European Rabbinic Forum Held at Chabad of Athens, Greece

For the twelfth consecutive year, European rabbis gathered for an annual forum on a variety of important topics including education, Shalom Bayis, STaM, and current issues. The forum was held at Chabad of Athens, Greece, led by shliach Rabbi Mendel Hendel.

Dozens of rabbis serving communities across Europe gathered last week for a special Rabbinical enrichment program as part of the Professional Forum for European Rabbis, organized by the RCE for the 12th consecutive year in Athens, Greece.

This unprecedented professional forum addressed current issues for the dozens of participating rabbis, who reported that the forum provided them with immeasurable benefit and insight. Thanks to the variety of lectures and panels held, they were exposed to diverse topics that they are unable to delve into during their routine rabbinical duties throughout the year.

During the week, dozens of rabbis from across Europe convened for three days of study at the Chabad House in Athens, led by Rabbi Mendel Hendel, the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Shaliach to Greece. The rabbis were welcomed warmly, after which they gathered for hours of study, lectures, and panels that provided them with comprehensive and professional knowledge on a series of important and complex topics.

During the professional forum, rabbis were given practical tools on various subjects such as: Shalom Bayit, child education, common laws of STAM, parent-child communication, community and home relationships, and several other important and diverse topics.

Rabbis from across Europe and Israel attended the forum, including the renowned educator Rabbi Pinchas Brair and Rabbi Natan Rozen, senior lecturers in outreach organizations. They delivered particularly fascinating lectures on child education, Shalom Bayit, proper and healthy communication, community and home relationships, and even presented particularly intriguing cases they had encountered. The rabbis also benefited from lectures by Rabbi Zeev Kaplan, considered a famous expert in STAM laws, who demonstrated to the rabbis how to conduct an initial inspection of STAM items.

The forum featured a series of thought-provoking lectures complemented by specialized panel discussions. These sessions addressed complex issues frequently encountered by rabbis in their diverse European communities, providing valuable insights and practical guidance. The rabbis praised the RCE’s management, which works tirelessly for the rabbis and provides them with comprehensive knowledge in an awe-inspiring manner.

The forum days concluded with great appreciation from the rabbis for the RCE’s activities, both spiritually and materially. Throughout the forum, the rabbis enjoyed respectable and impressive hospitality, with everyone commending the host, the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Shaliach Rabbi Mendel Hendel, who worked hard to ensure the success of the rabbis’ forum days.

Rabbi Arie Goldberg, RCE CEO said, “It is a great privilege to hold the Professional Forum for European Rabbis for the 12th time. The forum consistently receives praise from participants, who repeatedly affirm its significant value and influence on their communal leadership roles. I thank the participating rabbis and am confident in the continued cooperation and dissemination of Torah and Halacha for the glory of European Jewry as a whole.” Rabbi Goldberg also commended the Secretary of the Rabbinical Council of Europe, Rabbi Avraham Aba Torezki, and the RCE Vice- President Rabbi Yossi Bainhaker, who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the annual forum.