Chief Rabbis
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Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's
Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by
Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel (, born 23 May 1880, died 4 September 1953), sometimes rendered as Ouziel, was the Sephardi chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine from 1939 to 1948, and of Israel from 1948 until his death in 1953. Biography Ben-Zion Meir Ha ...
, Israel has had two chief rabbis, one
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
and one
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
. Cities with large Jewish communities may also have their own chief rabbis; this is especially the case in Israel but has also been past practice in major Jewish centers in Europe prior to
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...
. North American cities rarely have chief rabbis. One exception however is
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, with two—one for the Ashkenazi community, the other for the Sephardi.
Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...
provides no
scriptural Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
or
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
ic support for the post of a "chief rabbi." The office, however, is said by many to find its precedent in the religio-political authority figures of Jewish antiquity (e.g.,
kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...
, high priests, patriarches,
exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...
s and ''gaonim''). The position arose in Europe in the Middle Ages from governing authorities largely for secular administrative reasons such as collecting taxes and registering vital statistics, and for providing an intermediary between the government and the Jewish community, for example in the establishment of the Crown rabbi in several kingdoms of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
, the ''rab de la corte'' in the
Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th ce ...
or the ''arrabi mor'' in the
Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal ( la, Regnum Portugalliae, pt, Reino de Portugal) was a monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also kn ...
, likely influenced by the expectations of their
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
, and
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
governments and neighbors. Similarly, in the 19th century there was a '' Crown rabbi'' of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
.


By country / region


Albania

* Joel Kaplan (2010–present)


Argentina


Sephardi (Syrian)

*
Salomon Benhamu Salomon may refer to: People * Salomon (given name) * Salomon (surname) Companies * Salomon Brothers Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five la ...
*
Yosef Chehebar Yosef (; also transliterated as Yossef, Josef, Yoseph Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic ''Yôsēp̄'') is a Hebrew male name derived from the Biblical character Joseph. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the word ...


Sephardi

*
Isaac Sacca Rabbi Isaac Antebi Sacca ( he, יצחק ענתבי סקה (born 1964) is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires, as well as the founder and president of Menora, an organization for Jewish youth. Biography Early life and education Rabbi Sacca ...
(1997–present)


Ashkenazi

*
Gabriel Davidovich Gabriel Davidovich is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Argentina. He is based at the AMIA Jewish center, where he has led the community since 2013. In February 2019, he was violently assaulted in an anti-Semitic attack at his Buenos Aires Buenos ...
(2013–present)


Austria

* Jitzchok ben Mosche von Wien, "Or Sorua" (ca. 1200–1270) *
Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the ''Tosefet Yom-Tov'' (1614–1617). Heller was one of the major ...
, "Tosfos Jomtov" (1578–1654) * Scheftel Horowitz (1561–1619) * Gerschon "Uliph" Aschkenasi (ca. 1612–1693) *
Samson Wertheimer Samson Wertheimer (17 January 1658 – 6 August 1724) was chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia, and rabbi of Eisenstadt. He was also an Austrian financier, court Jew and ''Shtadlan'' to Austrian Emperor Leopold I. Family Wertheimer was born i ...
(1658–1724) * Mosche Chanoch Berliner (1727–1793) *
Isaak Noah Mannheimer Isaac Noah Mannheimer (October 17, 1793, Copenhagen – March 17, 1865, Vienna) was a Jewish preacher. Biography The son of a ''chazzan'', he began the study of the Talmud at an early age, though not to the neglect of secular studies. On completi ...
(1824–1865) *
Lazar Horowitz Lazar Horowitz, or Eleazar HaLevi Ish Horowitz, Eleasar ben David Josua Hoeschel Horowitz, aka El'azar Hurwitz (1803/1804, Floß, Upper Palatinate - June 11, 1868, Vöslau) was an Orthodox Rabbi who led the Orthodox Jewish community of Vienna du ...
(1828–1868), chief rabbi of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
*
Adolf Jellinek Adolf Jellinek ( he, אהרן ילינק ''Aharon Jelinek''; 26 June 1821 in Drslavice, Moravia – 28 December 1893 in Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar. After filling clerical posts in Leipzig (1845–1856), he became a preacher at t ...
(1865–1893) * Moritz Güdemann (1894–1918) *
Zwi Perez Chajes Zwi Perez Chajes, also Tzvi-Peretz Hayot, (13 October 1876 – 13 December 1927) was a rabbi, historian, biblical scholar and a notable Zionist leader. Biography Zwi Perez Chajes was born in 1876 in Brody, then part of Austria-Hungary, now in U ...
(1918–1927) *
David Feuchtwang David Feuchtwang (27 November 1864 – 6 July 1936) was a Jewish scholar and author, and chief rabbi of Vienna from 1933 until his death in 1936. David Feuchtwang was born in Nikolsburg, Moravia (now Mikulov, Czech Republic) on 27 November 1864, th ...
(1933–1936) *
Israel Taglicht Israel Taglicht (March 9, 1862 − December 13, 1943) was the Chief Rabbi of Austria. Life Taglicht was born on March 9, 1862 in Berezó, Hungary, the son of Josef Taglicht and Nelly Spitzer. A descendent of the Maharam Schick, Taglicht attende ...
(1936), provisional chief rabbi * Insp. I. Öhler (1946), preacher at the
Stadttempel The Stadttempel ( en, City Prayer House), also called the Seitenstettengasse Temple, is the main synagogue of Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Innere Stadt 1st district, at Seitenstettengasse 4. History The synagogue was constructed from 182 ...
*
Akiva Eisenberg Dr. Akiba Eisenberg (20 September 1908 – 8 April 1983) was a former Chief Rabbi of Vienna. Biography Eisenberg was born in Vác, near Budapest. During World War II, he survived by hiding with his brother in the outlying area with non-Jewish f ...
(1948–1983) *
Paul Chaim Eisenberg Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
(1983–2016) *
Arie Folger Arie is a masculine given name. As a Dutch name, Arie (pronounced ) is generally a short form of Adrianus, but sometimes also of Arend or Arent, Arnout or Arnoud, or even Aaron. As a Hebrew, Jewish, or Israeli name, Arie (pronounced ) is a ...
(July 2016)


Belgium

*
Eliakim Carmoly Eliakim Carmoly (5 August 1802 in Soultz-Haut-Rhin, France – 15 February 1875 in Frankfurt) was a French scholar. He was born at Soultz-Haut-Rhin, then in the French department of Haut-Rhin. His real name was ''Goschel David Behr'' (or ''Ba ...
(1832–1839) *
Henri Loeb Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mon ...
*
Aristide Astrue Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in ...
* Élie-Aristide Astruc (1866–1879) *
Abraham Dreyfus Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant (biblical), special ...
*
Armand Bloch Armand Lucien Bloch (1 July 1866, Montbéliard - 5 March 1932, Paris) was a French sculptor. Life and work His father, Maurice Bloch, was a sculptor, who established a metal casting company in 1857. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1884, ...


Bulgaria

* Gabriel Almosnino (1880–1885) * Presiado Bakish (1885–1889) *
Shimon Dankowitz Shimon ( he, שמעון) is the original Hebrew pronunciation of the names Simon (given name), Simon and Simeon. Among individuals, Shimon can refer to: Given names * Shimon Agranat (1906-1992), Israeli judge and President of the Israeli Supreme Co ...
(1889–1891) * Moshe Tadjer (1891–1893) * Moritz Grünwald (1893–1895) * Presiado Bakish (1895–1898) * Moshe Tadjer (1898–1900) *
Mordecai Ehrenpreis Mordecai Ehrenpreis (25 June 1869 – 26 February 1951) was a Hebrew author, publisher and Zionist activist. From 1914 until his death he served as chief rabbi of Stockholm. Biography Mordechai (Marcus) Ehrenpreis was born in Lviv. As a young man, ...
(1900–1914) *
M. Hezkeya Shabetay Davidov ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of respec ...
(1914–1918) *
David Pifano David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(1920–1925) * No Chief Rabbi (1925–1945) *
Asher Hannanel Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah (Jacob's eighth son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name of ''Asher' ...
(1945–1949) *
Behor Kahlon Boheyr or Behor or Bohair or Boher or Buher ( fa, بحير, link=no) may refer to: * Boheyr 1, Ahvaz County * Boheyr 2, Ahvaz County * Boheyr-e Olya, Bavi County * Boheyr-e Sofla, Bavi County {{geodis ...
(1990–2012) *
Aharon Zerbib Aharon אַהֲרֹן is masculine given name alternate spelling, commonly in Israel, of ''Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ...
(2012–2015) *
Yoel Yifrach Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...
(2015–Present)


Colombia


Ashkenazi

*
Eliezer Paltiel Roitblatt Eliezer (, "Help/Court of El") was the name of at least three different individuals in the Bible. Eliezer of Damascus Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to the Targums, the son of Nimrod. Eliezer was head of the patriarch Abraham's house ...
(1946-1957) *
Chaim Menachem Bentzion Blumenkrantz The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, wikt:חיים#Proper noun, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ...
(Early 1950s) * Alfredo Goldschmidt (1974–Present) (appointed 1991)


Sephardi

*
Miguel Attias --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disambi ...
(1948-Early 1950) *
David Sharbani David Sharbani ( he, דוד שרבני; born August 16, 1920) was the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi (Gran Rabino) of Colombia. He served as the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Colombia from the early 1950s to 1978. Following his tenure, Rabbi Sharbani mov ...
(Early 1950s-1978) *
Yehuda Benhamu Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
(1978-1986) *
Yehuda Ari Azancot Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
(1986-2000) *
Shlomo Meir Elharar Shlomo (, Polish: Szlomo, Szlama, Szlamek, Szloma), meaning "peaceable", is a common Hebrew male given name. The following individuals are often referred to only by the name Shlomo: * Solomon, king of ancient Israel, according to various religio ...
(2000-2010) * Avi Amsalem (2010-Dec. 2020)


Chabad

*
Yehoshua Rosenfeld Yehoshua may refer to: * Joshua or Jehoshua (Hebrew: ), a figure in the Jewish Torah and the central character in the Book of Joshua * Book of Joshua (Hebrew: '), a book of the Bible * Yehoshua (surname), a Hebrew surname * Yehoshua (given name), ...
(1980–Present)


Cuba

* Meyer Rosenbaum (Son of Isamar of Nadvorna, Elected 1948: left Cuba in 1956, a little more than two years before
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...
came to power in the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
) *
Raphael Yair Elnadav Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
(1956–1959) *
Shmuel Szteinhendler Shmuel Szteinhendler, a rabbi in Santiago, Chile, is considered the current Chief Rabbi of Cuba and one of the most notable Rabbis in Latin America. Szteinhendler was born in Argentina and trained as a Conservative Judaism, Conservative rabbi in B ...
current Chief Rabbi of Cuba and regional director for Masorti Judaism in Latin America.


