New Chief Rabbi of Moldova Inaugurated in Legendary Chisinau Synagogue

On August 12, the inauguration of the new Chief Rabbi of Moldova, Menachem Mendel Axelrod, took place in the 'Gleizers Shul' synagogue in Chisinau on Habad-Lubavitch Street. The ceremony gathered honored guests, rabbis, community representatives, and diplomats. The synagogue, which survived pogroms and the Holocaust, symbolizes the revival of Jewish life.

On August 12, the solemn inauguration of the new Chief Rabbi of Moldova, Menachem Mendel Axelrod, took place in the 'Gleizers Shul' synagogue in Chisinau on Habad-Lubavitch Street. The ceremony gathered numerous honored guests, rabbis, representatives of Jewish communities, and diplomats. The synagogue, founded in the late 19th century as a synagogue for glaziers and bookbinders, survived pogroms, World War II, and the Soviet era, becoming the only functioning synagogue in Soviet Chisinau. After the war, the building was restored, and in 1977, Rabbi Lev Smolyak managed to have it inspected and matzah bakeries installed. In late 1989, a Lubavitcher Rebbe emissary, Zalman Leib Abelsky, arrived in Moldova and led the religious life of the community for 24 years. The new inauguration symbolizes the continuation of the revival of Jewish life in Moldova.