A New Era for Moldovan Jewry: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod Officially Installed as Chief Rabbi of the Country

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod was officially installed as the Chief Rabbi of Moldova in a ceremony in Chișinău, attended by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Chabad representatives, and diplomats. The ceremony marked a closing of a circle and a connection between generations, against the backdrop of the renewed revival of the Jewish community. Community leader Alexander Bilitsky emphasized the importance of cooperation between spiritual and practical leadership. Speakers recalled the complex history of Bessarabian and Moldovan Jewry, including the Holocaust and Soviet oppression, and the current resurgence.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod was officially installed as the Chief Rabbi of Moldova in a ceremony held in Chișinău, attended by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Chabad representatives, and diplomats. The ceremony marked a closing of a circle and a connection between a glorious past generation and the future generation, against the backdrop of the renewed revival of the Jewish community in the country. Rabbi Axelrod, grandson of the late Rabbi Zalman Abelsky, who laid the foundations for the restoration of religious life after the fall of communism, bears a heavy responsibility that he has been managing with dedication for a decade. Community leader Alexander Bilitsky emphasized the importance of cooperation between spiritual and practical leadership. Speakers recalled the complex history of Bessarabian and Moldovan Jewry, which endured the horrors of the Holocaust and Soviet oppression, and is now experiencing a revival. The climax was the installation of the rabbi as he was wrapped in a tallit and the signing of the appointment document by the chief rabbis, as a symbol of 'dawn' and the triumph of the Jewish spirit.