Fifth European Rabbis and Judges Conference Concludes in Paris with Solemn Ceremony

A solemn ceremony concluded in Paris the fifth European rabbis and judges conference, organized by the European Jewish Congress and the European Rabbinical Centre, with dozens of dayanim, heads of rabbinical courts and community rabbis from across Europe taking part in three days of Torah discussions, halachic classes and deliberations over issues facing rabbinical courts in Jewish communities throughout the continent. At the center of the conference was the special participation of Sephardic Chief Rabbi and President of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, Rabbi David Yosef, who came especially from Israel to Paris to take part in the conference, deliver Torah lectures, offer words of encouragement and stand alongside the dayanim and community rabbis who guard Jewish law in European communities. Joining him as special guests from Israel were Rabbi Tzvi Braverman, deputy head of the rabbinical court in Beitar Illit and head of the rabbinical courts “HaEmet VeHaShalom” and “Netivot Chaim” in Jerusalem, as well as Rabbi Eyal Yosef, head of the rabbinical court in Tel Aviv and director of the rabbinical courts in Israel. The participation of leading Torah scholars and rabbinical figures from Israel aroused great excitement among the participating dayanim and among the Jews of Paris and France in general, who saw the conference as a major show of support for the world of rabbanut and dayanut on the continent.

The conference opened with the recitation of Psalms in light of the situation in the Holy Land, led by Rabbi Shimon Senior, the elected rabbi of Paris and the region, who called on participants to pray and seek mercy from Heaven for the residents of the Holy Land and for all Israel. Opening the conference with prayer gave the entire event a sense of reverence and connected the European dayanim to the concern of כלל ישראל at this time. During the conference, Rabbi David Yosef delivered firm remarks about the standing of rabbinical courts and the duty to strengthen their halachic authority. He said, “I am not afraid to say this aloud, the court is working to undermine and restrict the standing of the rabbinical courts.” He added, “Just as a judge understands that he cannot interfere with a doctor in treating a patient, because he does not understand medicine, so a judge has no place expressing an opinion on matters of religion and halacha. Halacha was entrusted to the judges of Israel, who are knowledgeable in its paths and depths.”

On the conference’s first day, Monday, 23 Sivan, several Torah sessions were held. The first session was chaired by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Kahn, a member of the Lubavitch rabbinical court in Paris and a member of the Council of European Rabbis. Speeches were delivered by Rabbi Yitzchak Guggenheim, head of the rabbinical court in Paris and a member of the Council of European Rabbis, and Rabbi Avraham Baruch Pafzner, rabbi of the Lubavitch community in Paris and a member of the Council of European Rabbis. A second session then took place under the chairmanship of Rabbi Shalom Greenfeld, rabbi of the Alexander community in Antwerp. In this session, speeches were delivered by Rabbi Tzvi Braverman, who arrived as a special guest from Israel, as well as Rabbi Eyal Yosef, head of the rabbinical court in Tel Aviv and director of the rabbinical courts in Israel. In the third session, held in the afternoon, speeches were delivered by Rabbi David Yosef, Rabbi Benyamin Shili, a judge in the Paris rabbinical court, and Rabbi Elimelech Wencetta, rabbi and head of the rabbinical court in Basel, Switzerland.

After Mincha prayer and dinner, words of Torah and halachic classes were delivered by Rabbi Yirmiyahu Cohen, former deputy head of the rabbinical court in Paris and a member of the presidium of European rabbis, and by Rabbi Asher Steiner, head of the rabbinical court of Manchester’s Badatz. The classes dealt with serious and complex issues facing dayanim in their sacred work in the rabbinical courts and drew great interest among the participants.

On Tuesday morning, the conference participants went to a special Shacharit prayer service at the “Beit Menachem” school in Paris, attended by hundreds of the institution’s students, who arrived dressed in Shabbat clothing in honor of the Torah and in honor of the dozens of rabbis and dayanim who came from across Europe and from Israel. The event stirred great emotion among the students and the staff, who saw before them an uplifting display of respect for Torah and dayanut. After the prayer, the head of the institutions, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Pafzner, spoke and described the deep impression left on the school’s students by the visit of the dozens of rabbis and dayanim. He said that the very presence of leading Torah scholars and dayanim within the institution gives the students great strengthening in Jewish pride, appreciation for Torah study and a desire to grow in the way of Torah and fear of Heaven.

Rabbi David Yosef then addressed the students, offering moving words of encouragement about the privilege and pride of being Jewish. He emphasized that a Jew is not like other nations, and that every Jewish child’s true pride lies in being part of the people of Torah, keeping its commandments, walking in its ways and being a link in the chain of generations of כלל ישראל. Later in the day, additional sessions were held under the chairmanship of Rabbi Yaakov David Shamahl, a judge of the Shomrei HaDat community in Antwerp and a member of the presidium of European rabbis; Rabbi Michael Schmerlo, head of the rabbinical court in Strasbourg and a member of the presidium of European rabbis; Rabbi Baruch Oberlander, head of the Badatz of the Orthodox communities in Budapest and a member of the Council of European Rabbis; and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Raskin, dayan and halachic decisor in the Lubavitch community and in “Kedatia,” and a member of the presidium of European rabbis.

