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

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 ...

of the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish community in Zagreb and

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

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Jewish community.

Early life and family

From his mother's side of the family, he is a descendant of the

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Jewish family

Levi Levi ( ; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...

. 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 (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, 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 extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. 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 () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

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

Torah The Torah ( , "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. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

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

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

. In 1999 Kotel Da-Don, 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'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

and

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

. 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, who was killed in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, 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 into Germany in 1939) d ...

. 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