Croatia

* Miroslav Šalom Freiberger (1941–1943) *
Kotel Da-Don Kotel Dadon ( he, כותל דדון; born December 12, 1967) is Croatian rabbi of the Bet Israel community in Zagreb. Da-Don, who was born and educated in Israel, settled in Zagreb in 1998. He was the chief rabbi of Croatia from 1998 to 2006. ...
(1998–2006) from 2006 rabbi of the Bet Israel community
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
* Luciano Moše Prelević (2006–)


Cyprus

*
Arie Zeev Raskin Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin ( he, אריה זאב רסקין; born 1976) is the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus and the first rabbi on the island in many years. Career Raskin's brothers are also serving as rabbis in Jewish communities, with Shlomo Raskin in ...
(2005–)


Czech Republic

*
Karol Sidon Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India * Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town Film/TV *'' Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'', a 2005 miniseries *' ...


Denmark

*
Abraham Salomon Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
(1687–1700) * (1700–1728) *
Marcus David Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a Asteroid belt, main belt asteroid, also known as List of minor planets: 369001–370000#088, ( ...
(1729–1739) *
Hirsch Samuel Levy Hirsch may refer to: Places * Hirsch, Saskatchewan, Canada * Hirsch Observatory, in Troy, New York, U.S. People * Afua Hirsch (born 1981), Norwegian-born British writer, broadcaster, and former barrister * Alex Hirsch (born 1985), American anim ...
(1741–1775) * (1778–1793) *
Abraham Gedalia Abraham Gedalia (1752–1827; he, אברהם גדליה) was the Chief Rabbi of Denmark in the late 18th and early 19th century. Biography Gedalia was born in Poland, where his father, was a rabbi. Gedalia followed in his father's footsteps, b ...
(1793–1827) *
Abraham Wolff Abraham Alexander Wolff ( he, אברהם אלכסנדר וולף; 29 April 1801 – 3 December 1891) was the chief rabbi of Denmark and translator of the Torah into Danish. Wolff was born in Darmstadt, Hesse-Darmstadt, to the merchant Alexande ...
(1828–1891) *
David Simonsen David Jacob Simonsen ( he, דוד יעקב סימונסן; 17 March 1853 – 15 June 1932) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied Oriental languages at the University of Copenhagen, and received his rabbinical training at the Jewish Theo ...
(1892–1902, 1919–1920) *
Tobias Lewenstein Tobias Tuvia Lewenstein ( he, טוביה לבנשטיין; 1863–1952) was Chief Rabbi of Jewish communities in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Paramaribo, Surinam, to Mozes ...
(1903–1910) *
Max Schornstein Rabbi Dr. Mordecai Schornstein ( he, מרדכי שורנשטיין; 6 February 1869 – 18 October 1949) was the Chief Rabbi of Denmark, an animal lover and the founder of the Tel Aviv zoo. Biography Schornstein was born in 1869 in Tachov, Bohe ...
(1910–1919) * Max (Moses) Friediger (1920–1947) *
Marcus Melchior Marcus Melchior (1897 – 1969) was the rabbi of the main synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the time of the rescue of the Danish Jews in October 1943, during the Second World War. After escaping with his family and other Danish Jews to Sweden, ...
(1947–1969) *
Bent Melchior Bent Melchior (24 June 1929 – 28 July 2021) was a chief rabbi of Denmark. Life and career Melchior was born to Danish parents in the German city of Beuthen (now Bytom in Poland), where his father, Marcus Melchior, was rabbi. In 1943, during ...
(1970–1996) * (1996–2014) * (2014–)


Ecuador

*Menachem Mendel Fried (2022- )


Egypt

* Refael Aharon Ben Shimon (1891–1921) * Masoud Haim Ben Shimon (1921–1925) * Chaim Nahum (1925–1960) *
Haim Moussa Douek Rabbi Haim Moussa Douek (1905–1974) (Hebrew: חיים דוויך / Arabic:حايم دويك) was the last Chief Rabbi of Egypt. Early life and early career Born in Anteb, Turkey, on the border of Syria, he was the eldest child of Rabbi Mous ...
(1960–1972)


Estonia

*
Michael Alony Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
(1995–1996) *
Shmuel Kot ''Shmuel'' or Schmuel/ Shmeil is the Hebrew equivalent of the name Samuel. It is popular also in Polish Yiddish versions of the name: Szmul or Szmuel and Szmulik or Szmulek. Shmuel and variations may refer to: * Samuel (Bible), the Hebrew Bible pro ...
(2000–)


The Far East

*
Aharon Moshe Kiselev Aharon Moshe Kiselev (1866–1949) was a Russian-born Manchurian rabbi. Early life Kiselev was born in Surazh, Chernigov district. In his youth, he excelled in his studies, and was known as the “Vietker Illui”. He later studied in Minsk, and ...
(1937–1949)


Finland

*
Simon Federbusch Simon Federbusch (February 15, 1892 – August 20, 1969) was a Galician-born Jew who served as rabbi in Poland, Finland, and America. Life Federbusch was born on February 15, 1892 in Narol, eastern Galicia, Austria-Hungary. Federbusch was ordai ...
(1931–1940) * (1946–1951) * Mika Weiss (1957–1961) * Shmuel Beeri (1961–1963) * Mordechai Lanxner (1973–1982) * Ove Schwartz (1982–1987) * Lazar Kleinman (–1992) * Michael Aloni (1995–1996) * Moshe Edelmann (1999–2012) * (2012–)


Chabad Lubavitch Chief Rabbi of Finland

* Benyamin Wolff (2003–)


France

* David Sintzheim (1808–1812) *
Abraham Vita de Cologna Abraham (Vita) de Cologna (25 September 1755 – 24 March 1832) was an Italians, Italian-born orator, politician, and religious leader. He is considered to have been one of the first Chief Rabbi#France, Chief Rabbis of France, following Joseph Da ...
(1808–1826) * Emmanuel Deutz (1810–1842) *
Marchand Ennery Marchand Ennery () was a French rabbi; brother of Jonas Ennery; born in Nancy, France, Nancy 1792; died in Paris 21 August 1852; studied Talmud under Baruch Guggenheim and at the rabbinical school of Herz Scheuer, in Mainz. He went to Paris, becam ...
(1846–1852) *
Salomon Ulmann Salomon Ulmann (February 25, 1806 at Saverne, Bas-Rhin – May 5, 1865 in Paris), was a French rabbi. He commenced his rabbinical studies at Strasburg under Moïse Bloch (better known as Rabbi Mosche Utenheim), and was the first pupil enrol ...
(1853–1865) *
Lazare Isidor Lazare Isidor (1806–1888) was a French rabbi who served as chief rabbi of the Israelite Central Consistory of France during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Early career Isidor served as chief rabbi of Paris from 1847 until 1867. Duri ...
(1866–1888) *
Zadoc Kahn Zadoc Kahn (18 February 1839 in Mommenheim, Alsace – 8 December 1905 in Paris) was an Alsatian-French rabbi and chief rabbi of France. Life In 1856 he entered the rabbinical school of Metz, finishing his theological studies at the same ...
(1889–1905) * Alfred Lévy (1907–1919) * Israël Lévi (1920–1939) * Isaïe Schwartz (1939–1952) *
Jacob Kaplan Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
(1955–1980) * René Samuel Sirat (1981–1987) *
Joseph Sitruk Joseph Haïm Sitruk ( he, יוסף סיטרוק‎; 16 October 1944 – 25 September 2016) was a former Chief Rabbi of France, a position he held from June 1987 to 22 June 2008. Born Joseph Sitruk in Tunis, after suffering a stroke in 2001 and ...
(1987–2008) *
Gilles Bernheim Gilles Uriel Bernheim (; born 30 May 1952) is a French- Israeli rabbi who was formerly the Chief Rabbi of France. Born in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, in 1952, he was elected by the general assembly of the Central Consistory chief rabbi of France on ...
(2009–2013) (elected 22 June 2008, resigned 11 April 2013) *
Haim Korsia The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim ...
(2014–)


Galicia*

*
Aryeh Leib Bernstein Aryeh Leib Bernstein (1708 – October 22, 1788) was the first and only Chief Rabbi of Galicia. Life Bernstein was born in 1708 in Brody, in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. His father Issacher Ber was a rabbi who served as rabbi of Kehillat ...
(1778–1786) *
Edgar Gluck Edgar Chaim Baruch Gluck (Glück) (born 14 June 1936, Hamburg, Germany) is currently the Chief Rabbi#Galicia, Chief Rabbi of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia. Subsumed into countries now part of Central and Eastern Europe, Galicia (Eastern Europ ...
Galicia in Central/Eastern Europe, as a political entity, ceased to exist in 1921; the title of its Chief Rabbi had already been abolished 1 November 1786 as part of the
Josephinism Josephinism was the collective domestic policies of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765–1790). During the ten years in which Joseph was the sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy (1780–1790), he attempted to legislate a series of drastic reforms ...
Reforms. Due to its being a center for Jewish scholarship, the Rabbi of
Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
was traditionally seen as the Rabbi of Galicia in the era prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.


Greece

* Elias Barzilai * Gabriel Negrin


Guatemala

* Meyer Rosenbaum (Son of Isamar of Nadvorna, Later Chief Rabbi of Cuba)


Honduras

*
Aaron Lankry According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...


Hong Kong

*
Ephraim Mirvis Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. Early life a ...
*
Mordecai Avston Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acco ...
*
Netanel Meoded Nethaneel - נתנאל "Gift of/is God", Standard Hebrew Nətanʾel, Tiberian Hebrew Nəṯanʾēl, also Nethanel: # The son of Zuar, chief of the tribe of Issachar and one of the leaders of the tribes of Israel during the Exodus (Num. 1:8; 2:5, ...


