Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod was formally inaugurated as Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Moldova at a major ceremony held at the central Chabad shul in Chișinău, formally placing a shliach at the head of the country’s rabbinic leadership for the first time in twelve years.

For Rabbi Axelrod, the appointment also continues a family shlichus stretching back to the final years of the Soviet Union. He was born and raised in Atlit, Eretz Yisroel, where his parents, Rabbi Moshe Axelrod and his wife, serve as shluchim, and is a grandson of Rabbi Zalman Abelsky, who was sent by the Rebbe to Moldova in 5749, 1989, and became the country’s first Chief Rabbi following the collapse of Soviet rule.

Rabbi Abelsky helped rebuild Jewish life in a country where decades of Communist rule had devastated organized Yiddishkeit, establishing Jewish schools and communal institutions and serving as Chief Rabbi of Moldova. Following his passing twelve years ago, Rabbi Axelrod came to Moldova and became increasingly involved in leading the community.

Over the ensuing years, Rabbi Axelrod became a familiar figure not only among Moldova’s local Yidden, but also among the tens of thousands of Jewish travelers who pass through the country on their way to kivrei tzaddikim in neighboring Ukraine. In recent years, he effectively served as Moldova’s rabbi, with this week’s inauguration making the position official.

The appointment followed a gathering approximately two months ago of the heads of six Jewish communities in Moldova, who held an election for the position of Chief Rabbi. Rabbi Axelrod was selected by a large majority, with Moldovan authorities subsequently recognizing the result.

The inauguration brought together senior rabbonim and shluchim from Eretz Yisroel and across Europe, together with Moldovan government officials, diplomats, Jewish communal leaders and hundreds of local community members.

Among the guests was Israel’s Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber, who traveled to Moldova for the occasion. He was joined by Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands; Rabbi Rafael Shaffer, Chief Rabbi of Romania; Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Chief Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine; Dayan Levi Yitzchok Raskin of London; Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, director of the International Kinus Hashluchim and executive director of Merkos 302; Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine; Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Peles; Rabbi Dovid Nachshon; Rabbi Mendy Nachshon, rov of Nof Hagalil; Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, deputy chairman of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe; and other rabbonim and shluchim.

Also participating were Rabbi Mendy Glitzenstein, shliach and Chief Rabbi of Chernivtsi; Rabbi Dov Axelrod, Chief Rabbi of Cherkasy; and other rabbonim and Jewish communal leaders from across the region.

Ahead of the inauguration, Chief Rabbi Ber visited the Jewish Community Center in Chișinău at the invitation of Alexander Bilinkis, president of the Jewish Community of the Republic of Moldova, and Rabbi Zushe Abelsky, chairman of Chabad institutions in the country.

During the visit, Chief Rabbi Ber was shown the community’s institutions and activities and received an overview of the revival of Jewish life in Moldova and the network serving Jewish communities throughout the country.

The central ceremony at the Chabad shul included tefillos, the reading of a letter from the Rebbe, and addresses by Bilinkis; Simcha Buzhor, president of Chabad Lubavitch Moldova; Chief Rabbi Ber; and Yoram Elron, Israel’s ambassador to Moldova.

A video message was shown from Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, Chief Rabbi of Dnipro, followed by the reading of Rabbi Axelrod’s official appointment letter and the formal inauguration.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu sent an official congratulatory message for the occasion. She noted that the appointment of a Chief Rabbi for the first time in twelve years carried significance both for Moldova’s Jewish community and for the country as a whole, and spoke of the centuries-old connection between Moldova and its Jewish population.

Addressing the ceremony, Bilinkis said the inauguration represented considerably more than the filling of an official position, describing the day as one of “responsibility,” “continuity” and “great hopes.”

He pointed to the rebuilding of Jewish traditions, education and religious life following decades of Communist restrictions, and said the Chief Rabbi would serve as a spiritual leader capable of bringing together Moldova’s varied Jewish communities and making Yiddishkeit accessible to younger generations.

The position encompasses communities throughout Moldova, including those on both banks of the Nistru, and includes representing Jewish communal interests before state institutions, diplomats and other religious communities, as well as strengthening Jewish education and preserving the country’s shuls, cemeteries and other Jewish sites.

Rabbi Axelrod’s inauguration marks a new stage in a Chabad presence in Moldova that stretches back more than three decades, from the rebuilding work undertaken by his grandfather after the fall of Communism to the network of shuls, educational institutions and communal activities serving Yidden across the country today.