Rav Yaakov Herzog of Jerusalem, the “Rav of Saudi Arabia,” recently met with Sheikh Ahmad Qasim Ahmad, who was previously in charge of the Religious and Chastity Police in Mecca.
“Wonderful visit and hospitality at the home of my dear friend,” Rav Herzog wrote on Twitter. “Living in Saudi Arabia, where tolerance is a reality, not only preached.”
The Sheikh responded on his account: “I thank Rabbi Yaakov for visiting me at my home in Jeddah. I welcome him and those with him. It was an opportunity to model peaceful coexistence. Coexistence is a bridge to achieving truth and constructive dialogue.”
الحمدلله زيارة رائعة للشيخ أحمد الغامدي @DAhmadq84 حيث وجدت أن التعايش والتسامح 🫂 حقيقة ملموسة وليست فقط وعظاً وتنظيراً. المملكة العربية السعودية ترسم المثال الذي يمكن للعالم اتباعه. 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/KjPkKV2Lvn
— Rabbi Jacob Y. Herzog الحاخام يعقوب يسرائيل هرتسوغ (@RabbiHerzog) July 17, 2022
Shabbat Shalom in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🫂✡️!!! #Sabath Join us for Kiddush and Havdalah in #Jeddah جدة ! pic.twitter.com/6PDCNLXj0q
— Rabbi Jacob Y. Herzog الحاخام يعقوب يسرائيل هرتسوغ (@RabbiHerzog) July 15, 2022
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Nice! But what happened to the sheik’s head gartel? Did it fall off?
Hmm it seems folks here were ticked off by our presidents meeting with the Saudi’s. And now, not a peep about a rabbi meeting with their head cleric.
This guy is not a mainstream rabbi. He is a self-appointed Lubavitcher, angling for a job there. Although he doesn’t seem to advertise himself as such openly, and his attire is different than most of them, in this YWN report we see where he is coming from, as the calendar in his second tweet above features a “חג הגאולה” on יב-יג תמוז, which is a holiday of Chabad-Lubavitch, not found in standard Jewish calendars.
יב-יג תמוז, a two-day Yom Tov. Is the Second Day of חג הגאולה only for Chutz L’Aretz? (In Eretz Yisroel – is only one day kept – like Shavuos?)
I see that the Yom Tov of י”ט כסליו is also a two-day Yom Tov: י”ט-כ’ בכסלו. Do they keep the two days only in Chutz L’Aretz as sefeka d’yoma?! This is fascinating!
Oh leave him alone, you would also have liked the adventurous title that he managed to secure for himself, don’t be jealous, he’s just having a party out there, or maybe trying to open a teffilin stand in mecca…