of interviews with Maran’s four sons – A year without a father. Interviews with the Shas leaders – Aryeh Deri, articles on the institutions that were founded, on the Shas faction, and part of Maran’s travel diaries abroad. He reached many communities in his lifetime, many of which people have never heard of. Maran also visited the community in Iran, enlightening the hearts of many downtrodden Jews.

Kakun and Maran, of blessed memory. Accompanying their path.

The researchers at the "Maor Yisrael" institute continue to search for materials related to Maran diligently. There are so many letters and correspondences that no one has heard of. The materials we obtained are so extensive that Rabbi Shalom Cohen said that given the years Maran wrote innovations, from the age of 9 to over 90, naturally, a person would have to live 400 years to produce that many innovations.

"Every day, Maran accompanies us," Kakun says, "And not as a slogan. Every week the newspaper features a ruling or column asking what Maran would do in this or that case or would want. His spirit hovers, giving the strength to move forward and spread his path to the world."