Jewish Bubba: Israel, The Only Jewish State in the World and with CHIEF RABBIS

Nadene Goldfoot

Israel's history has always been that of a Jewish state, created under King Saul in the 11th century BCE (10000s) , son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin. Following him were Kings David and his son Solomon, establishing our religion, not only the state of Israel. Solomon died in 920 BCE. Judah including Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans. It was re-created again May 14, 1948 as Israel, a Jewish State once again.

The star is the star of David, Melach Israel.

All religious and personal status matters in Israel are determined by the religious authorities of the recognised confessional communities to which a person belongs. There are Jewish, Muslim and Druze communities and nine officially recognised Christian communities.

When the British held the mandate of 30 years, the plan of 2 rabbis was created, so in 1921, Abraham Isaac (Yitzhak) Kook was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi and Jacob Meir became the Sephardi Chief Rabbi.

Wedding in Israel, orthodox of course.

Just before statehood in 1947, David Ben-Gurion and the religious parties decided this plan would continue. By 1953, rabbinical courts were established with jurisdiction over matters of marriage and divorces of all Jews in Israel, nationals and residents. Marriages and divorces of Jews in Israel would be conducted according to the law of the Torah. Since then, the rabbinate has only approved religious marriages in Israel to be conducted by the Orthodox interpretation of halakha. However, marriages done abroad would be recognised in Israel as valid. The Rabbinate and their local religious councils are the only ones able to register rabbis to perform weddings, who must be Orthodox. They do have control of the marriage laws, but at the same time many defend the Chief Rabbinate as protecting the Jewish Nature of Israel, the Torah, and even Diaspora Jewry.

Divorce is almost impossible to get in Israel as the man has to give the
woman a "get" and cannot be forced to do so. It depends on the broadmindedness of the man and if he is really a mensch or not.

The Rabbinate control also means that there are 400,000 Russians who have moved to Israel, many who are Jewish, who are not permitted to marry in Israel, forcing many to travel overseas to marry. They were not allowed by Russia to return there, either. I made aliyah in 1980 and was in a class of 40 Russians learning Hebrew. We were all going to teach English in the schools. My husband and I and another lady and gentleman in the class were the only American teachers who had taught in the US.

Woman speaking to the Bet Din, judges
as to why she wants to convert, etc.
This is taking place in Auckland, New Zealand

The Chief Rabbinate is recognised by the State of Israel as the sole authority to perform conversions to Judaism in Israel. This was often done sensitively and with an appreciation for halachic traditions, for example with Ben-Zion Uziel, who was very encouraging of converts. In recent generations, the interpretation of the process has become more stringent to the extent that it takes actions that are unprecedented in Jewish history such as cancelling conversions. Some rabbis claim this centralisation is a threat to the future of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac haCohen Kook (1865-1935)

Rabbi Kook was the rabbi in Zimel, Lithuania from 1888 to 1895, then in Boisk, Latvia from 1895 to 1904, and after that he managed to get to Palestine. There he was the rabbi in Jaffa from 1904. in 1909 he permitted certain agricultural work to be done during the Sabbatical year, which was a special time. He left for Europe in 1914, but his return to Palestine was prevented by the outbreak of WWI that same year. and so he took the job as

rabbi in St. Gallen Switzerland from 1914 to 1916, and in London from 1916 to 1919. The war was then over and he returned to Jerusalem , becoming chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Palestine on the establishment of the position in 1921 at the age of 56. He established a yeshivah, now called Merkaz ha-Rav.

He had applied his writings backed by extensive Jewish learning to current problems he was facing, and emphasized the religious aspect of Zionism. All his writings stress the centrality of Jewish nationalism and Eretz Israel in Judaism.

His writing career began in 1888 by editing and publishing a rabbinical journal, Ittur Sopherim.

Rabbi Yaakov Meir (b: 1856-d: 1939)

Rabbi Jacob (Yaakov) Meir was born in 1856 in Jerusalem. the son of successful merchant Calev Mercado. He studied the Talmud under Rabbi Menachem Bechor Yitzhak, and at age 15 began to study Kabbalah under Rabbi Aharon Azriel, an elder of the Beit El Synagogue. He married his wife Rachel at age 17, and continued to study Torah in the years after his marriage. He was among the founders of a Bikur cholim society in 1879. He also was a Zionist and was at the forefront of the effort to revive Hebrew as a modern language. He held the post until his death.

