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“Can A Jew Take Part In A Ramadan Feast?” Rabbanim In Muslim States Face Unique Issues

Top L.: Rav Mendy Chitrik in Harran, Turkey. (ARIS Twitter), Top R.: Rav Yoel Kaplan in Kosovo (CIRabbi Twitter), Bottom R.: Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen of Kazakhstan addresses peace conference. (ARIS Twitter), Bottom L.: Rav Rav Shneor Segal in Ganja, Azerbaijan (ARIS Twitter)

In the footsteps of Chabad’s recent announcement that Rabbi Levi Duchman has been appointed as the official Chabad shaliach of the United Arab Emirates, Chabad is now considering establishing Chabad centers in additional Muslim countries.

“With the growing normalization between Muslim countries and Israel, we can expect to see a significant increase in the number of Jewish travelers and businesspeople to these areas,” Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky said last week.

“Chabad is exploring the possibilities of establishing centers to serve the religious and educational needs of Jews who will come to visit, do business or live there. Chabad has been serving Jewish communities in over a dozen Muslim countries, some for decades – and even in places where it wasn’t possible to establish centers until now.”

There currently are several existing Chabad centers in Muslim countries and there is even an organization uniting Rabbanim in these countries called the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS), which was founded last year.

Rav Mendy Chitrik, the Chabad shaliach in Istanbul, Turkey, is the president of the organization, Rav Levi Duchman of the UAE serves as the vice-president, and Rabbi Levi Banon of Casablanca, Morocco, serves as the chairman, according to a Chareidim10 report.

Shalichim and/or Rabbanim in quite a number of Muslim countries are part of the alliance, including Rav Yeshaya Cohen of Kazakhstan, Rav Yoel Kaplan, the Chief Rabbi of Albania and Kosovo, Rav Shneor Segal, the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Azerbaijan, Rav Yisrael Uzan of Nigeria, Rabbi Moshe Raskin, the Chief Rabbi of Uganda, Rabbi Arye Raichman, the Chief Rabbi of Kyrgyzstan, and Rav Chaim Azimov of North Cyprus. A Rav in Tunisia is also part of the alliance, as well as Rabbanim in other countries that cannot be named for security reasons.

“The organization was established in December 2019 to unite the Rabbanim of Muslim countries,” said Rav Chitrik. “It’s not a political organization – it only serves to assist Orthodox Rabbanim who work in Muslim countries and is open to all Orthodox Rabbanim in those countries.”

Rav Chitrik named some of the issues that arise for Rabbanim in Muslim countries and how they help one another, including assisting each other with “deliveries of tashmishei kedusha from place to place, sometimes under special circumstances. We also support members in dealing with the governments we work under. There’s no comparison to a Rav standing alone to a Rav backed by a Rabbinical organization. We provide advice to each other on how to deal with various issues that arise in Muslim countries.”

“And in general, just the publicity of Jewish life in Muslim countries is something very important. The reality of thriving Jewish communities in Muslim countries lowers the level of anti-Semitism, and on the other hand, it also helps to reduce the level of Islamophobia in the West.”

Regarding issues that arise that are specific to Muslim countries, Rav Chitrik says that both halachic and practical issues come up. “An example of a halachic issue is whether a Jew can participate in a Ramadan feast or whether a Jew can rely on the muezzin to determine the times of licht bentching and the end of Shabbos,” he said.

Take a look at some of the fascinating activities of ARIS Rabbanim below:

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)



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