Rabbi Luciano Moše Prelević (born 1953 in Zagreb) is the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of the Jewish community in Zagreb and

chief rabbi 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, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of the

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Jewish community.

Early life and family

From his mother's side of the family, he is a descendant of the Split Jewish family Levi. His great-grandfather, Mojsije Levi, was a rabbi in Split in the early 20th century. Levi came to Split from the island of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, where he married a daughter of Marijo Goldstein, one of the most popular Split photographers, who arrived in Split from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Prelević spent his youth in Split. He studied architecture in Split and Zagreb.

Later years

Prelevic worked at the Croatian oil and gas company INA. His cousin introduced him to the Jewish community of Zagreb, where he became more interested in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. In the Jewish community of Zagreb Prelević intensified his religious life and devoted himself to the study of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. Prelević read English-language literature translated from Hebrew, and as he wanted to read the originals, he started to learn

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. In 1999

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. Ea ...

, another Croatian rabbi, suggested that he study for one year in Jerusalem to become a teacher, after which he would return to Zagreb. Prelevic decided after this to become a rabbi. The Jewish community of Zagreb supported his studies with a scholarship. Prelevic spent eight years in the Ashkenazi Yeshiva and graduated in 2007 as the top student in his class. In the study the subjects that Prelević completed were

Halakha ''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 commandm ...

and

Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile ...

. His rabbinical diploma was conferred by a rabbi of the Yeshiva. In 2008 he was commissioned into the service as a rabbi of Zagreb's Jewish community. Prelević is the first Croatian-born rabbi of Zagreb's Jewish community since rabbi

Miroslav Šalom Freiberger Miroslav Šalom Freiberger ( he, שלום פרייברגר; 9 January 1903 – 8 May 1943) was a Croatian chief rabbi, translator, writer and spiritual leader. He was educated as a lawyer and doctor of theology. Biography Freiberger was born ...

, who was killed in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. In 2013 Prelević was named chief rabbi of the Montenegro Jewish community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prelevic, Luciano Mose 1953 births Living people Clergy from Split, Croatia 21st-century Croatian rabbis 20th-century Croatian rabbis Rabbis from Zagreb Croatian people of Greek-Jewish descent Croatian people of Polish-Jewish descent Montenegrin rabbis Modern Orthodox rabbis Croatian Orthodox rabbis