Mordechai Sheiner (; ) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi associated with the Chabad Hasidic movement. Sheiner served as Chief Rabbi of

Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) is a federal subject of Russia in the far east of the country, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan. ...

from 2002 to 2011.Birobidzhan - New Rabbi, New Synagogue
Washington Post

Background

Mordechai Sheiner came to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in 2002. He arrived in Birobidzhan as a 30-year-old rabbi from

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He had never been to Birobidzhan before, but spoke Russian thanks to two years he spent in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, working at another

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. He was also the leader of the Birobidzhan Synagogue and led the local Jewish community with Lev Toitman, until Toitman's death in 2007.

On Judaism in the JAO

Concerning the status of

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

, Sheiner has stated, "Jewish life is reviving, both in quantity and quality."Jewish life revived in Russia
Federation of Jewish Communities In 2006, Rabbi Scheiner visited the villages of Bira (Jewish Autonomous Oblast), Naifeld, Londoko, Birakan and Birofeld with the Jewish Community of Birobidzhan. Together they inspected local cemeteries and gathered information about the Jews buried there in the years prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The names of these individuals are listed in the Memory Book in the Birobidzhan Synagogue. The dates of birth and death are written down according to the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

as well as the modern calendar. As of 2007, some of the original Jewish settlers were still present in these villages.

Yiddish and Jewish education in JAO

Sheiner has also noted that the '' Birobidzhaner Shtern'' still publishes twice weekly, but now mostly in Russian with just two pages a week in

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

. In recent years, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast has grown interested in its

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 ...

roots. Students study

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 ...

and Yiddish at a Jewish school and Birobidzhan Jewish National University. In 1989, the Jewish center founded its

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

, where children study Yiddish, learn folk dance, folk Jewish dance, and learn about the history of Israel. The Israeli government helps fund the program. Sheiner has commented the progress at School No. 2, Birobidjan's Jewish public school with 670 students, 30 percent of whom are

. Pupils learn about

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...

, and the

and Yiddish languages. The Birobidzhan Jewish National University works in cooperation with the local Jewish Community of Birobidzhan. The

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

is unique in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. The basis of the training course is study of the Hebrew language, history and classic Jewish texts. Rabbi Scheiner also hosted the television show '' Yiddishkeit'', which began in 2005.Russian Jewish TV Show Marks 100th Episode
Federation of Jewish Communities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheiner, Mordechai Jewish Autonomous Oblast rabbis Russian Hasidic rabbis Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis Chief rabbis of populated places Yiddish culture in Russia 21st-century Russian rabbis Living people Hasidic rabbis in Israel Year of birth missing (living people)