René Gutman (born in Rouen in 1950) was Chief Rabbi of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

from 1987 to 2017.

Biography

René Gutman grew up in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, where his father Alexandre Gutman was the local

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 ...

. He spent several years in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, dedicating himself to religious studies, at the

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

of Tifra'h ישיבת תושיה, in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

, and after then in 'Hebron' (

Slabodka yeshiva Slabodka yeshiva may refer to: * Hebron Yeshiva, a branch of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Hebron, relocated afterward to Jerusalem * Slabodka yeshiva (Bnei Brak), a branch of the Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak * Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka) Yes ...

) in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He took rabbinic studies at the French Jewish Seminar in Paris, and meanwhile started academic studies in the university. He graduated Rabbi in 1977, by winning the Grand Rabbin Lieber grant (1974) and the

André Weil André Weil (; ; 6 May 1906 – 6 August 1998) was a French mathematician, known for his foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry. He was a founding member and the ''de facto'' early leader of the mathematical Bourbaki group. Th ...

grant, three consecutive years. During this period he joined the religious youth movement ''Yeshouroun'' under the direction of

Henri Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...

and

Liliane Ackermann Liliane Aimée Ackermann (''née'' Weil) (1938–2007) was a French microbiologist, Jewish Community pioneer, leader, writer, and lecturer. Early life and education Liliane Ackermann was born on September 3, 1938, in Strasbourg, France, the da ...

, among several future leaders of the French rabbinate. He has been successively rabbi of the city of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

, then Chief Rabbi of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and finally in the Jewish community of

and

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

, as successor to Rabbi Max Warschawski. Gutman holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne University) where he attended the seminar of Rabbi

Charles Touati Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

on Talmudic and Rabbinic Judaism. Former member of the National Ethics Council on AIDS, Permanent Representative of the Conference of European Rabbis at the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

, he also participates in inter-religious dialogue. He also acts for dialogue beyond the Monotheistic Religions and met with religious representatives from the Far East (''Religions for Peace'', "Hommes de Parole", 2007 Kyoto Conference ). The French Government appointed him Knight in the Légion d'Honneur in 1999 then Officer in 2008, in 2005 he has been appointed officer of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

. After his retirement, Gutman moved to Israel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutman, Rene Living people Chief rabbis of cities Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French Orthodox rabbis Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite 1950 births Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3 alumni 20th-century French rabbis 21st-century French rabbis