Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yona Metzger, has ruled out any moves to abolish the current Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbi positions and replace them with one chief rabbi for Israel, the AJN News Service reported.
Rabbi Metzger said that if there were only one chief rabbi, “the arguments would be much bigger because each group [Ashkenazi and Sephardi] would ask where the representation is in their community”.
“To keep the peace, we need to have the two systems. We are only 60 years old [as a country] and we have marriages between Sephardim and Ashkenazim and the new generation is growing to be one unique nation. But it is too early now each side needs a chief rabbi.”
(Source: AJN)
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6 Responses
I agree.
Hag Sameach
Yidden are one. This religious zionist position goes against the grain of Yiddishkeit.
Yidel – This position has nothing to do with Zionism. In Yerushalyim in the Old Yishuv there was also always a Ashkenazi Rav and a Sephardi Rav. When you have kehillas with different minhagim and psakim, this is the only way to go.
I imagine that you don’t daven in a Sefardi Shul and ask your shaylos to Sefardi Rabonim, as I am sure your sefardi neighbor doesn’t daven in your shul or ask his shaylos to your Rav.
Someone once joked that one of the nissim of Chanukah was that there was only one hechsher on the jug of oil that was found and everyone agreed that it was kosher!! 🙂
Keep the two separate, half each of their salaries, and you accomplish the same thing.
yidel as per your usual ‘Zionist’ comments that almost never have anything to do with the subject at large, there are 2 rabbis to service the 2 kehillos of ashkenazim and sefardim.