Hungary

:''Note that this list is not in chronological order.'' * Meir Eisenstadt known as the ''Panim Me'iros'' (1708–), rabbi of Eisenstadt and author of "Panim Me'irot" * Alexander ben Menahem * Phinehas Auerbach * Jacob Eliezer Braunschweig * Hirsch Semnitz * Simon Jolles (1717–?) *
Samson Wertheimer Samson Wertheimer (17 January 1658 – 6 August 1724) was chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia, and rabbi of Eisenstadt. He was also an Austrian financier, court Jew and ''Shtadlan'' to Austrian Emperor Leopold I. Family Wertheimer was born i ...
(1693?–1724) (also
Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074. In the Habsburg Empire's Kingdom ...
and
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...
) * Issachar Berush Eskeles (1725–1753) *
Joseph Hirsch Weiss Joseph Hirsch Weiss ( hu, Weiss (Weisz) József; 1800, Podola ( sk, Podolie), ''Nyitra vármegye'', Hungary – 1881, Erlau (german: Erlau)) was a Hungarian rabbi. He was a descendant of a long line of rabbis resident in Moravia in the 17th ...
—grandfather of
Stephen Samuel Wise Stephen Samuel Wise (March 17, 1874 – April 19, 1949) was an early 20th-century American Reform rabbi and Zionist leader in the Progressive Era. Born in Budapest, he was an infant when his family immigrated to New York. He followed his fath ...
* Samuel Kohn * Simon Hevesi (father of Ferenc Hevesi) * Ferenc Hevesi * Moshe Kunitzer a pioneer of the Haskalah movement in Hungary (1828–1837) * Koppel Reich * Chaim Yehuda Deutsch * József Schweitzer * Robert (Avrohom Yehudoh) Deutsch


Iran

*
Yedidia Shofet Yedidia Shofet (also spelled ''Shophet'', and often referred to as Hakham Yedidia; November 14, 1908 – June 24, 2005) was the former Chief Rabbi of Iran and the worldwide spiritual leader of Persian Jewry. Early life Yedidia Shofet was bor ...
(1922–1980) *
Uriel Davidi Hakham Uriel Davidi Khansari ( he, אוריאל דוידי lived 1922 - December 24, 2006) was a famous Jewish (Judæo-Khunsari) religious leader and theologian, who was born in Khansar (Iran) and died in the Neve Yaakov section of Jerusalem, Isr ...
(1980–1994) *
Yosef Hamadani Cohen Yusef Hamadani Cohen ( ;1916 – 29 March 2014) was the Chief Rabbi of Iran and spiritual leader for the Jewish community of Iran (Iranian Jews) between January 1994 and 2007. In August 2000, Chief Rabbi Hamadani Cohen met with Iranian Presi ...
(1994–2007) * Mashallah Golestani-Nejad (2007–present)


Ireland

*
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog ( he, יצחק אייזיק הלוי הרצוג; 3 December 1888 – 25 July 1959), also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasted from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his deat ...
(1921–1937) *
Immanuel Jakobovits Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 192131 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fi ...
(1949–1958) *
Isaac Cohen Isaac Cohen (26 July 1914 – 30 November 2007) was a Talmudic scholar and Chief Rabbi of Ireland for 20 years. Education Born in Llanelli, Wales to immigrants from Lithuania, he won a scholarship in 1928 to Aria College in Portsmouth, a boardi ...
(1959–1979) * David Rosen (1979–1984) *
Ephraim Mirvis Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. Early life a ...
(1985–1992) *
Shimon Yehudah Harris Shimon ( he, שמעון) is the original Hebrew pronunciation of the names Simon (given name), Simon and Simeon. Among individuals, Shimon can refer to: Given names * Shimon Agranat (1906-1992), Israeli judge and President of the Israeli Supreme Co ...
(1993–1994) *
Gavin Broder Gavin Broder (born 1959) is the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, serving from 1996 to October, 2000. Broder left Dublin in October 2000 to become London chaplain of Hillel, the Jewish student organization. He was inaugurated chief rabbi in 1996, ...
(1996–2000) *
Yaakov Pearlman Yaakov Pearlman was Chief Rabbi of Ireland from September 2001 to June 2008. A native of Manchester, England, he became one of the youngest rabbis in Britain ever when he was ordained arned ''semicha''">semicha.html" ;"title="arned ''semicha"> ...
(2001–2008) *
Zalman Lent Zalman Tech Co. (usually simplified as ZALMAN) is a South Korean company that develops and provides aftermarket desktop computer products with primary focus on cooling enhancement. Zalman has done considerable product development since its foun ...
(acting Chief Rabbi, 2008–present) The appointment of a new Chief Rabbi of Ireland has been put on hold since 2008.


Israel

The position of chief rabbi () of the
Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...
has existed for hundreds of years. During the Mandatory Period, the British recognized the chief rabbis of the Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities, just as they recognized the
Mufti of Jerusalem The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The position was created by the British military government led by Ronald Storrs in 1918.See Islamic Leadership i ...
. The offices continued after statehood was achieved.
Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
Jewish groups (such as Edah HaChareidis) do not recognize the authority of the Chief Rabbinate. They usually have their own rabbis who do not have any connection to the state rabbinate. Under current Israeli law, the post of Chief Rabbi exists in only four cities (
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
,
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, and
Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
). In other cities there may be one main rabbi to whom the other rabbis of that city defer, but that post is not officially the "Chief Rabbi". Many of Israel's chief rabbis were previously chief rabbis of Israeli cities.


Sephardi

* Moshe Galante (the Younger) (1665–1689) * Moshe ibn Habib (1689–1696) * Moshe Hayun * Abraham ben David Yitzhaki (1715–1722) * Binyamin Maali * Elazar ben Yaacob Nahum (1730–1748) * Nissim Mizrahi (1748–1754) * Israel Yaacob Algazy (1754–1756) * Raphael Samuel Meyuchas (1756–1791) * Haim Raphael Abraham ben Asher (1771–1772) * Yom Tov Algazy (1772–1802) * Moshe Yosef Mordechai Meyuchas (1802–1805) * Yaacob Moshe Ayash al-Maghrebi (1806–1817) * Jacob Coral (1817–1819) * Raphael Yosef Hazzan (1819–1822) * Yom Tov Danon (1822–1824) * Salomon Moshe Suzin (1824–1836) * Yonah Moshe Navon (1836–1841) * Yehudah Raphael Navon (1841–1842) *
Chaim Abraham Gagin Chaim Abraham Gagin (1787–1848) was Chief Rabbi of Ottoman Palestine from 1842 to 1848. He was the grandson of the Jerusalem Kabbalist Shalom Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi ( he, שר שלום מזרחי דידיע שרעבי), also known as ...
(1842–1848) *
Isaac Kovo Yitzhak Ben-Hezekiah Yosef Kovo (1770–1854) was born in the large History of the Jews of Thessaloniki, Sephardi community of Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Salonica and later settled in Ottoman-era Jerusalem. In 1848 he succeeded Chaim Abraham Gagin as ' ...
(1848–1854) * Haim Nissim Abulafia (1854–1861) * Haim David Hazan (1861–1869) * Avraham Ashkenazi (1869–1880) *
Raphael Meir Panigel Raphael Meir ben Yehuda Panigel (1804–1893) was the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire. Panigel was born in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, but his family emigrated to the Land of Israel when he was a child. In 1828 and in 1863, he was an ...
(1880–1892) * Yaacob Shaul Elyashar (1893–1906) * Yaacob Meir (1906) * Eliyah Moshe Panigel (1907–1909) * Nahman Batito (1909–1911) * Moshe Franco (1911–1915) * Haim Moshe Elyashar (1914–1915) * Nissim Yehudah Danon (1915–1921) * Yaacob Meir (1921–1939) * Benzion Uziel (1939–1954) *
Yitzhak Nissim Yitzhak Nissim ( he, ; 1896 - August 9, 1981) was a Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel. Nissim was born in Baghdad and immigrated to Israel in 1925. He studied under Rabbi Sadqa Hussein. In 1955, he became Chief Sephardic Rabbi. As a gesture of g ...
(1955–1973) *
Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthod ...
(1973–1983) * Mordechai Eliyahu (1983–1993) *
Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron ( he, אליהו בקשי דורון‎; April 5, 1941 – April 12, 2020) was an Israeli rabbi who served as Rishon LeZion ( Chief Rabbi of Israel) from 1993 to 2003. Prior to that he served as Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Bat ...
(1993–2003) *
Shlomo Amar Shlomo Moshe Amar ( he, שלמה משה עמאר; ar, سليمان موسى عمار; born April 1, 1948)Gantz, Nesanel. "A Chief Rabbi of the Past and Future". '' Ami'', November 5, 2014, pp. 26-27. is the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Isra ...
(2003–2013) *
Yitzhak Yosef Yitzhak Yosef ( he, יצחק יוסף, born January 16, 1952) is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel (known as the Rishon LeZion), the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia, and the author of a set of books on ''halakha'' (Jewish law) called Yalk ...
(2013–)


Ashkenazi

*
Meir Auerbach Rabbi Meir Auerbach (1815–1878) was president of the Jewish court at Koło, and author of ''Imrei Bina'' (Words of Wisdom). After his immigration to Ottoman Palestine in 1859, he headed the Poland Kollel and became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi ...
—Rabbi of Jerusalem (1860–1871) *
Samuel Salant Shmuel Salant ( he, שמואל סלנט; January 2, 1816 – August 16, 1909) served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar. Early life Shmuel Salant was born in Białystok ...
(1871–1909) *
Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one o ...
(1921–1935) *
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog ( he, יצחק אייזיק הלוי הרצוג; 3 December 1888 – 25 July 1959), also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasted from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his deat ...
(1936–1959) * Isser Yehuda Unterman (1964–1973) *
Shlomo Goren Shlomo Goren ( he, שלמה גורן; February 3, 1917 – October 29, 1994), was a Polish-born Israeli Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi and Talmudic scholar who was considered a foremost authority on Jewish law ( Halakha). Goren founded and s ...
(1973–1983) *
Avraham Shapira Avraham Shapira ( he, אברהם אלקנה כהנא שפירא; 20 May 1914, Jerusalem – 27 September 2007) was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a ...
(1983–1993) *
Yisrael Meir Lau Yisrael Meir Lau ( he, ישראל מאיר לאו; born 1 June 1937) served as the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003. Biography Early life ...
(1993–2003) *
Yona Metzger Yona Metzger ( he, יונה מצגר; born 1953) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and the former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. In 2013, while chief rabbi, a fraud investigation was opened. Metzger later pleaded guilty to a number of corruption c ...
(2003–2013) *
David Lau David Baruch Lau ( he, דוד לאו; born 13 January 1966) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel. He was appointed after achieving a majority of the vote on 24 July 2013. He previously served as the Chief Rabbi of Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, Isra ...
(2013–)


Military Rabbinate

*
Shlomo Goren Shlomo Goren ( he, שלמה גורן; February 3, 1917 – October 29, 1994), was a Polish-born Israeli Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi and Talmudic scholar who was considered a foremost authority on Jewish law ( Halakha). Goren founded and s ...
(1948–1968) *
Mordechai Piron Mordechai Piron ( he, מרדכי פירון; born Egon Pisk; 28 December 1921 – 28 May 2014) was the second chief military rabbi in the history of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after his predecessor, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, created the position ...
(1968–1977) *
Gad Navon Gad Navon (1922 – 25 June 2006) was the third Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces. Biography Mimun Fahima (later Gad Navon) was born in Morocco. He was ordained there as Rabbi after completing the study of the entire Talmud. H ...
(1977–2000) *
Israel Weiss Israel Weiss ( he, ישראל וייס, born 1949) was the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces serving in the position between 2000 and 2006, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in that position was Rabbi Gad Navon. B ...
(2000–2006) *
Avichai Rontzki Avichai Rontzki ( he, אביחי רונצקי, October 10, 1951 – April 1, 2018) was an Israeli Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces. He served in the position from 2006 to 2010, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in ...
(2006–2010) *
Rafi Peretz Rafael "Rafi" Peretz (; born 7 January 1956) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician. A former military officer and helicopter pilot who also served as the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, he was the leader of the Jew ...
(2010–2016) *
Eyal Karim Eyal Moshe Karim ( he, אייל משה קרים) (born February 8, 1957) is the head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces. Early life and career Karim grew up in Givatayim, Israel, and studied at Yeshivat Bnei Akiva. In Aug ...
(2016–)


