Yakov Leybovich Fishman (; 20 March 1913 – 4 June 1983) served as the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () 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 capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

of the

Moscow Choral Synagogue The Moscow Choral Synagogue (, ; ) is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 10 Bolshoy Spasoglinischevsky Lane, in the central Basmanny District of Moscow, Russia. It is the main synagogue in Russia and it is located close ...

from 1972 to 1983. Fishman studied at the rabbinical seminary of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. His wife and children were murdered by Nazis during World War II. In 1972, after the death of Leib Levin, Fishman was elected the chief rabbi of Moscow. In 1976, he was a member of the delegation of religious leaders led by Bishop

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

that visited the US. In interviews to the US press he denied there was religious persecution in the Soviet Union. Thanks to the visit, a number of young Jews got the opportunity to study at the

rabbinical seminary of Budapest The Budapest University of Jewish Studies ( / ''Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies'' / ) is a university in Budapest, Hungary. It was opened in 1877, a few decades after the first European Rabbinical seminary, rabbinica ...

, the only such institution in the Communist bloc countries. On 28 April 1983, Yakov Fishman joined the " Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public". He died of a heart attack on 4 June 1983 in Moscow.''Spokane Chronicle'', Jun 9, 1983
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References

Sources

* http://www.jta.org/1983/06/07/archive/rabbi-jacob-fishman-dead-at-70 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fishman, Yakov 1913 births 1983 deaths Anti-Zionist Orthodox rabbis Chief rabbis of Russia Jewish Russian anti-Zionists Jewish Soviet anti-Zionists Modern Orthodox rabbis Orthodox rabbis from Russia Soviet rabbis Rabbis from Moscow