19 Adar: R. Ovadya Yosef on Owning Public Mitzvot
For whatever positive motives people donate to the public good, ego can get involved as well. In Shu”t Yabi’a Omer 7;23, dated 19 Adar 5738 (1978), some of that had clearly happened. R. Ovadya Yosef was asked for advice by brothers who had donated a parochet, a covering for the Aron Kodesh (the Holy Ark, but I always think of it as the Ark of the Covenant, because that way I can convince myself that there was some value to the too much time I have spent watching too many movies). They had donated it in memory of their older brother, and were upset at its having been superseded by a more recently donated parochet.
Note that R. Ovadya Yosef was the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel when he answered this question. To me, there’s something remarkable about the temerity of these brothers in asking (and his willingness to answer) such a personal question when he was clearly a very busy man, with many pressing needs of a broader community to attend.
Perhaps he had a personal relationship with them, or they were particularly prominent, but I still find it a remarkable example of his humble willingness to answer questions asked, regardless of how big or small the issue at hand.