Japan

*
Binyamin Edre'i Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
(2015–present)


Lebanon

*
Moïse Yedid-Levy Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...
(1799–1829) *
Ralph Alfandari Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
*
Youssef Mann Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew lang ...
(1849) * Aharoun Yedid-Levy *
Zaki Cohen Zaki Cohen (Arabic: زكي كوهن) born in 1829 in Aleppo in the Ottoman Empire, was a Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Beirut, Lebanon and a playwright. In 1874, he founded Beirut's first modern Jewish school, called ''Tiferet Yisrael'' ("G ...
(1875) * Menaché Ezra Sutton *
Jacob Bukai Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...
* Haïm Dana *
Moïse Yedid-Levy Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...
*
Nassim Afandi Danon Nassim ( ar, نسیم) also transliterated as Nacim, Naseem, Nasseem, Nasim, Nesim or Nessim, is a unisex Arabic name. It is mostly used in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures and language groups. It may refer to: Company *Nasim Sdn Bhd, a m ...
(1908–1909) *
Jacob Tarrab Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...
(1910–1921) *
Salomon Tagger Salomon may refer to: People * Salomon (given name) * Salomon (surname) Companies * Salomon Brothers, a former investment bank, now a part of Citigroup * Salomon Group, a company manufacturing sporting equipment (which was a part of Adidas-Sal ...
(1921–1923) *
Shabtai Bahbout __NOTOC__ Shabtai (Sabbatai, Sabbathai, Shabbatai, Shabbethai, etc.) is a Jewish name common in the Middle Ages for boys born on Shabbat, and may refer to: People Given name * Shabtai (given name) Surname *Aharon Shabtai (born 1939), poet and tra ...
(1924–1950) *
Benzion Lichtman Ben-Zion, also spelled Ben Zion, and Benzion ( he, בן ציון, "Son of Zion") is a Hebrew given name. It may refer to the following people: Given name * Ben Zion Abba Shaul (1924–1998), rosh yeshiva, Porat Yosef Yeshiva * Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda, ...
(1932–1959) * Shahud Chreim (1960–1978)


Luxembourg

*
Robert Serebrenik Robert Serebrenik (March 4, 1902 – February 11, 1965) was an Austrian-born Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg who later became rabbi in America. Life Serebrenik was born on March 4, 1902, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the son of Peisach Serebrenik and The ...
(1929–1941)


Mexico

* Shlomo Tawil (1998–Present)


Macedonia

* Avi Kozma


Morocco

*
Mardo Chee Bengio The yellow-footed antechinus (''Antechinus flavipes''), also known as the mardo, is a shrew-like marsupial found in Australia. One notable feature of the species is its sexual behavior. The male yellow-footed antechinus engages in such frenzied ...
Chief Rabbi of Tangier. *
Raphael Ankawa Raphael Ben Mordechai Ankawa, also spelled Ankavah or Encouau, (1848–1935) was the Chief Rabbi of Morocco and a noted commentator, talmudist, ''posek'', and author. Biography Born in Salé, Morocco in 1848, he is known to the Jews of North Afr ...
(1918–1935) *
Mikail Encaoua Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), a ...
*
Chalom Messas Shalom Messas (Hebrew: שלום משאש) was a Sephardic rabbi and scholar who served as Chief Rabbi of Morocco, and later as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Biography Messas was born in Meknes, Morocco in 1909. He was the son of Rabbi Mimoun Mess ...
(1961–1978) *
Aaron Monsonego Aaron Monsonego ( he, אהרון מונסונגו; 9 February 1929 – 7 August 2018) was a Moroccan rabbi who was the Chief Rabbi of Morocco. Biography Monsonego was born in Fez, Morocco, to rabbi Yedidya Monsonego, the chief rabbi of Fez and ...
(1994–2018) * Yoshiyahu Pinto (2019–present)


Nepal

* Chezki Lifshitz (2000–present)


Norway

*
Isaak Julius Samuel Isaac was one of the patriarchs of the Abrahamic faiths. Isaac may also refer to: * Isaac (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname of Isaac and its variants Organizations * International Societ ...
(1930–1942) *
Michael Melchior Michael Melchior ( he, מיכאל מלכיאור; born January 31, 1954) is a Jewish leader, Orthodox rabbi, thinker, and activist. He is a former Minister of Social and Diaspora Affairs, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a former ...
(1980–)


Panama

* Zion Levy (1951–2008) Sephardic Chief Rabbi *
Aaron Laine According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Ancient Greek, Greek (Septuagint): wikt:Ἀαρών, Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high p ...
(1986–) Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi *
David Perets David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
(2016–) Sephardic Chief Rabbi


Peru

*
Abraham Moshe Brener Abraham Moshe Brener (Rabino Moises Brener) ( he, אברהם משה ברנר; died January 5, 1968) was the former Chief Rabbi (Gran Rabino) of Lima, Peru. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Lima from the mid 1930s to 1962. Following his tenure, Rab ...
(1930-1967) *
Baruj Epstein Baruj ( fa, باروج, also Romanized as Bārūj and Barooj; also known as Bare, Bareh, Bārī, Bary, Bereh, and Pareh) is a village in Zolbin Rural District, Yamchi District, Marand County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its ...
(1966-1967) *
Yaakov Kraus Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Jacob in Islam, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel (name), Israel, is regarded as a Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religi ...
(1987-1998) *
Efraim Zik Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...
(1999-2009) *
Itay Meushar Itay or Itai ( he, איתי) is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Itai Anghel, Israeli news correspondent *Itai Maggidi, Israeli long-distance runner * Itay Margalit, retired Israeli high jumper * Itay Segev (born 1995), Israeli ...
(2009-2016) *
Salomon Cohen Salomon may refer to: People * Salomon (given name) * Salomon (surname) Companies * Salomon Brothers, a former investment bank, now a part of Citigroup * Salomon Group, a company manufacturing sporting equipment (which was a part of Adidas-Sal ...
(2016-2019) *


Poland

*
Jacob Pollak Rabbi Jacob Pollak (other common spelling Yaakov Pollack), son of Rabbi Joseph, was the founder of the Polish method of halakhic and Talmudic study known as the Pilpul. Biography He was born about 1460 or 1470 in Poland, and died at Lublin in 15 ...
(appointed 1503) *
Moses Fishel Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...
(1541–1542) *
Dow Ber Percowicz Dow or DOW may refer to: Business * Dow Jones Industrial Average, or simply the Dow, a stock market index * Dow Inc., an American commodity chemical company ** Dow Chemical Company, a subsidiary, an American multinational chemical corporation * ...
(1945–1956) * Zew Wawa Morejno (1956–1957) *
Dow Ber Percowicz Dow or DOW may refer to: Business * Dow Jones Industrial Average, or simply the Dow, a stock market index * Dow Inc., an American commodity chemical company ** Dow Chemical Company, a subsidiary, an American multinational chemical corporation * ...
(1957–1961) * Uszer Zibes (1961–1966) * Zew Wawa Morejno (1966–1973) *
Pinchas Menachem Joskowicz According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas or Phineas (; , ''Phinees'', ) was a Kohen, priest during the Israelites’ The Exodus, Exodus journey. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth ...
(1988–1999) * Michael Schudrich (2004–)


Poland: Armed Forces

*
Chaim Elizjer Frankl The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name '' Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Hai ...
(?–1933) * Major
Baruch Steinberg Baruch or Boruch Steinberg (17 December 1897–after 9 April 1940) was a Polish rabbi and military officer. He was Chief Rabbi of the Polish Army during German invasion of Poland and Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 and was murdered by the ...
(1933–circa 12 April 1940) murdered by
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
in the
Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...


Romania

*
Yaakov Yitzhak Neimerov Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Jacob in Islam, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel (name), Israel, is regarded as a Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religi ...
(d. 1940) *
Alexandru Safran Alexandru is the Romanian language, Romanian form of the name Alexander. Common diminutives are Alecu, Alex (disambiguation), Alex, and Sandu (disambiguation), Sandu. Origin Etymology, Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek language, ...
(1940–1948) *
Moses Rosen Moses Rosen (known in Hebrew as David Moshe Rosen, ) (July 23, 1912 – May 6, 1994) was Chief Rabbi (Rav Kolel) of Romanian Jewry between 1948–1994 and president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania between 1964–1994. He led th ...
(1948–1994) *
Menachem Hacohen Menachem Hacohen ( he, מנחם הכהן, born 26 July 1932) is an Israeli rabbi, writer, thinker and former politician. He headed the Religious Worker faction in the Histadrut trade union, was member of the Knesset for the Alignment (political p ...
(1997–2011) * Rafael Shaffer (2011–Present)


Russia

*
Adolf Shayevich Adolf Solomonovich Shayevich (russian: Адольф Соломонович Шаевич; born 28 October 1937)Berel Lazar Shlomo Dov Pinchas Lazar (born May 19, 1964), better known as Berel Lazar, is an Orthodox, Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi. He began his service in Russia in 1990. Known for his friendship with Vladimir Putin, since 2000, he has been a Chief Rabbi ...
(2000–)


Military Rabbinate

*
Aharon Gurevich Colonel Rabbi Aharon Gurevich is the first Chief Rabbi of the Russian Army since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Rabbi Gurevich was appointed by Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar Shlomo Dov Pinchas Lazar (born May 19, 1964), better known as Berel ...
(2007–)


Serbia

*
Isaac Alcalay Isaac Abraham Alcalay (November 11, 1881 – December 29, 1978) was a Bulgarian-born Jew who served as Chief Rabbi of Serbia and Yugoslavia as well as a leading of American Sephardic Jews. Life Alcalay was born on November 11, 1881 in Sofia, Bulga ...
, also Chief Rabbi of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
from 1923 to 1941 *
Isak Asiel Isak may refer to: * Isak (given name) * Isak (surname) See also *Izak (disambiguation) Izak is a given name. Izak may also refer to: * Izak catshark, a type of cat shark * Izak, a character in Suikoden IV * Piotr "Izak" Skowyrski, Polish espor ...


