January 11, 1998

Web posted at: 2:16 p.m. EST (1916 GMT)

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Israel has ruled that it is permitted to pick your nose on the Jewish Sabbath, his aide said Sunday.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef delivered the ruling Saturday night in a sermon relayed by satellite to his followers in Israel and abroad.

The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot had reported that Yosef had said nose-picking is forbidden because tiny hairs inside the nostrils might also be pulled out. But a viewing of a videotape of the event confirmed that Yosef had in fact ruled it was permitted.

Yosef is among a select group of rabbis who respond to questions from Jews -- serious or otherwise -- on the minutiae of applying Jewish law to daily life.

The Iraqi-born Yosef, a former chief rabbi in Egypt and Israel and a leading authority on Jewish law, is spiritual leader of the religious political party Shas, which has 10 seats in Israel's Parliament.