Chief Rabbis Meet Police Rabbinate in Rare Working Session

Israel’s Chief Rabbis met on Thursday with the Police Rabbinate and Border Police rabbis in a working meeting focused on halakhic questions, operational challenges and ways to strengthen public trust in the police. The gathering brought together Chief Rabbi David Yosef, Council of the Chief Rabbinate President Rabbi Kalman Ber, and Israel Police Chief Rabbi, Lieutenant Commander Rabbi Rami Berachyahu.

During the session, a new volume of the book "Hafkadeti Shomrim" was launched. The book contains dozens of halakhic essays written by police rabbis, deals with internal security issues, and includes responsa on wartime matters by leading decisors such as Rabbi Asher Weiss and Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein. Special attention in this edition is given to dilemmas faced by police officers during the "Swords of Iron" war.

The volume is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Colonel Rabbi Yaakov Gross, who died in Elul. Gross taught Torah for more than 50 years, served as a community rabbi in Netanya, and had long been the chief rabbi of the police. The book was edited by his son, Rabbi Shimon Gross, who now heads the training and police college division rabbi post.

The Chief Rabbis praised the work of the Police and Border Police rabbinate and stressed cooperation to strengthen Jewish identity and values. Yosef said the rabbinate and police have long worked together halakhically, and that police rabbis play a unique role in bridging Jewish law and the realities of operations in the field. Ber said the new book shows that Torah covers every area of life, including war and security work, and called Berachyahu “a man of delicacy and nobility.” Berachyahu said the rabbis continue a chain of generations and must bring Torah, spirit and tradition into police service so the country emerges from the current period stronger and more united.