Singapore

* Mordechai Abergel


Slovakia

* Moses Sofer (1806–1839) *
Samuel Benjamin Sofer Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer (german: link=no, Abraham Samuel Benjamin Schreiber), also known by his main work Ksav Sofer or Ketav Sofer ( trans. ''Writ of the Scribe''), (1815–1871), was one of the leading rabbis of Hungarian Jewry in the se ...
(1839–1871) * Simcha Bunim Sofer (1871–1907) * Akiva Sofer (1907–1938) * Izidor Katz (1950–1968) *
Baruch Myers Rabbi Baruch Myers (born May 2, 1964 in Orange, New Jersey) is a Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi. He began his service in Bratislava in 1993. He serves as the Chief Rabbi and head Shliach of Slovakia. Biography Baruch Myers was born in Or ...
(1993–present)


South Africa

*
Judah Leo Landau Judah Leo Landau (23 April 1866 – 26 August 1942) was a Galician-born South African rabbi and writer. A noted scholar, poet, and playwright, he served as the inaugural Chief Rabbi#South Africa, Chief Rabbi of South Africa from 1915 until his dea ...
(1915–1942) * Louis Rabinowitz (1945–1961) *
Bernard M. Casper Bernard Moses Casper (1916–1988) was a British people, British-Demographics of South Africa, South African rabbi. He was born and raised in London; educated in London and Cambridge; and served as both a Rabbi and educator in Manchester and Lon ...
(1963–1987) *
Cyril Harris Cyril Kitchener Harris (19 September 1936 – 13 September 2005) was Chief Rabbi of The Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa from 1987 to 2004. Harris was born in Glasgow, Scotland. During his tenure as Chief Rabbi, he was noted for h ...
(1988–2004) *
Warren Goldstein Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein (born 1971) is the Chief Rabbi of The Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa since 2005. Born in Pretoria, he currently lives in Johannesburg. He is the first Chief Rabbi of South Africa who was born in S ...
(2005–)


Spain

* Baruj Garzon (1968–1978), the first Chief Rabbi in Spain since the expulsion in 1492 * Yehuda Benasuli (1978–1997) * Moshe Bendahan (1997–)


Sudan

* Solomon Malka (1906–1949) * Haim Simoni (1950–1952) * Massoud El-Baz (1956-1965 by which time the Jewish community in Sudan had declined so dramatically that they could not afford to pay a Rabbi)


Syria

*
Yom Tov Yedid Yom ( he, יום) is a Biblical Hebrew word which occurs in the Hebrew Bible. The word means day in both Modern and Biblical Hebrew. Overview Although ''yom'' is commonly rendered as day in English translations, the word yom can be used in differ ...
(1960–1982), moved to the United States in 1982 and died 27 July 2016 in the United States


Thailand

*
Yosef Kantor Yosef (; also transliterated as Yossef, Josef, Yoseph Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic ''Yôsēp̄'') is a Hebrew male name derived from the Biblical character Joseph. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yadah meaning "praise", "fame" and the word ...
(1992–present)


Transylvania (before 1918)

Note: The chief rabbi of
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
was generally the rabbi of the city of
Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...
. * Joseph Reis Auerbach (d. 1750) * Shalom Selig ben Saul Cohen (1754–1757) * Johanan ben Isaac (1758–1760) * Benjamin Ze'eb Wolf of Cracow (1764–1777) * Moses ben Samuel Levi Margaliot (1778–1817) * Menahem ben Joshua Mendel (1818–23) * Ezekiel Paneth (1823–1843) * Abraham Friedmann (d. 1879), last chief rabbi of Transylvania


Tunisia

*
Chaim Madar Chief Rabbi Chaim Madar () was the chief rabbi of Tunisia's Jewish community, a community dating back to 586 BCE. He was the spiritual leader of this community until his death in Jerusalem on December 3, 2004. His funeral services were held at th ...
(1984–2004)


Turkey

*
Eli Capsali Elijah ben Elkanah Capsali (Hebrew: אליהו בן אלקנה קפשאלי; – after 1550) was a notable rabbi and historian. Biography Born in Crete, into a distinguished Romaniote family, the Capsalis had served as heads of the Jewish comm ...
(1452–1454) *
Moses Capsali Moses ben Elijah Capsali (Hebrew: משה בן אליהו קפשאלי; –1420-1495) was ''Hakham Bashi'' (Chief Rabbi) of the Ottoman Empire. Biography Moses ben Elijah Capsali was born in Venetian-held Crete in 1420. When he was a young man, Ca ...
(1454–1497) *
Elijah Mizrachi Elijah Mizrachi ( he, אליהו מזרחי) (c. 1455 – 1525 or 1526) was a Talmudist and posek, an authority on Halakha, and a mathematician. He is best known for his ''Sefer ha-Mizrachi'', a supercommentary on Rashi's commentary on the To ...
(1497–1526) *
Mordechai Komitano Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acco ...
(1526–1542) *
Tam ben Yahya TAM may refer to: Biology * Thioacetamide, an organosulfur compound * Tumor-associated macrophage, a class of immune cells * Transparent Anatomical Manikin, an educational model Technology * Tanque Argentino Mediano, the main battle tank of Arge ...
(1542–1543) *
Eli Rozanes ha-Levi Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...
(1543) *
Eli ben Hayim Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...
(1543–1602) * Yehiel Bashan (1602–1625) *
Joseph Mitrani Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(1625–1639) * Yomtov Benyaes (1639–1642) * Yomtov Hananiah Benyakar (1642–1677) *
Chaim Kamhi The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Haim ...
(1677–1715) *
Judah Benrey Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
(1715–1717) *
Samuel Levi Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transit ...
(1717–1720) *
Abraham Rozanes Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
(1720–1745) *
Solomon Hayim Alfandari Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succes ...
(1745–1762) *
Meir Ishaki Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer (name), Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer (disambiguation), Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicize ...
(1762–1780) *
Eli Palombo Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * Eli (2015 film), ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * Eli (2019 film), ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American hor ...
(1780–1800) *
Chaim Jacob Benyakar The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, wikt:חיים#Proper noun, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ...
(1800–1835) *
Abraham Levi Pasha Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant (biblical), special ...
(1835–1839) *
Samuel Hayim Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...
(1839–1841) *
Moiz Fresko Muhammad bin Tughluq (1290 – 20 March 1351) was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from February 1325 until his death in 1351. The sultan was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. In 1321, the youn ...
(1841–1854) *
Yacob Avigdor Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
(1854–1870) * Yakir Geron (1870–1872) *
Moses Levi Moses Levi (or Moshe HaLevi Effendi) (1827–1910) was the Chief Rabbi (Hakham Bashi) of Constantinople and of the Ottoman Empire.Harel, Y. (2005). The Importance of the Archive of the Hakham Bashi in Istanbul for the History of Ottoman Jewry. F ...
(1872–1909) * Chaim Nahum Effendi (1909–1920) *
Shabbetai Levi __NOTOC__ Shabtai (Sabbatai, Sabbathai, Shabbatai, Shabbethai, etc.) is a Jewish name common in the Middle Ages for boys born on Shabbat, and may refer to: People Given name * Shabtai (given name) Surname *Aharon Shabtai (born 1939), poet and tra ...
(1920–1922) *
Isaac Ariel Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...
(1922–1926) *
Haim Bejerano The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, wikt:חיים#Proper noun, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ...
(1926–1931) *
Haim Isaac Saki The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name ''Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Hai ...
(1931–1940) *
Rafael David Saban Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...
(1940–1960) *
David Asseo Chief Rabbi David Asseo (1914 – July 14, 2002) was the hakham bashi (or chief rabbi) of the Republic of Turkey from 1960 until his death in 2002. Chief Rabbi David Asseo was the second longest serving of the chief rabbis in Europe (after Mose ...
(1961–2002) *
Ishak Haleva Ishak Haleva (born 1940 in Istanbul, Turkey) is the current Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) ( tr, Hahambaşı) of Turkey. Chief Rabbi Haleva was the deputy to David Asseo for seven years and became the new Hakham Bashi after his death in 2002.
(2003–)


Uganda

*
Gershom Sizomu Gershom Sizomu (born 1972) is a Ugandan rabbi serving the Abayudaya, a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism. Sizomu is the first native-born black rabbi in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also the first chief ...
() (see:
Abayudaya The Abayudaya (''Abayudaya'' is Luganda for "People of Judah") are a community in eastern Uganda, near the town of Mbale, who practice Judaism. They are devout in their practice, keeping kashrut and observing Shabbat. There are several diff ...
)


Ukraine

*
Moshe Reuven Azman Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman (born in Leningrad on 13 March 1966) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Rabbi of the Brotzky Synagogue in Kyiv. Rabbi Moshe Azman is an influential figure in Ukraine, an outspoken opponent of the 20 ...
(2005–present)


United Arab Emirates

*
Levi Duchman Levi Duchman ( hלוי דוכמן}, aحاخام ليفي دوخمان}) is the first resident chief rabbi of the United Arab Emirates. Since his arrival in the UAE in 2014, he has established Jewish communities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and a numbe ...
(2015-) first resident rabbi to the UAE, appointed
Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
Shaliach In halakha, Jewish law, a shaliaḥ ( he, שָלִיחַ, ; pl. , ''sheliḥim'' or ''sheliah'', literally "emissary" or "messenger") is a legal agent. In practice, "the shaliaḥ for a person is as this person himself." Accordingly, a shaliaḥ ...
to the UAE in 2020, making him the first Chabad Shaliach in a Gulf country. Directs the Jewish Community Center of the UAE. Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is the current Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates.


