Another Rabbinical Group Opens

By COLlive staff

Rabbis today can easily connect via traditional modes of telephone or the variety that modern technology offers, such as email, Facebook, Linkdin and Twitter.

Surprisingly, all that connecting did not end the existence of the rabbinical representative organizations (not to be confused with Bais Din, the rabbinical courts).

In fact, there are still new such groups opening up. The latest is called the “Forum for Young Rabbis in Europe,” which was launched with a conference, of course.

Held this past weekend in Budapest, Hungary, close to 30 rabbis from all over the continent met for 3 days of professional discussions and workshops on issues of relevance and importance.

A press release from the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, an umbrella group based in Brussels, Belgium, said the forum was established as per “the request of the chief rabbis of cities and communities in Europe.”

“The forum a group of young rabbis who will share experiences and will receive help in cultivating leadership and skills within the rabbinate,”

Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, the center’s deputy director who attended the get-together, said he felt “a thirst” for such meetings. “The farewell was difficult for everyone,” he noted.

Hosting them were the Hungarian-born Rabbi Shlomo Koves of the Obuda Synagogue and Rabbi Shmuel Raskin of the Israeli community in Hungary, both Chabad Shluchim.

Support for the conference came from “Building the Future” of the Matanel Foundation, directed by Albert Aflalo. Rabbi Shmuel Glitzenstein of Budapest helped with the coordination.

Among the speakers were Rabbi Eitan Eckstein, Chairman of the empowerment center Retorno, organizational consultant and psychologist Haggai Daphne and personal trainer and mediator Ezra Haidu.

Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Weisberger of the Adas Yererim Congregation in the city and Rabbi Baruch Oberlander of Chevra Shas Congregation and Chabad of Hungary addressed religious issues and responded to various halachic questions relating to everyday life.

COLlive was told that the forum will be holding 2 conferences a year, in addition to web meetings once a month.