In 1882, he was sent to Bukhara as the first emissary to visit there. Bukhara is an ancient city in the central Asian country of Uzbekistan. It was a prominent stop on the Silk Road trade route between the East and the West, and a major medieval center for Islamic theology and culture. It still contains hundreds of well-preserved mosques, madrassas, bazaars and caravanserais, dating largely from the 9th to the 17th centuries. He was received with great respect by the Jews of Bukhara, and children were named for him during his stay. He was instrumental in encouraging the immigration of Bukhara Jews to the Land of Israel. In 1885, 1888, and 1900, he visited Tunisia and Algeria as an emissary. In 1888, he was appointed a member of the Beth Din (Rabbinic Court of Law) of Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar in Jerusalem, serving in this position until 1899. Under Turkish rule, he often interceded with the authorities on behalf of the Jewish community; he also encouraged the construction of new Jewish quarters of Jerusalem, helping establish the new neighborhoods of Ezrat Yisrael, Yemin Moshe, and the Bukharim Quarter.

In 1899, Meir was appointed deputy head of the Beth Din of Rabbi Raphael Yitzhak Yisrael. Following Elyashar's death in 1906, he was picked to succeed him as the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, but his appointment was vetoed by his opponents, supported by the Hakham Bashi in Constantinople, because of his Zionist affiliations. He was subsequently inducted as Hakham Bashi of the Land of Israel, but six months later, he was deposed by the Sultan of Turkey, and Eliyahu Moshe Panigel took charge of overseeing the Orthodox community.

He worked to bring the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities together, and established an association called Hitachadut composed of Sephardim and Ashkenazim. He helped establish the Sha'ar Zion Hospital in Jaffa in 1891.

In 1906 he was elected Hakham Bashi, but resigned the same year. Meir went on to be elected chief rabbi of Salonika in 1908, where he remained until 1919. He was elected chief rabbi of Jerusalem in 1911, but the Jews of Salonika prevented him from assuming the office. From 1909 to 1919, he was chief rabbi of Salonica. Salonica/Thessaloniki is a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Evidence of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history remains, especially around Ano Poli, the upper town. The ruins of Roman Emperor Galerius’ 4th-century palace include the Rotunda that has been both a church and a mosque. Much of the city center was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917

In 1921 was elected Sephardi chief rabbi at age 65.

Before the British Mandate Days, there were Chief Rabbis:

The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem or Palestine

In addition to the Chief Rabbis there were a number of rabbis who served as the head rabbi in Palestine, or of a particular community

Levi ibn Habib (b. Spain)—ruled from Jerusalem but in 1538, Rabbi Jacob Berab who came from Spain via Egypt, sought to revive the Sanhedrin, in Safed, thus making that city the competing capital of the Jewish community in Palestine. He was opposed and exiled by ibn Habib and the rabbis of Jerusalem but Safed remained the competing capital for a number of years thereafter. Berab was succeeded in Safed (Tzfat) by Joseph Caro b: 1488-d 1575)(b. Spain) who was ordained by him. This is an important name in Safed today. In 1525 he went to Palestine, and founded a yeshivah in Safed where he wrote his book, House of Joseph, and compiled the Shulchan Arukh-The Prepared Table.
There is the Joseph Caro Synagogue to visit.
David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra of the Egyptian rabbinate—ruled simultaneously in Jerusalem succeeding ibn Habib. In 1575, Moshe Trani (b. Greece) succeeded Caro in Safed.
Moshe ben Mordechai Galante of Rome—ruled from Jerusalem
Haim Vital—succeeded Trani in Safed but moved his rabbinate to Jerusalem which, once again, became the sole capital of Israel. In 1586, the Nahmanides Synagogue was confiscated by the Arabs and the ben Zakkai Synagogue was built in its stead.
Bezalel Ashkenazi—first chief rabbi to preside in the ben Zakkai Synagogue
Gedaliah Cordovero
Yitzhak Gaon?
Israel Benjamin
Jacob Zemah (b. Portugal)
Samuel Garmison (b. Greece)