United Kingdom and Commonwealth


Ashkenazi chief rabbis

*
Judah Loeb ben Abraham Ephraim Asher Anshel Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
(1696–1700) *
Aaron the Scribe of Dublin According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek ( Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother ...
(1700–1704) * Aaron Hart (1704–1756) *
Hart Lyon Rabbi Hirschel Ben Arye Löb Levin (also known as Hart Lyon and Hirshel Löbel; 1721 – 26 August 1800) was Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and of Berlin, and Rabbi of Halberstadt and Mannheim, known as a scholarly Talmudist. Life He was born in ...
(1758–1764) *
David Tevele Schiff Chief Rabbi David Tevele Schiff () (died December 17, 1791; or, in the Hebrew calendar, 26 Kislev 5551) was the chief rabbi of Great Britain and the rabbi of the Great Synagogue of London from 1765 until his death. Rabbi Schiff was a disciple of ...
(1765–1791) *
Solomon Hirschell Rabbi Solomon Hirschell (12 February 1762, London – 31 October 1842, London) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1802–42. He is best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to stop the spread of Reform Judaism in Britain by excommunicating ...
(1802–1842) *
Nathan Marcus Adler Nathan Marcus HaKohen Adler (13 January 1803 – 21 January 1890) (Hebrew name: Natan ben Mordechai ha-Kohen) was the Orthodox Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1845 until his death. Life A kohen by birth, Adler was born in Hanover, in pr ...
(1845–1891) *
Hermann Adler Hermann Adler HaKohen CVO (30 May 1839 – 18 July 1911; Hebrew נפתלי צבי הירש הכהן אדלר ) was the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1891 to 1911. The son (and successor as Chief Rabbi) of Nathan Marcus Adler, the 1911 ' ...
(1891–1911) *
Joseph Herman Hertz Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the ...
(1913–1946) *
Israel Brodie Sir Israel Brodie (10 May 1895 – 13 February 1979) was the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth 1948–1965. Biography He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Rabbi of Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Austral ...
(1948–1965) *
Immanuel Jakobovits Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 192131 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fi ...
(1966–1991; knighted 1981,
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
1988) *
Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United ...
(1991–2013; knighted 2005, life peer 2009) *
Ephraim Mirvis Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. Early life a ...
(2013–present)


Spanish and Portuguese community Hahamim/senior rabbis

The Sephardi Jews in the United Kingdom are mainly members of independent synagogues. There is no single rabbi recognised by them as a chief rabbi. The Spanish and Portuguese community, however, consists of several synagogues, charities, a beth din and a kashruth authority. These are under the leadership of an ecclesiastical head. Historically, the individual who fills this role is recognised as a senior rabbi of Anglo Jewry, being the leader of the oldest Jewish community in the country. The Senior Rabbi was traditionally given the title, ''Haham,'' meaning "wise one". Since 1918, however, only Solomon Gaon was given this title. The official title of the holder of this office is now The Senior Rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom. * Jacob ben Aaron Sasportas (1664–1665) * Yehoshua Da Silva (1670–1679) * Jacob Abendana (1681–1684) *
Solomon Ayllon Solomon Ayllon (1665 – April 10, 1728) was ''haham'' of the Sephardic congregations in London and Amsterdam, and a follower of Shabbethai Ẓebi. His name is derived from the town of Ayllon, in what is now the province of Segovia. Ayllon ...
(1689–1700) *
David Nieto David Nieto (1654 – 10 January 1728) was the Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community in London, later succeeded in this capacity by his son, Isaac Nieto. Nieto was born in Venice. He first practised as a physician and officiated ...
(1701–1728) *
Isaac Nieto Isaac Nieto (1702–1774) ( he, יצחק ניטו) was Haham of the Portuguese congregation Sha'are Hashamayim, Bevis Marks, London, and the son of David Nieto. He was officially appointed as "ḥakham ha-shalem" in 1733, but gave up the post in 1 ...
(1732–1740) * Moshe Gomes de Mesquita (1744–1751) * Moshe Cohen d'Azevedo (1761–1784) *
Raphael Meldola Raphael Meldola FRS (19 July 1849 – 16 November 1915) was a British chemist and entomologist. He was Professor of Organic Chemistry in the University of London, 1912–15. Life Born in Islington, London, he was descended from Raphael Me ...
(1806–1828) *
Benjamin Artom Rabbi Benjamin Artom (1835–1879) was the Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of Great Britain. He was born in Asti, Piedmont, in the Kingdom of Sardinia. Biography He was the first person to hold the post of rabbi of Naples. In 1866, h ...
(1866–1879) *
Moses Gaster Moses Gaster (17 September 1856 – 5 March 1939) was a Romanian, later British scholar, the ''Hakham'' of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation, London, and a Hebrew and Romanian linguist. Moses Gaster was an active Zionist in Romani ...
(1887–1918) *
Shem Tob Gaguine Shemtob Gaguin(e) (5 September 1884 – 30 July 1953) was a British Sephardic rabbi and scion of a famous Moroccan rabbinical dynasty which emigrated to Palestine from Spain at the time of the Inquisition. Biography He was the great-grandso ...
(1920–1953) (officially the "Ecclesiastical Chief of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews' Congregation," not the Haham) *
Solomon Gaon Solomon Gaon (1912–1994) was Sephardic Rabbi and Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the British Commonwealth. Biography Solomon Gaon was born in Travnik, Yugoslavia in 1912 and studied at the yeshiva in Sarajevo. Both his parents were ...
(1949–1995) * Abraham Levy (1995–2012) (officially the Communal Rabbi and Spiritual Head of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews' Congregation, not the ''haham'') *
Joseph Dweck Joseph Dweck is the senior rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom. Biography Rabbi Dweck is American born, of Syrian-Sephardi origin, and has lived in Los Angeles, California and Brooklyn, New York. He studied in Jerusalem at '' ...
(2013–) (elected Senior Rabbi of The S&P Sephardi Community, not the ''haham'')


United States

A chief rabbinate never truly developed within the United States for a number of different reasons. While Jews first settled in the United States in 1654 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, rabbis did not appear in the United States until the mid-nineteenth century. This lack of rabbis, coupled with the lack of official colonial or state recognition of a particular sect of Judaism as official effectively led to a form of
congregationalism Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articulat ...
amongst American Jews. This did not stop others from trying to create a unified American Judaism, and in fact, some chief rabbis developed in some American cities despite lacking universal recognition amongst the Jewish communities within the cities (for examples see below). However,
Jonathan Sarna Jonathan D. Sarna (born 10 January 1955) is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and director othe Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis Universit ...
argues that those two precedents, as well as the desire of many Jewish immigrants to the US to break from an Orthodox past, effectively prevented any effective Chief Rabbi in America.


Uruguay

* Jaime Spector (1931–1937) * Aaron Milevsky (1937–1943) * Aaron Laschover (1943–1967) *
Nechemia Berman Rabbi Nechemia Berman was the Chief Rabbi of Uruguay. Born in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, he served as Rabbi of Montevideo's Ashkenazi Community (Comunidad Israelita del Uruguay) from 1977 until 1993. This position has always been consi ...
(1970–1993) * Eliahu Birenbaum (1994–1999) *
Yosef Bittón Rabbi Yosef Bittón is an Argentinian-born community rabbi and the former Chief Rabbi of Uruguay. Biography Early life and education Rabbi Yosef Bittón was born in Argentina to Argentine parents. His paternal grandparents came from Tetouan ...
(1999–2002) * Mordejai Maarabi (2002–2009) * Shai Froindlich (2009–2010) * Isaac Fadda (2011–2012) *
Ben-Tzion Spitz Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz (born 1969) was the Chief Rabbi#By country/region, Chief Rabbi of Uruguay. He was born in Queens, New York (state), New York, United States. In May 2013 he was appointed as List of Chief Rabbis, Chief Rabbi of Uruguay, a pos ...
(2013–2016) * Max Yojanan Godet (2017–present)


Uzbekistan

*
Baruch Abramchayev Baruch may refer to: People * Baruch (given name), a given name of Hebrew origin * Belle W. Baruch (1899–1964), American heiress, daughter of Bernard Baruch * Bernard Baruch (1870–1965), American financier, stock market speculator, statesman ...


Venezuela


Sephardi

*
Isaac Cohen Isaac Cohen (26 July 1914 – 30 November 2007) was a Talmudic scholar and Chief Rabbi of Ireland for 20 years. Education Born in Llanelli, Wales to immigrants from Lithuania, he won a scholarship in 1928 to Aria College in Portsmouth, a boardi ...


Ashkenazi

*
Pynchas Brener Pynchas Brener (1931) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas, Venezuela, starting in 1967. Early life He was born in Tyszowce, Poland and at the age of four emigrated with his family to Peru. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Rabbinic Ordin ...
(1967–)


By city


Amsterdam, Netherlands


Ashkenazi

*
Aryeh Leib ben Saul Aryeh Leib ben Saul Löwenstam ( 1690 in Cracow – 2 April 1755 in Amsterdam) was a Polish rabbi. Life Aryeh Leib came of a famous family of rabbis. His father Saul had been rabbi of Cracow from 1700 to 1704; his grandfather was Rabbi Hoes ...
1740–1755 *
Saul Lowenstam Saul Lowenstam (1717 – 19 June 1790) was a renowned Dutch rabbi and talmudist. Saul Lowenstam was born in 1717 in Rzeszów to his parents Aryeh Leib ben Saul (who was the rabbi in Rzeszów at the time) and Miriam the daughter of the Chacham Tzvi. ...
*
B.S. Berenstein A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
* Dr Joseph Hirsch Dünner *
Abraham S. Onderwijzer Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant (biblical), special ...
*
L.H. Sarlouis LH or lh may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Laurel and Hardy, a comedy double act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema * "Little Hide", 1998 single by Snow Patrol *Lovehammers, a Chicago-based band *''Love Hina'', a 1998 ...
*
Justus Tal Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Pope Gregory I, Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianization, Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their ...
* Aron Schuster *
Meir Just Meir Just (7 July 1908 – 9 April 2010) was the Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Just served as a spiritual leader for the Dutch Jewish community for more than 45 years, until his death in 2010. Just was born on 7 July 1908 in Vizhnit ...
1970–1978 *
Aryeh Ralbag Aryeh ( fa, اريه) is a village in Firuzeh Rural District, in the Central District of Firuzeh County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 221, in 54 families. See also * List of cities, towns and vill ...
(2008–2016) *
Pinchas Toledano Dr Pinchas Toledano (פנחס טולידאנו) is Hakham-Emeritus (Chief Rabbi) of Amsterdam and of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the Netherlands. He was also the official ''Av Beit Din'', head of the court, of the Netherlands '' Beit Din''. ...
(2016–current)


Sephardi

* Menasseh Ben Israel *
Pinchas Toledano Dr Pinchas Toledano (פנחס טולידאנו) is Hakham-Emeritus (Chief Rabbi) of Amsterdam and of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of the Netherlands. He was also the official ''Av Beit Din'', head of the court, of the Netherlands '' Beit Din''. ...
(2012–)


Antwerp, Belgium

*
Chaim Kreiswirth Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth (1918–2001) was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadass Antwerp, Belgium. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of the Mercaz HaTorah yeshiva in Jerusalem, and was a highly ...
(1953–2001)


Baltimore, Maryland – United States

* Abraham N. Schwartz (d. 1937) * Joseph H. Feldman (retired 1972, d. 1992)


Birobidzhan, Russia

*
Mordechai Scheiner Mordechai Sheiner ( he, מרדכי שיינר; russian: Мордеха́й Шейнер) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi associated with the Chabad Hasidic movement. Sheiner served as Chief Rabbi of Jewish Autonomous Oblast from 2002 to 2011.
(2002–present)


Budapest, Hungary

*
Yonasan Steif Rabbi Yonasan Steif ( yi, יונתן שטייף‎; August 12, 1877 – August 25, 1958) was a senior dayan of Budapest, Hungary, before the Second World War, a man whom Rabbis Moshe Feinstein and Joel Teitelbaum referred to as the ''gadol ha ...
(pre-World War II)


Caracas, Venezuela


Ashkenazi

*
Pynchas Brener Pynchas Brener (1931) is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas, Venezuela, starting in 1967. Early life He was born in Tyszowce, Poland and at the age of four emigrated with his family to Peru. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Rabbinic Ordin ...
(1967–present)


Sephardi

* Isaac Cohén (–)


Chicago, Illinois – United States

*
Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky (February 7, 1845 – October 2, 1913), known by the acronym Ridvaz or Ridbaz, was a renowned rabbi, Talmudic commentator and educator. Biography Wilovsky was born in Kobrin, Russia on February 7, 1845. Wilovsky hel ...
known as the ''Ridbaz'', served as chief rabbi of the Russian-American congregations in the city 1903–1905.


