When Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef arrived in South Florida, on May 16, he experienced a reception befitting his status as chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel. Rabbi Pinchas Aaron Weberman, head of the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of South Florida, led a group of rabbis and arranged for an honor escort of airport police and federal agents stationed at the airport. Rabbi Weberman and the entourage met Rabbi Yosef on the plane and then led him on an escorted ride, which included police cars with lights and sirens clearing the way, to Miami Beach
The new Rishon Lezion was welcomed with great respect by the local Jewish community. Rabbi Yosef’s itinerary was packed. While in South Florida he visited various yeshivot, Bais Yaakov, The RASG Hebrew Academy and The Chaya Aydel Seminary. He also gave a shiur to a rabbinical audience at Netive Ezra Sephardic Synagogue in Aventura, Florida. The lecture delved into techniques on researching questions on Jewish law, coming to a conclusion and presenting the findings.
Several synagogues were honored to have Rabbi Yosef attend their services. The rabbi also participated in various local Lag B’Omer celebrations.
The brief visit ended too soon for many in the area. Rabbi Yosef was given an honor escort upon his departure back to Jerusalem on May 20.