Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin (; born 1976) is 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 ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and the first

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 t ...

on the island in many years.

Career

Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin's brothers are also serving as rabbis in Jewish communities, with Rabbi Shlomo Raskin in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and Rabbi Shmuel Raskin in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. He moved to Cyprus in 2003 with his wife, Shaindel, and their children in an effort to reintroduce Jewish life onto the island. He had previously lived in Kiryat Malachi. He is a follower of the

Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

branch of

Hasidic Judaism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

. In Cyprus, he set up the Cyprus Jewish Community Centre in

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

, close to

Larnaca Airport Larnaca International Airport – Glafcos Clerides is an international airport located southwest of Larnaca, Cyprus. Larnaca International Airport is Cyprus' main international airport and the larger of the two commercial airports in the area ...

, to serve around 630 Jewish families on the island as well as Jewish travellers and tourists. Besides the Larnaca Synagogue, the Jewish community of Cyprus also built a dining room, English and Hebrew library, a

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

, and a kindergarten. Other activities at the Centre include a wide variety of classes and programmes designed to reach all ages and levels of Jewish learning. Activities include discussion groups on Jewish issues, weekly

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

and

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

groups, special

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...

programmes, Jewish email services and a website,

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

meals, and tourist assistance. Rabbi Raskin was nominated as the official Jewish leader and the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus on 12 September 2005, at the dedication ceremony of the centre, which was performed by Chief Rabbi of Israel

Yona Metzger Yona Metzger (; 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 charges, was tried and ...

and Reverend Weisman, a representative for Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks (8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013. As ...

. In the synagogue, Rabbi Raskin was draped with a

tallit A tallit, taleth, or tallis is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringe (trim), fringes known as ''tzitzit'' attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the ''beged ...

and officially took on the leadership of the Cypriot Jewish community. Other guests at the ceremony included then-Israeli ambassador Zvi Cohen-Litant, rabbis from the Rabbinical Center of Europe, the Vice Chairman of the Lubavitch educational division at Lubavitch World Headquarters, Rabbi

Moshe Kotlarsky Moshe Yehuda Kotlarsky (June 8, 1949 – June 4, 2024) was an American Orthodox Hasidic rabbi who served as Vice Chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement which in turn oversees over 5,000 religi ...

, Rabbi Yekutiel Farkash from

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, the Cypriot Education and Culture minister Pefkios Georgiades, and Larnaca's deputy mayor Alexis Michaelides, as well as members of the government, politicians, diplomats, rabbis from all over Europe, and other local leaders. By 2006, the building of a

called Mei Menachem was completed, and a summer centre in

Ayia Napa Ayia Napa ( , ), officially Romanization, romanised Agia Napa, is a Tourism in Cyprus, tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus. Etymology The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian Cyprus, Venetian-era monaster ...

and the Cyprus International Jewish School were opened. Raskin said, "Our primary goal is to improve the quality of Jewish life for every Jew in Cyprus: the moral values and rich traditions that Judaism has to offer are things that no Jew should be deprived of." In 2018, Rabbi Raskin proposed the idea of the Jewish Museum of Cyprus. The Museum, set to be built in

, Cyprus. The purpose of the Museum is to educate people on the history of Jewish presence in Cyprus. The museum will also focus on Cypriots who helped Holocaust refugees while in the WW2 British internment camps in Cyprus. The Museum will promote awareness, tolerance and show how the Jewish people and Israel are important contributors to culture, education, science and the arts and will promote a better understanding of cultures so that in this environment there can be peace in the Middle East. "
Jewish Museum Cyprus

Gallery

File:Rabbi Raskin with Rabbi Jacobs 2015.jpg, Rabbi Raskin with the Chief Rabbi of Netherlands File:Rabbi Raskin with Rabbi Amar.jpg, Rabbi Raskin with the Chief Rabbi of

, Rabbi

Shlomo Amar Shlomo Moshe Amar (; ; born April 1, 1948)Gantz, Nesanel. "A Chief Rabbi of the Past and Future". ''Ami (magazine), Ami'', November 5, 2014, pp. 26-27. is the former Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel. He served in the po ...

File:IThe Chief Rabbi of Cyprus, Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin meeting with Mr. Neoklis Sylikiotis, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism 2012.jpg, Rabbi Raskin meeting with Mr. Neoklis Sylikiotis, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism 2012 File:Rabbi Raskin with Rabbi Metzger.jpg, Rabbi Raskin with the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yona Metzger File:Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin meets the President of Cyprus Mr. Dimitris Christofias.jpg, Rabbi Raskin meets then-President of Cyprus,

Dimitris Christofias Dimitris (Δημήτρης) is the Modern Greek form of the older forms Demetrios, Dimitrios (Δημήτριος, usually Latinized as Demetrius) and may refer to: * Dimitris Arvanitis (born 1980), Greek professional football defender who plays for ...

File:Rabbi lau2.jpg, Rabbi Raskin meets Rabbi

Yisrael Meir Lau Yisrael (Israel) Meir Lau (; born 1 June 1937) is a Holocaust survivor who served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003. He was previously Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel. After his tenure as chief rabbi, he was appointed chairm ...

, Chairman of Yad Vashem and Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, in Berlin File:Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin meets the last President of Cyprus Mr Tassos Papadopoulos.jpg, Rabbi Raskin meets then-President of Cyprus,

Tassos Papadopoulos Efstathios "Tassos" Nikolaou Papadopoulos (; 7 January 1934 – 12 December 2008) was a Cypriot politician and barrister, who served as President of Cyprus from 2003 to 2008. An experienced member of the Makarios III’s cabinet, Papadopo ...

File:Rabbi Raskin in Lag Baomer 2008.jpg, Rabbi Raskin in Lag Baomer, 2008 File:Rabbi Raskin with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nicos Anastasiades.jpg, Rabbi Raskin meeting current President of Cyprus,

Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician and businessperson, who served as the seventh president of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally between 1997 and 2013 and served as Me ...

References

External links

Site of the Cypriot rabbinate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raskin, Arie Zev 1976 births Living people Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis Chief rabbis of Cyprus Place of birth missing (living people) Israeli emigrants to Cyprus Clergy from Jerusalem