Copenhagen, Denmark

*
David Simonsen David Jacob Simonsen ( he, דוד יעקב סימונסן; 17 March 1853 – 15 June 1932) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied Oriental languages at the University of Copenhagen, and received his rabbinical training at the Jewish Theo ...
(1879–1891) *
Elias Kalischer Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ‎ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...
*
Hirsch Goitein Hirsch may refer to: Places * Hirsch, Saskatchewan, Canada * Hirsch Observatory, in Troy, New York, U.S. People * Afua Hirsch (born 1981), Norwegian-born British writer, broadcaster, and former barrister * Alex Hirsch (born 1985), American ani ...
(–1903) *
Max Schornstein Rabbi Dr. Mordecai Schornstein ( he, מרדכי שורנשטיין; 6 February 1869 – 18 October 1949) was the Chief Rabbi of Denmark, an animal lover and the founder of the Tel Aviv zoo. Biography Schornstein was born in 1869 in Tachov, Bohe ...
(1906–1910) *
Bent Melchior Bent Melchior (24 June 1929 – 28 July 2021) was a chief rabbi of Denmark. Life and career Melchior was born to Danish parents in the German city of Beuthen (now Bytom in Poland), where his father, Marcus Melchior, was rabbi. In 1943, during ...
(1963–1970) *
Jacob Garfinkel Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...
(1971–1973)


Frankfurt, Germany

* Menachem Halevi Klein, Menachem Klein * Nathan HaKohen Adler


Gateshead, United Kingdom

*
Shraga Feivel Zimmerman Shraga Feivel Halevy Zimmerman is the ''av beis din'' of the Federation of Synagogues in London. He accepted the position on the 30th of June 2019, but took office in January 2020. Rabbi Zimmerman succeeded Dayan Lichtenstein as head of the organi ...


The Hague, Netherlands

* Saul Isaac Halevi (1748–1785) *
Tobias Tal Tobias Tal (June 16, 1847 – October 24, 1898) was a Dutch rabbi who served as Chief Rabbi of the Hague. Life Tal was born on June 16, 1847 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, son of Z. T. Tal. Tal studied at the rabbinical seminary of Chief Rabbi Jose ...
(1895–1898) * Dov Yehuda Schochet (1946–1952)


Haifa, Israel


Ashkenazi

*
She'ar Yashuv Cohen Eliyahu Yosef She'ar Yashuv Cohen ( he, אליהו יוסף שאר ישוב כהן; November 4, 1927 – September 5, 2016) was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel and the President of its rabbinical courts (1975–2011). Biography Eliyahu ...
(1927–2016)


Sephardi

*
Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron ( he, אליהו בקשי דורון‎; April 5, 1941 – April 12, 2020) was an Israeli rabbi who served as Rishon LeZion ( Chief Rabbi of Israel) from 1993 to 2003. Prior to that he served as Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Bat ...
(1993–2003)


Hannover, Germany

*
Samuel Freund Samuel Freund (born 24 September 1868 in Gliwice, Gleiwitz; died 28 June 1939 in Hannover) was the senior rabbi of Hannover and the ''Landrabbiner'' for the German state of Lower Saxony. Life The son of businessman Isidor Freund and his wife Cae ...
(1924-1939) *
Chaim Pinchas Lubinsky Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Lubinsky (August 1, 1915November 28, 1985) was the mashgiach of the yeshiva in Bergen Belsen and the Chief Rabbi of Hanover from 1946 to 1949. Early life and ancestry Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Lubinsky was born in Blaszki, Poland ...
(1946-1949) *
Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft Rabbi Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft (Hebrew: ) was a Rosh Hashochtim of Poland (overseeing the country's kosher slaughterers) before the Holocaust. After the Holocaust he was Chief Rabbi of Hanover and Lower Saxony. Later, after emigrating to the Unit ...
(1949-1952)


Hebron, West Bank

*
Chaim Hezekiah Medini Chaim Hezekiah Medini (Jerusalem 1834 – Hebron, 1904), also known by the title of his chief halakhic work, ''Sdei Chemed'', was a rabbinical scholar during the nineteenth century. Biography His name was originally Hezekiah; Chaim, "life", was a ...
(1891–1904) *
Dov Lior Dov Lior ( he, דב ליאור, born 30 October 1933) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi who served as the Chief Rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba in the southern West Bank until late 2014. He is the rosh yeshiva of the Kiryat Arba Hesder Yeshiva and h ...
– present


Helsinki, Finland

*
Naftali Amsterdam Naftali Amsterdam (1832-1916) was a Lithuanian-born Orthodox rabbi and a leader in the Mussar movement. Mussar movement role A student of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, the Mussar movement's founder, his teacher categorized the roles of three top follo ...
(1867–1875) * Avrohom Schain (1876–1881) * Abraham Werner-Homa (1881–1891) * Shmuel Noson Bukantz (1892–1924) * Scholem Triestman (1928–1929)


Hoboken, New Jersey – United States

*
Chaim Hirschensohn Rabbi Chaim Hirschensohn ( he, חיים הירשנזון, 1857 – 1935) was a prolific author, rabbi, thinker, and early proponent of Religious Zionism. Biography Chaim Hirschensohn was born on August 31, 1857 in Safed, in the Galilee to R ...
(1904–1935). His post included
Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...
,
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Union Hill and the Environs.


Jerusalem


Sephardi

*
Levi Ibn Habib Levi ibn Habib (c. 1480 – c. 1545), also known by the acronym HaRaLBaCh, was Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem from 1525 until his death. Under King Manuel of Portugal, and when about seventeen, he was compelled to submit to baptism, but at the first o ...
* David Ibn Abi Zimra * Moshe Galante I *
Haim Vital Hayyim ben Joseph Vital ( he, רָבִּי חַיִּים בֶּן יוֹסֵף וִיטָאל; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) and October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremo ...
* Betzalel Ashkenasi * Gedalia Cordovero * Isaac Gaon * Israel Benjamin * Yaacov Tzemah * Shemuel Garmison *
Moshe Galante II Moshe ben Yonatan Galante (1621 – 4 February 1689 Jerusalem), grandson of Moshe ben Mordechai Galante, Moshe Galante, was a 17th-century rabbi at Jerusalem. He served as the first Chief Rabbinate of Israel#Rishon L.27Tzion 1665-1842, Rishon Le'Z ...
(1665–1689) * Moshe Ibn Habib (1689–1696) * Moshe Hayun * Abraham ben David Yitzchaki (1715–1722) * Binyamin Maali * Elazar ben Yaacob Nahum (1730–1748) * Nissim Mizrahi (1748–1754) * Israel Yaacob Algazy (1754–1756) * Raphael Samuel Meyuchas (1756–1791) * Haim Raphael Abraham ben Asher (1771–1772) * Yom Tov Algazy (1772–1802) * Moshe Yosef Mordechai Meyuchas (1802–1805) * Yaacob Moshe Ayash al-Maghrebi (1806–1817) * Jacob Coral (1817–1819) * Raphael Yosef Hazzan (1819–1822) * Yom Tov Danon (1822–1824) * Salomon Moshe Suzin (1824–1836) * Yonah Moshe Navon (1836–1841) * Yehudah Raphael Navon (1841–1842) * Haim Abraham Gagin (1842–1848) *
Isaac Kovo Yitzhak Ben-Hezekiah Yosef Kovo (1770–1854) was born in the large History of the Jews of Thessaloniki, Sephardi community of Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Salonica and later settled in Ottoman-era Jerusalem. In 1848 he succeeded Chaim Abraham Gagin as ' ...
(1848–1854) * Haim Nissim Abulafia (1854–1861) * Haim David Hazan (1861–1869) * Abraham Ashkenasi (1869–1880) *
Raphael Meir Panigel Raphael Meir ben Yehuda Panigel (1804–1893) was the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire. Panigel was born in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, but his family emigrated to the Land of Israel when he was a child. In 1828 and in 1863, he was an ...
(1880–1892) * Yaacob Shaul Elyashar (1893–1906) * Yaacob Meir (1906) * Eliyah Moshe Panigel (1907–1909) * Nahman Batito (1909–1911) * Moshe Franco (1911–1915) * Haim Moshe Elyashar (1914–1915) * Nissim Yehudah Danon (1915–1921) * Yaacob Meir (1921–1939) *
Chalom Messas Shalom Messas (Hebrew: שלום משאש) was a Sephardic rabbi and scholar who served as Chief Rabbi of Morocco, and later as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Biography Messas was born in Meknes, Morocco in 1909. He was the son of Rabbi Mimoun Mess ...
(1978–2003) *
Shlomo Amar Shlomo Moshe Amar ( he, שלמה משה עמאר; ar, سليمان موسى عمار; born April 1, 1948)Gantz, Nesanel. "A Chief Rabbi of the Past and Future". '' Ami'', November 5, 2014, pp. 26-27. is the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Isra ...
(2014–)


Ashkenazi

*
Meir Auerbach Rabbi Meir Auerbach (1815–1878) was president of the Jewish court at Koło, and author of ''Imrei Bina'' (Words of Wisdom). After his immigration to Ottoman Palestine in 1859, he headed the Poland Kollel and became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi ...
(?–1878) *
Shmuel Salant Shmuel Salant ( he, שמואל סלנט; January 2, 1816 – August 16, 1909) served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar. Early life Shmuel Salant was born in Białyst ...
(1878–1909) *
Chaim Berlin Chaim Berlin (1832, Valozhyn – 1912, Jerusalem) (חיים ברלין) was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi and chief rabbi of Moscow from 1865 to 1889. He was the eldest son of the Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. Biography Cha ...
(1909–1912?) *
Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one o ...
(1919–1935) *
Tzvi Pesach Frank Tzvi Pesach Frank (20 January 1873 – 10 December 1960) (Hebrew: הרב צבי פסח פרנק) was a renowned halachic scholar and served as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for several decades (1936-1960). Biography Frank was born in Kovno, Viln ...
(1936–?) * Betzalel Zolty (1977–?) * Yitzhak Kolitz (1983–2002) * Aryeh Stern (2014–)


