Rabbi Mordechai Zev Gutnick () is a prominent

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Gutnick has served as a member of rabbinical courts in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and various Australian rabbinical associations. He is associated with 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 ...

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

movement; he is the eldest son of the late Rabbi

Chaim Gutnick Shneur Chaim (HaKohen) Gutnick (1921 – 25 October 2003) ()was a prominent Orthodox Jewish Chabad rabbi in Australia. Early life Gutnick was born in Zolotonosha, Ukraine; soon afterwards his family moved to Tel Aviv, and then in 1927 to London, ...

Biography

Gutnick was born in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

. His father, born in Ukraine, was Rabbi

, a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

. Rabbi

Moshe Gutnick use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

and businessman

Joseph Gutnick Joseph Isaac "Diamond Joe" Gutnick (born June 1952; ) is an Australian businessman, mining industry entrepreneur and the former president of the Melbourne Football Club (1996–2001). He is also an ordained Orthodox rabbi, and is well known for ...

are his brothers. He received his rabbinic ordination in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

1972. He served as an outreach lecturer

shaliach In Jewish law, a shaliaḥ (, ; pl. , ''sheliḥim'' or ''sheliah'', literally "emissary" or "messenger") is a legal agent. In practice, "the shaliaḥ for a person is as this person himself." Accordingly, a shaliaḥ performs an act of legal sig ...

("emissary") for the

National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education The National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE) is a non-profit organization run by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It is a division of the Chabad movement's educational arm, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch.Lubavitch.com. "Divisions ...

, visiting and lecturing in many communities throughout the US and Canada, and was also a lecturer and counselor at the Machon Chana institute in New York. He received rabbinic training from Rabbi Pinchus Hirschprung among other rabbinic figures. At the behest of his mentor, the

Lubavitcher Rebbe 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 ...

, Gutnick returned to Sydney in 1974 to serve as the rabbi of

Strathfield and District Hebrew Congregation Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A sma ...

. At that time he was also appointed as dayan of the Sydney Beth Din (rabbinical court) and worked in the field of

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

supervision. In 1982, Gutnick moved to Melbourne to serve as the rabbi of the North Eastern Jewish Centre in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, where he served for 14 years, and then as rabbi of the Elsternwick Jewish Community, a congregation affiliated with the Mizrachi Organisation in Melbourne. In 2003 he was appointed rabbi of the

Elwood Talmud Torah Hebrew Congregation The Elwood Talmud Torah Hebrew Congregation (), also known as Elwood Synagogue or Elwood Shule, is a historically significant Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox synagogue located in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood, Victoria, Elwood, Victoria, Australia, V ...

, succeeding his late father, Rabbi

. At the turn of the century, the

Melbourne Beth Din The Melbourne Beth Din (MBD) is an Orthodox / Chassidic Jewish court in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Located in Caulfield North, Victoria, it rules mostly on divorces and conversions although it does rule on other matters as well. History ...

was shut down amid allegations of nepotism, lack of transparency and financial irregularities. After the Beth Din was restructured and reopened in 2002, Gutnick was appointed as a senior judge and currently serves as its

Av Beth Din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...

. Gutnick has served as Rabbinic Administrator of the

Kosher Australia Kosher Australia is the largest Australian based kosher certification agency. As of 2018 they had certified over 500 companies both in Australia and abroad. It was initially called Mizrachi Kashrut, followed by Melbourne Kashrut before becoming Kos ...

agency (formerly Melbourne Kashrut) since 1997. He also lectures regularly on

halachic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mitz ...

and general Jewish topics. Gutnick, like his father, served as a

Military Chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

. He received a commission to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1984 and subsequently served as Jewish Chaplain for 19 years, until reaching his retirement age from that position in 2003. In 2008 Gutnick officiated at the first

Jewish wedding A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Halakha, Jewish laws and Jewish culture, traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ''ketubah'' (marriage contract) that is signed by two witnesse ...

ever hosted by Australia's

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, when the federal member for

Melbourne Ports The Division of Melbourne Ports was an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was located to the south of Melbourne's central business district and covered an area of appr ...

Michael Danby Michael David Danby (born 16 February 1955) is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 until 2019, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports, Victoria. Danby was ...

married Amanda Mendes Da Costa. The wedding was attended by Australian Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

and his deputy among 150 guests. In August 2014, Gutnick was elected President of the

Rabbinical Council of Victoria The Rabbinical Council of Victoria is a body representing the state's Orthodox rabbis. It was established in 1967. Its primary goals are to provide professional development to its member rabbis, to enhance community participation among members of th ...

. Gutnick has also served as president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australia and in this role he took a stand against Jews using civil courts to settle their disputes. In 2021, the Australian Government honored Gutnick with the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) award, in recognition of his "significant service to the Jewish community".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutnick, Mordechai Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis 20th-century Australian rabbis 21st-century Australian rabbis Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian Hasidic rabbis Australian military chaplains Australian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Australian Army chaplains Religious leaders from Melbourne Rabbis in the military

Mordechai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and ...

Members of the Order of Australia Clergy from Sydney