During the sessions, speeches were delivered by Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, head of the rabbinical court of the Federation community in London; Rabbi Eyal Yosef; Rabbi Shimon Sharvit, head of the rabbinical court in Créteil, France; Rabbi Yechia Tubul, head of the rabbinical court in Lyon; Rabbi David Yosef; Rabbi Yosef Mor, a judge in the Manchester rabbinical court; Rabbi Shmuel Tovli, judge, halachic decisor and head of the Beit Chanania kollel in Paris and a member of the Council of European Rabbis; Rabbi Tzvi Braverman; and Rabbi Yehoshua Posen, judge in the rabbinical court of the Federation community in London. During the conference, Rabbi Tzvi Braverman spoke on complex and pressing issues in Choshen Mishpat, among the practical questions facing the judges of Israel. His remarks prompted lively and fruitful halachic discussion among the dayanim, who raised practical questions and examined various aspects of the issues under discussion.

In the evening, a special reception for European dayanim was held with the participation of Paris and regional rabbis. At the event, words of Torah and blessing were delivered by Rabbi David Yosef, Rabbi Benyamin Jacobs, the chief rabbi of the provinces in the Netherlands and a member of the presidium of European rabbis, Rabbi Shimon Senior, the elected rabbi of Paris and the region, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Congress, and Mr. Joel Margi, honorary president of the Paris Consistory. On the third and final day of the conference, additional sessions were held under the chairmanship of Rabbi Ron Hassid, chief rabbi of Gibraltar and a member of the Council of European Rabbis, and under the chairmanship of Rabbi Doron Achiel, rabbi of the Natzach Yisrael community in London and a member of the Council of European Rabbis. In these sessions, speeches were delivered by Rabbi Yosef David, a judge in the Sephardic rabbinical court in London and a member of the Council of European Rabbis; Rabbi Aryeh Teumim, head of a dayan kollel in Manchester; Rabbi Raphael Goldblatt, rabbi of the Beit Avraham synagogue in London; and Rabbi Avshalom Kalzan, judge and rabbi of the Sephardic community “Ohel Avraham” in Antwerp.

Throughout the days of the conference, great excitement was felt in the Jewish community of Paris at the arrival of dozens of dayanim and heads of rabbinical courts from France, England, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Gibraltar and other countries. Community rabbis and local residents received the dayanim with honor, and among French Jews it was noted that the very holding of a large European judges’ conference in the heart of Paris gives great support to local Jewry and to the community rabbis who stand alongside the public in many complex matters. Chairman of the European Jewish Congress Rabbi Menachem Margolin said, “The European judges’ conference reflects the great responsibility of the rabbis and judges of Europe toward the tens of thousands of Jews on the continent. The European Jewish Congress will continue to stand alongside the dayanim, strengthen the connection between them, and assist them in clarifying the halachic questions on the agenda. The special participation of Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef, Rabbi Tzvi Braverman and Rabbi Eyal Yosef gave the conference great support and deepened the connection between the world of dayanut in Israel and in Europe.”

Chief Executive Officer of the European Jewish Congress Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg said, “The rabbinical courts in Europe are dealing with complex questions and heavy responsibility. The conference united the forces, strengthened the dayanim, and anchored halachic rulings in European communities on the foundations of the tradition of Israel.” Rabbi Goldberg thanked the chairman of the organization, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the deputy CEO Rabbi Yossi Beineker, the secretary of the Council of European Rabbis Rabbi Avraham Aba Turtsky, and the European Jewish Congress representative in France Rabbi Shmuel Khouri, for the extensive preparations that helped make the conference a success and honored the dayanim who came from across the continent.

One of the central features evident throughout the conference days was the fruitful and unique cooperation that developed between dayanim and heads of rabbinical courts from all European countries. Alongside the Torah classes and halachic discussions, many conversations took place among the dayanim during the conference, in which Torah and practical information was exchanged, questions from the field were raised, and important working relationships were built between the various courts and communities throughout the continent. Dayanim from different countries noted that simply sitting together around one table gives great strength to the daily sacred work and allows mutual consultation and deeper cooperation on the issues at hand.

At the conclusion of the conference, the European Jewish Congress emphasized that in addition to strengthening the connection between the rabbinical courts in Europe, special importance was also attached to deepening ties with the rabbinical courts in Israel, among other reasons because of the participation of Sephardic Chief Rabbi and President of the Supreme Rabbinical Court Rabbi David Yosef and Rabbi Eyal Yosef. Their participation gave the conference an additional dimension of strengthening and connection, and reinforced the aspiration for continued Torah and practical cooperation between the rabbinical systems in Israel and Europe, for the benefit of all Jewish communities.