Edah HaChareidis

:''Note: The Edah HaChareidis is unaffiliated with the State of Israel. It is a separate, independent religious community with its own Chief Rabbis, who are viewed, in the
Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
world, as being the Chief Rabbis of Jerusalem.'' *
Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, also spelled Zonnenfeld (1 December 1848 – 26 February 1932), was the rabbi and co-founder of the Edah HaChareidis, a Haredi Jewish community in Jerusalem, during the years of the British Mandate of Palestine. He was ...
(1919–1932) * Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky (1932–1948) *
Zelig Reuven Bengis Zelig Reuven Bengis (1864 – 21 May 1953) was the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for the Edah HaChareidis. He wrote a seven-volume commentary on the Talmud, called "''Leflagos Reuven''". Youth He was the son of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Bengis, in the intro ...
(1948–1953) *
Joel Teitelbaum Joel Teitelbaum ( yi, יואל טייטלבוים, translit=Yoyl Teytlboym, ; 13 January 1887 – 19 August 1979) was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty. A major figure in the post-war renaissance of Hasidism, he espoused a ...
of
Satmar Satmar (Yiddish: סאַטמאַר, Hebrew: סאטמר) is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynast ...
(1953–1979) *
Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (15 February 1902 – 14 June 1989), commonly known as the ''Minchas Yitzchak'' after the Responsa he authored, was the rabbi of the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem] at the time of his death, but his Halakha, halakhic i ...
(1979–1989) * Moshe Aryeh Freund (1989–1996) * Yisrael Moshe Dushinsky (1996–2002) *
Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss (26 August 1926 – 29 July 2022) was the Chief Rabbi, or ''Gaavad'' (''Gaon Av Beis Din''), of Jerusalem for the Edah HaChareidis. He was appointed to this post in 2004, after having served as a ''dayan'' of the ' ...
(2002–)


Kyiv, Ukraine

* Jonathan Markovitch (2000 – present)


Krakow, Poland

* Boaz Pash (2006–2012) * Eliezer Gurary (2014–present)


Leiden, Netherlands

* Simon de Vries (rabbi), Simon de Vries


Leeuwarden, Friesland, Netherlands

* (1821–1836) * (1840–1886) * (1886–1895) *
Tobias Lewenstein Tobias Tuvia Lewenstein ( he, טוביה לבנשטיין; 1863–1952) was Chief Rabbi of Jewish communities in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Paramaribo, Surinam, to Mozes ...
(1895–1899) * (1900–1918) * (1924–1927) * (1929–1932) * (1935–1945)


Milan, Italy

* Avraham David Shaumann * Elia Kopciovsky (195?–1980) * Giuseppe Laras (1980–2005) * Alfonso Arbib (2005–)


Modi'in Illit, Israel

* Meir Kessler


Montreal, Quebec, Canada


Ashkenazi

* Zvi Hirsch Cohen (1922–1950) * Sheea Herschorn (1951–1961) * Pinchas Hirschprung (1969–1998) * Avraham David Niznik (1998–2006) * Binyomin Weiss (2006–Present)


Sephardi

* David Sabbah


Moscow, Russia

* Yakov Maze (prior to 1924–1933) * Shmaryahu Yehudah Leib Medalia (1933–1938) * Shmuel Leib Medalia (1943) * Shmuel Leib Levin (1943–1944) * Shlomo Shleifer (1944–1957) * Yehuda Leib Levin (1957–1971) *
Adolf Shayevich Adolf Solomonovich Shayevich (russian: Адольф Соломонович Шаевич; born 28 October 1937) * Pinchas Biberfeld, Pinchos Biberfeld, moved back to Germany from where he had emigrated to Israel over 50 years earlier. (1980–1999) * Steven Langnas, first German (descendance) Chief Rabbi and Av Beth Din of Munich (1999–2011)


Netherlands – Inter-Provincial Chief rabbinate

* Dov Yehuda Schochet (1946–1952) [Chief Rabbi of The Hague] * Elieser Berlinger (1960–1985) * Binyomin Jacobs (2008–recent)


New York, New York – United States

* Jacob Joseph (1840–1902) was the only true Ashkenazi chief rabbi of New York City; there was never a Sephardi chief rabbi, although Dr. David DeSola Pool acted as a leader among the Sepharadim and was also respected as such. Others it has been said claimed the title of Chief Rabbi; eventually, the title became worthless through dilution. * Chaim Jacob Wiedrewitz was the Chassidic chief rabbi of New York and Pennsylvania; he was previously the Chassidic Rav of Moscow and was officially called as "The Moskover Rav", immigrated in 1893 and died in 1911, he's buried in the Chabad society of the Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park NY. * Jacob S. Kassin was the Chief Rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community of New York 1930–1995. * Leibish Wolowsky was the chief rabbi of the Galician community of NYC 1888–1913, he was previously the rabbi of Sambor, Austria and immigrated to the US in 1888. He died in 1913 and is buried in the Achum Ahuvim of Reizow at the Mount Zion Cemetery in Maspeth NY. * Avrohom Aharon Yudelevitz who was previously the rav of Manchester, England was accepted in 1919 as the chief rabbi of the Jewish Arbitration Court of NYC, he authored many books on Jewish law and Responsa. He died in 1930 and is buried in family plot at the Bayside cemetery in Ozone Park NY.


Nové Zámky, Slovakia

* Ernest Klein (1931–1944)


Paris, France

* Michel Seligmann (1809–1829) *
Marchand Ennery Marchand Ennery () was a French rabbi; brother of Jonas Ennery; born in Nancy, France, Nancy 1792; died in Paris 21 August 1852; studied Talmud under Baruch Guggenheim and at the rabbinical school of Herz Scheuer, in Mainz. He went to Paris, becam ...
(1829–1845) * Lazard Isidor (1847–1865) *
Zadoc Kahn Zadoc Kahn (18 February 1839 in Mommenheim, Alsace – 8 December 1905 in Paris) was an Alsatian-French rabbi and chief rabbi of France. Life In 1856 he entered the rabbinical school of Metz, finishing his theological studies at the same ...
(1866–1889) * Jacques-Henri Dreyfuss (1891–1933) * :fr:Julien Weill, Julien Weill (1933–1950) *
Jacob Kaplan Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
(1950–1955) * Meïr Jaïs (1956–1980) * Alain Goldmann (1980–1994) * :fr:David Messas, David Messas (1994–2011) * Michel Gugenheim (2012– )


Rome, Italy

* Israel Zolli (1940–1945) * Elio Toaff (1951–2002) * Riccardo Di Segni (2002–)


Rotterdam, Netherlands

* Josiah Pardo (1648–1669)http://www.archieven.nl/pls/m/zk2.inv?p_q=64729996 See his Haskama – Approbation to Sefer Nachalat Shiva, edition Amsterdam 1667, where he is mentioned as Chief Rabbi of both the Sephardi and Ashkenazi congregations in Rotterdam * Yosia Pardo (1648–1669). Left in 1669 to Amsterdam. * Yuda Loeb ben Rabbi Shlomo (1674-abt. 1700). Born in Wilna. * Judah Salomon (1682) *
Judah Loeb ben Abraham Ephraim Asher Anshel Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
(1700–1708) Born in Hamburg, left for Amsterdam. * Solomon Ezekiel (1725–1735) * Judah Ezekiel (1738–1755) * Abraham Ezekiel (1755–79) * Aryeh Leib Breslau (1741–1809) * Judah Akiba Eger son of Akiba Eger I (invited but refused position) * Elijah Casriel (1815–1833) * E.J. Löwenstamm (1834–1845) * Joseph Isaacsohn (1850–1871; one of three sons-in-law of Jacob Ettlinger who were Chief Rabbis in the Netherlands) * Bernhard Löbel Ritter (1885–1928) * Simon Hirsch (1928–1930) * Aaron Davids (1930–1944) *
Justus Tal Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Pope Gregory I, Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianization, Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their ...
(1945–1954) * Salomon Rodrigues Pereira (1954–1959) * Levie Vorst (1959–1971) * Daniel Kahn (rabbi), Daniel Kahn (1972–1975) * Albert Hutterer (1975–1977) * Dov Salzmann (1986–1988) * Lody van de Kamp * Raphael Evers


Shanghai, China

* Meir Ashkenazi (rabbi), Meir Ashkenazi (1926–1949)


Sofia, Bulgaria

* Daniel Zion (in World War II) *
Asher Hannanel Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah (Jacob's eighth son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name of ''Asher' ...
(in World War II)


St. Louis, Missouri – United States

* Chaim Fischel Epstein * Menachem Zvi Eichenstein (1943–1982) * Sholom Rivkin (1983–2011)


Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel


Sephardi

*
Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel (, born 23 May 1880, died 4 September 1953), sometimes rendered as Ouziel, was the Sephardi chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine from 1939 to 1948, and of Israel from 1948 until his death in 1953. Biography Ben-Zion Meir Ha ...
(1911–1939) * Ya'akov Moshe Toledano (1942–1960) *
Ovadia Yosef Ovadia Yosef ( he, , Ovadya Yosef, ; September 24, 1920 – October 7, 2013) was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, a posek, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, and a founder and long-time spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-Orthod ...
(1968–1973) * Hayim David HaLevi (1973–1998?)


Toronto, Ontario, Canada

* Joseph Weinreb 1900–1942 * Avraham Aharon Price * Gedaliah Felder


Vienna, Austria

* Yitshak Ehrenberg (1983–1989) *
Akiva Eisenberg Dr. Akiba Eisenberg (20 September 1908 – 8 April 1983) was a former Chief Rabbi of Vienna. Biography Eisenberg was born in Vác, near Budapest. During World War II, he survived by hiding with his brother in the outlying area with non-Jewish f ...
*
Paul Chaim Eisenberg Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
*
Arie Folger Arie is a masculine given name. As a Dutch name, Arie (pronounced ) is generally a short form of Adrianus, but sometimes also of Arend or Arent, Arnout or Arnoud, or even Aaron. As a Hebrew, Jewish, or Israeli name, Arie (pronounced ) is a ...


Warsaw, Poland

*
Pinchas Menachem Joskowicz According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas or Phineas (; , ''Phinees'', ) was a Kohen, priest during the Israelites’ The Exodus, Exodus journey. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth ...
(1988–1999) * Baruch Rabinowitz (1999–2000) * Michael Schudrich (2000–)


Würzburg, Germany

* Abraham Bing (1814–1839)


Zagreb, Croatia

* Hosea Jacobi (1880–1925) * Miroslav Šalom Freiberger (1941–1943)


"Grand Rabbi"

Occasionally, the term "Grand Rabbi" is used to note a Hasidic Rebbe, particularly used on letterhead when the letterhead is in English.


See also

* Grand Mufti * Kohanim * Rishamma * Samaritan High Priest


References


External links


Office of the Chief Rabbi in London, England

Chief Rabbinate of Israel
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008161535/http://rabanut.gov.il/ , date=8 October 2017 Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Chief rabbis,