Next Door to Greatness

American-born David Shelby had been an admirer of Rav Ovadiah Yosef  since he was a child. Then, when Rabbi Shelby became the Chacham’s neighbor and joined his exclusive kollel, he turned into family. And while 12 years have passed since Chacham Ovadiah’s petirah, Rabbi Shelby still feels as connected as ever

Rabbi David Shelby, the rabbi of Congregation Shaare Shalom in Brooklyn, was just about five years old when he first met Chacham Ovadiah Yosef, and the seeds of a relationship sprouted. Over the years, that connection intensified manifold.

“He was my oxygen,” he says. “My family and I are still completely infused with him.”

The screen on his cellphone is a photo of him with the gadol, and in his wallet he carries a laminated 20-shekel note that Chacham Ovadiah once gave him. In the living room of his Brooklyn home, the only picture on the wall is a portrait of Chacham Ovadiah. The basement is filled with documents, seforim, photos, and memorabilia. The only thing missing from his trove is a photo of a silver kamaya, containing various names of Hashem and malachim, that Rabbi Shelby once noticed on Chacham Ovodiah’s desk. It was such an uncharacteristic item that he took a picture of it and made a copy for posterity. But when he got back to the US, the paper had mysteriously disappeared.

Rabbi Shelby’s veneration of the Chacham comes from up-close-and-personal experience. After his wedding, Rabbi Shelby lived next door to Chacham Ovadiah for nine years and joined his kollel, developing a close, familial relationship. Even after moving back to the US, he flew to Eretz Yisrael to visit his rebbi numerous times a year. And while 12 years have passed since Chacham Ovadiah’s petirah on 3 Cheshvan in 2013, in his heart, Rabbi Shelby still feels as connected as ever.