Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has pacemaker installed

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the 93-year-old spiritual leader of the Shas party, underwent surgery to install a temporary pacemaker on Saturday night after being admitted to hospital for the second time this month.

He was also scheduled to receive dialysis treatment starting Monday.

Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood, where Yosef was admitted, said Monday the influential rabbi’s condition was stable and that he was fully conscious.

He was transferred back to the hospital’s intensive care unit for supervision and further treatment.

The rabbi, who celebrated his 93th birthday this week, has been hospitalized a number of times in the past few months as his health has deteriorated, including a 10-day stint at the same hospital just two weeks ago.

Yosef’s son, Rabbi David Yosef, asked Saturday night that people pray for his father, as his condition is now “worse than it has ever been.”