Shlomo Dov Pinchas Lazar (born May 19, 1964), better known as Berel Lazar, is an Orthodox,

Chabad-Lubavitch 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 groups ...

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

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 o ...

. He began his service in Russia in 1990. Known for his friendship with

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, since 2000, he has been a

Chief Rabbi of Russia The Chief Rabbi of Russia (Hebrew: הרב הראשי לרוסיה) is the leader of the Jewish communities in Russia since 1990. Currently there are two Chief Rabbis of Russia: Rabbi Berel Lazar of Chabad and Adolf Shayevich from the Congress of th ...

(one of two claimants to the title), and chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS. In September 2005 Lazar became a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. Because of his connections to Russian President

he is sometimes called "Putin's rabbi."

Biography

A native of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Lazar was born in 1964 to parents who were among the first emissaries of Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

. Until the age of 15, he studied in Milan’s Merkaz Jewish Day School. Afterwards, he went on to study in New York and pursued a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in religious studies at the

Rabbinical College of America The Rabbinical College of America is a Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic yeshiva in Morristown, New Jersey. The Yeshiva is under the direction of Rabbi Moshe Herson. The growth of the Yeshiva college has had a significant cultural effect on the commu ...

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in New York City.Federation of Jewish Communities Website, Biography of Lazar
Since 1990 Lazar has been rabbi of the synagogue in Maryina roshcha District of Moscow. In 1992 Lazar became acquainted with Israeli diamantaire Lev Leviev, who introduced him to Russian businessmen Boris Berezovsky and

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the ...

. The latter became the major benefactor of the synagogue in Maryina roshcha. In 1992, Lazar was appointed chairman of the Rabbinical Alliance of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In early 1990s Lazar participated in activity of Congress of the Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia (CJROAR), was an active participant of founding congress of Russian Jewish Congress in 1996 and even was a member of RJC Presidium. In 1997 he helped establish the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS representing Chabad communities in 15 countries of the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. At the first congress of Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR) opened on November 15, 1999 he was elected chief Rabbi of FJCR. According to many analytics, FJCR structure was created as counterbalance to the Russian Jewish Congress (headed by

Vladimir Gusinsky Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky (russian: Владимир Александрович Гусинский, ; born 6 October 1952) is a Russian media tycoon. He founded the Media-Most holding company that included the NTV free-to-air channel, ...

) and CJROAR (chief Rabbi — Adolf Shayevich). In the same month Lazar had his first meeting with

. On May 29, 2000 Berel Lazar became a citizen of Russia, while retaining his U.S. citizenship. On June 13, 2000 at the "all-Jews congress" (of 87 communities at the place, 70 represented FJCR, 4 — CJROAR, the rest — Federation of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Russia (Va’ad)) 25 of 26 Rabbis elected Lazar Chief Rabbi of Russia. On September 18, 2000, in the presence of President of Russia Vladimir Putin, th
Moscow Jewish Community Center
was opened in Maryina Roshcha District, where on December 21, 2000 Vladimir Putin and Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov lit

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nig ...

candles. In 2000, Lazar was appointed to Russia's Council for Coordination of Religious Associations. In 2002, Lazar was elected the Chairman of the Rabbinical Council of the World Congress of Russian Jewry. On January 23, 2001 he participated in the official meeting with President of

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 ...

Moshe Katsav Moshe Katsav ( he, מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב; born 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician who was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its cabine ...

in the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

. On March 20, 2001 under instruction of the President Vladimir Putin, Lazar was included in the Presidential Council for Interaction with Religious Organizations and Unions; simultaneously Shayevich was excluded from the Council. According to both the Russian government and Federation of Jewish Communities, he is the Chief Rabbi of Russia. Lazar spoke out against the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, called Russia to withdraw and for an end to the war, and offered to mediate.

Views

Interfaith dialogue

Lazar is an advocate of

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

and sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for

The Elijah Interfaith Institute ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Awards

In 2004, Russian President

signed an edict to honor him with the

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...

. This award was presented for the contribution made by Lazar to developing culture and strengthening friendship between nations within Russia. In December 2004, he was honored with a national public award, the 'Minin and Pozharsky' Order "for his great personal contribution to strengthening the moral and cultural fabric of the Russian State and for reviving spiritual life and religious freedom in the country". In June 2005, he was awarded the Medal "60 Years of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945". He received the medal during the 19th session of the Russian 'Pobeda' (Victory) Organizational Committee. In September 2005, he received the 'Peter the Great' First Class Order. The diploma attached to the Order explains that the Chief Rabbi was honored with this award "considering his activities in advancing inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, and his great contribution to the spiritual rebirth of Russia’s Jewish community and to strengthening Russian state". At the sixtieth anniversary commemoration of the liberation of

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

at the concentration camp, Putin gave a speech. His speech was followed by Lazar awarding Putin the so-called Salvation Medal as a symbol of "the Jewish people's gratitude" to Russia for liberating the camp.Chabad Prize to Putin Spurring Debate Over Russian's Actions
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Gallery

File:Vladimir Putin 21 December 2000-2.jpg, President Putin with Lazar during the

holiday at the Jewish Community Center in Moscow File:Орденом «За заслуги перед Отечеством» IV степени награждён главный раввин России Берл Лазар.jpeg, Lazar receives an Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" from President Putin, 31 July 2014 File:2012-03-05 Владимир Путин, Берл Лазар.jpeg File:Berl Lazar and Putin in 2005.jpg File:Berl Lazar 1.jpg File:National Unity Day 2012 final photo.jpeg File:Vladimir Putin, Berl Lazar, Alexander Boroda (2016-12-28).jpg File:National Unity Day Russian religious leaders 2012.jpeg

References

External links

Chief Rabbinate of Russia

Page One article from The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2007

(in Russian)
Official Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazar, Berel 1964 births 20th-century Italian rabbis 21st-century rabbis Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis Chief rabbis of Russia Hasidic rabbis in Europe Italian Orthodox rabbis Italian emigrants to Russia Living people Members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation Clergy from Milan Russian Hasidic rabbis Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Italian Ashkenazi Jews Rabbis from Moscow Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine