Chief Rabbi of the Russian Federation Lazar Berl: biography, family. Book "Jewish Russia"

Rabbi Burl Lazar (full name Shlomo Dov-Ber Pinhos; May 19, 1964, Milan, Italy) - rabbi and public figure, chairman of the Rabbinical Council of the religious organization Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR) and Chief Rabbi of Russia from FEOR. In September 2005, by the Decree of President V.V. Putin, he was appointed a member of the Public Chamber Russian Federation.

Biography

In 1978, after early graduation from the Jewish high school entered the Rabbinical College in New Jersey (USA). In 1982-1988 he studied at the Tomchei Tmimim yeshiva in New York. Received the title of a Jewish judge - dayana.

In 1988 he visited Russia for the first time. Having received the blessing of MM Schneerson, Lazar decided to devote himself to the restoration of Jewish religious life in the Soviet Union.

Since September 1990 - the rabbi of the synagogue in Maryina Roshcha.

In 1993, he was elected chairman of the association of rabbis of the CIS, played a big role in the creation of Jewish communities in various regions.

In the early 1990s, he participated in the activities of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Communities of Russia (KEROOR); was one of the active participants in the founding congress of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) in 1996 and even entered the presidium of the RJC.

January 23, 2001 took part in an official meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav in the Kremlin.

On March 20, 2001, by order of President V.V. Putin, he was included in the Council under the President of Russia for interaction with religious organizations and associations.

Family

Wife - Hannah Deren, daughter of an American rabbi, US citizen. In 2010, by a special Decree of the President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev, she received Russian citizenship in the regime “For special services to the Fatherland” (providing the opportunity not to renounce the citizenship of other countries).

Has 13 children: 5 sons (Ehezkel, Menachem-Mendl, Sholom, Yisroel-Arie-Leib, Levi-Yitzhak) and 8 daughters (Bluma, Fradl, Dvoira-Leya, Stern-Sara, Brokha, Rivka, Miriam and Sheina).

Relations with KEROOR

From the very foundation of FEOR, relations with KEROOR were very tense.

The peak of public confrontation took place in February 2005, when a dispute over the ownership of the synagogue of the Moscow community Darkkey Shalom in Otradnoye scandal spilled out in the media

Biography of Berl Lazar - young years.
Berl Lazar was born in Milan on May 19, 1964. His father was the rabbi of the Jewish community. About the choice of his life path, Lazar said that he always felt sympathy for the weak and the desire to help those in need, so the idea came to him to become a rabbi. The example of his father strongly influenced this decision - Lazar saw from childhood how much good he does for people and with what respect he is treated.
For some time, Lazar lived in the United States, where he was educated at a rabbinical college in New Jersey and studied at the Tomchei Tmimim yeshiva in New York. A significant fact of the biography of Berl Lazar is receiving the title of dayan of a Jewish religious judge.
Lazar made his first visit to the USSR in 1987 as a tourist. According to Lazar himself, the purpose of his trip was to visit the Jewish community, which existed at that time as an illegal organization. This is what influenced Lazar's decision to move to Russia: according to him, he saw that the spiritual values ​​of our country are manifested more than in other places, and appreciated the sincerity of Russian people.
In 1990, there was a turning point in Lazar's biography - he moved to Moscow and became the rabbi of the synagogue in Maryina Roshcha. Although the Lazar family initially faced the difficulties of life in Russia at that time, the country's chief rabbi recalls that he and his wife were pleased with the warmth emanating from other people, and they immediately noted how well the upbringing in Russia influenced their children. Recalling his first impressions, Lazar said that “…the community lives like one big family. In other countries, people visit the community twice a year.”
Since 1993, Lazar became the chairman of the association of rabbis of the CIS, and in 1999 he was appointed head of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. At the same time, his first official meeting with V.V. Putin took place.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR) was registered with the Ministry of Justice in November 1998. Adolf Shaevich, who in 1993 was elected Chief Rabbi of Russia at the congress of the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Communities of Russia (KEROOR), believed that FEOR was created in opposition to KEROOR, although representatives of FEOR stated that there were no confrontations between them and KEROOR. Nevertheless, from the very foundation, FEOR was in very tense relations with KEROOR, which were especially acutely manifested publicly in 2005, when the details of the scandal between these two organizations over one of the synagogues of the Moscow Jewish community were published in the media.
On June 13, 2000, at a congress of representatives, Berl Lazar was elected Chief Rabbi of Russia.
March 20, 2001 Lazar becomes a member of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations and Associations under the President of Russia.
In July 2002, at the World Congress of Russian-Speaking Jewry, Berl Lazar was elected Chairman of the Council of Rabbis.
Berl Lazar has repeatedly acted as an ardent opponent of any manifestations of anti-Semitism, which has repeatedly been reflected in the facts of his biography. In August 1998, the Jewish cemetery in Malakhovka was destroyed, after which Lazar made an official announcement of a significant reward to those who find the culprits. In June 2002, Lazar helped Tatyana Sapunova, a Muscovite, who suffered because she wanted to remove an anti-Semitic sign on Kievskoye Highway. The girl, wounded by fragments of an explosive device, under the personal supervision of Lazar, was treated in one of the best Israeli plastic surgery clinics at the expense of the Federation of Jewish Communities.
On September 30, 2002, Lazar sent a petition to the president containing negative reviews of the National Power Party of Russia, in which he asked not to register the NDPR. In response, the co-chairman of the NDPR announced that a lawsuit had been filed against Lazar demanding compensation for moral damage in the amount of one million rubles.
Lazar repeatedly declared his political neutrality, but took part in the meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he was the only rabbi.
Biography of Berl Lazar - mature years.
In October 2004, at a meeting between Lazar and Vladimir Putin, the president promised the chief rabbi of Russia the state's assistance in the further revival of Jewish communities. In January of the same year, 19 State Duma deputies filed an appeal with the Prosecutor General's Office accusing all Jewish organizations of extremist activity and proposing to bring those responsible for inciting ethnic hatred to criminal liability. The letter caused a surge of negativity in society, and after the authorities condemned anti-Semitism, one of its authors withdrew the appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office. But already in March, the Prosecutor General's Office received a new letter, signed by five thousand people, directed against Jewish religious and national associations.
In response, Berl Lazar sent a request to the Moscow prosecutor's office to initiate a criminal case on grounds of inciting religious hatred, but the case was refused.
On January 11, 2006, Muscovite Alexander Koptsev attacked the parishioners of one of the Moscow synagogues. Lazar sent a request to the Moscow prosecutor to open a criminal case for the attack, especially noting ethnic hatred as the motive for the attack. By the decision of the Moscow City Court, Koptsev was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison in a strict regime colony and compulsory treatment. Lazar was not satisfied with the verdict, as the court found Koptsev not guilty of inciting hatred on the grounds of nationality.
In September 2009, there was a scandal over anti-Semitic statements by the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod, Sergei Ratushnyak, in which Berl Lazar became a participant. The Jewish community of Russia and the Chief Rabbi of the country were deeply shocked by such statements by the mayor. Lazar visited Uzhhorod on the day of the opening of the first memorial to the victims of the Holocaust as a sign of solidarity with the local Jewish community and protest against the anti-Semitic statements of the mayor of the city.
Berl Lazar's family is wife Hannah Deren, a US citizen, five sons and eight daughters. Lazar, in addition to Russian, speaks six languages ​​​​- Yiddish, Hebrew, English, French, and Italian, he made Russian the first language for his children.

Rabbi Pinkhos Berl Lazar was born on May 19 (8 Sivan 5724) 1964 in Italy into the family of a rabbi of the Jewish community of Milan. In 1978, after graduating from a comprehensive Jewish school, he entered the Rabbinical College of New Jersey (USA). Then, in 1982, he continued his studies at the yeshiva (spiritual academy) "Tomchei Tmimim" in New York and graduated in 1988 with a rabbi diploma with the rank of dayan, a religious judge.

Rabbi Berl Lazar first visited Russia in 1988. A year later, the leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, blessed him to work on the revival of Jewish religious life in the USSR, and in 1989 Rabbi Lazar came to Moscow. In 1990, he became the rabbi of the Moscow synagogue in Maryina Roshcha. Since 1995, he has also held the post of Chairman of the Union of Rabbis of the CIS, and in 1999 he was elected Chief Rabbi of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.

In 2000, Rabbi Berl Lazar received Russian citizenship. In the same year, at the congress of Russian Jewish communities, he was elected chief rabbi of Russia. According to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin, in 2001 Rabbi Berl Lazar joined the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation.

On July 2, 2002, at the founding congress of the World Congress of Russian-Speaking Jewry in Moscow, Rabbi Berl Lazar was elected Chairman of the Rabbinical Council of this international organization. One of his duties in this position is to regularly and objectively inform the international community about the situation of the Jewish community in our country and the opposition of state authorities to manifestations of anti-Semitism.

Currently, under the spiritual patronage of Rabbi Berl Lazar, Jewish communities have been revived in more than 350 cities of Russia and the CIS, national schools and kindergartens operate, rabbis work in dozens of cities, synagogues and charitable organizations function.

By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 30, 2004 (Nisan 8, 5764) "for merits in the development of spiritual culture and the strengthening of friendship between peoples," Rabbi Berl Lazar was awarded the Order of Friendship.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 30, 2014 (Nisan 30, 5774) “for labor achievements, significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation, merits in the humanitarian sphere, strengthening law and order, many years of conscientious work, active legislative and social activities» Rabbi Berel Lazar was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree.

Rabbi Berel Lazar is fluent in Italian, English, Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish.

Rabbi Berel Lazar is married and has 13 children.

In 2010, according to the census, just over 156,000 Jews lived in Russia, or 0.16% of the total population. This people, persecuted for centuries, Russian land lives quite comfortably, builds synagogues, opens Jewish schools, celebrates Jewish holidays. The chief rabbi of Russia, whose name is Berl Lazar, is fighting for the further improvement of the life of the Jews. Who is he? Where did it come from? How did you manage to earn the unprecedented trust and strong friendship of the most senior officials?

Positions and titles

Some are sure: a rabbi is someone who serves in a synagogue, like the Orthodox ministers of the church. In fact, rabbis are not clergy at all. From Hebrew, this word can be translated as “great”, “teacher”, which means it is an academic title (like “professor”, “academician”) for someone who studied the Torah and Talmud. In addition, in some countries rabbis may work as government officials. Knowing these subtleties helps to better understand who Lazar Berl is and what he does. He received his rabbi diploma in 1988, after graduating from the yeshiva (higher religious institute) "Tomchei Tmimim", located in New York. The title indicated in his diploma is dayan, that is, a judge. Based on this, Lazar Berl is engaged in jurisprudence in Jewish communities, resolves issues of divorce proceedings, economic and other disputes of businessmen. In addition, he is actively engaged state activities as a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, which he became in accordance with the Decree signed by President Putin in 2005. The Chief Rabbi of Russia actively cooperates with international organizations, participates in the congresses of the World Congress of Russian Jews (as chairman), heads delegations, reads sermons, and in free time writes books.

The beginning of life

In 1964, on a wonderful spring day, May 19, in the family of the Milanese rabbi, the emissary of the Chabad rabbi - the famous Mendel Schneerson, a boy was born, named Shlomo Dov-Ber Lazar Pinhos, or Berl Lazar for short. His biography is quite happy, without black spots of repression and persecution. Little Berl grew up, absorbing Jewish traditions and the ideology of Chabad with his mother's milk. As Lazar himself recalls, as a child, he had two idols - his father, who always helps those in need, and Sherlock Holmes. Little Berl adored Conan Doyle and dreamed of becoming a detective. Until the age of 15, he studied at an ordinary Milanese Jewish school. He did not stand out with outstanding physical abilities, he was thin and frail, but he excelled in his studies. At the age of 15, he moved to America, where he entered a Jewish college, and after graduating from it, he went to receive higher education Yeshiva "Tomchei Tmimim". At the age of 23, Lazar Berl passed the rite of ordination (initiation), and at the age of 24 he received a diploma of a rabbi and the title of dayan.

Marriage

Succeeding in science and life, young Berl was in no hurry to get married, which he spoke about many times to his classmates in the yeshiva. However, his mother passionately waited for her grandchildren. When Berl was about to engage in Jewish activities in Russia, his mother agreed that he should go there, but only after his marriage. Berl had to comply. His wife was an American citizen, a Jew by nationality, a teacher by profession, Hannah Deren, who at that time was 20 years old. Lazar Berl met his bride not by himself, but with the help of a matchmaker. Hanna's family lived in Pittsburgh. Her father, Ezekiel Deren, also a rabbi (Hannah has 2 sisters) in national traditions and strictness, taught to respect and observe the laws of Judaism. Young people approached each other like walls to a house, and after 2 months they got married. They lived in America for a year, then moved to Russia.

Children

Hanna Deren considers herself a happy woman and does not tire of repeating what a wonderful husband Lazar Berl is. Family is the most important thing for him. The couple currently has 13 children, each of whom is immensely loved. Their very first daughter Haya died at the age of 6. If this had not happened, Lazar would have had 14 heirs. According to Jewish law, there should be as many children as God gives them. This family clearly enjoys his favor. The difference between the children here is only a year or two. Hanna, answering the question of how she manages to cope with such a “team”, says that their elders always help the younger ones and, of course, mother. Education here takes place on the basis of the laws of Judaism. Both parents believe that it does not matter who their children become, the main thing is that they live with true faith in their souls. The second postulate of education is to tell children only the truth, even if it is a harmless fiction, so that the baby eats unloved semolina. Despite so many household chores, Hanna finds time to run a private Jewish school, and the children study there from the age of 2.

Eldest daughter

Lazar Berl and Hannah have 8 girls and 5 boys. The eldest daughter, Bluma, born in 1991, in the month of June, married Isaac Rosenfeld, whose father is also a rabbi and also a messenger of Chabad, only in Colombia. The young people met with the help of Hanna Lazar, who, as a girl, often visited the Rosenfeld family. The groom flew to Moscow to get acquainted with the bride from the warm Colombian summer to the frosty Russian winter. After several meetings, the young people decided to get engaged, and four and a half months later, in June 2011, their wedding took place. It was organized in one of the major parks of the capital. More than 1,500 people from America, Israel, Colombia, Russia, Ukraine and other countries where there is a Chabad organization came to congratulate Bluma and Isaac, as well as testify their respect to the Chief Rabbi of Russia.

Berl Lazar emphasized that even 2 decades ago it was unthinkable to even dream of an open one, and now it happened almost in the center of Moscow, that is, there is a lot of progress in improving the situation of Jews in Russia.

First acquaintance with the capital

Moving to Russia

Impressed by his visit to the Soviet state, Berl Lazar began to learn Russian, in addition to Italian, English, Yiddish, Hebrew, and French, which he is fluent in. In 1989, he took part in the opening of a new Jewish school in Moscow, and in 1990 he and his family moved to Russia for a long-term residence and almost immediately (in early 1991) became a rabbi in the synagogue located in Maryina Roshcha. The difficulties that took place in those years were due to the fact that many Jews, as soon as the Soviet Union and the borders opened, urgently emigrated to Israel and America.

But gradually, under the leadership of Berl Lazar, the Jewish community began to revive. Moscow is the most beautiful and The largest city Europe, where several dozen nationalities of people live. There are about 200,000 Jews here. The largest community in Moscow (MEOC) is located in Maryina Roshcha. There is not only a synagogue here, but also children's general education schools, a women's club, sports clubs, a theater where amateur and professional groups perform, the Solomon business club, whose goal is to create a global Jewish business.

Daily life of the chief rabbi

The Russian people were and remain unusually friendly to representatives of all nationalities, opening their doors wide to students from all countries, tourists and refugees. We have the same attitude towards the Jews. Berl Lazar always speaks respectfully about Russians (at least in public). He is glad that his children are friends with Russian children, and that their main language is Russian. Unfortunately, in any country there are citizens who are negatively inclined towards representatives of national minorities. Cases of vandalism also happen in Russia. So, in Malakhovka the Jewish cemetery was destroyed. On this occasion, Berl Lazar offered a large financial reward to those who would help find the perpetrators. He also provided financial assistance and personally visited Tatyana Sapunova in a hospital in Israel, who suffered in Moscow for removing a sign with an anti-Semitic inscription. These are all the troubles that poison the everyday life of the chief rabbi. But there is also a lot of good, for example, the opening of new synagogues and Jewish centers not only in Moscow, but throughout Russia. To this end, Berl Lazar makes trips to different cities (Perm, Barnaul and others), meets there with measures and other officials.

Relations with the President of Russia

The foreign press calls Berl Lazar none other than "Putin's rabbi." Indeed, it was with the assistance of the president that Mr. Lazar added a third, Russian, to his two citizenships, Israeli and American, in 2000. In the future, the cooperation of these two people grew into an unprecedented friendship. According to Hanna Lazar, when her husband is going to the Kremlin, the children will certainly ask to take them with them, or at least say hello to their adored uncle Vova. Putin often visits the Jewish community and attends Jewish holidays. Berl Lazar does not hide his trusting relationship with the president either. "Jewish Russia" - his A new book, in which the rabbi says that Putin consults with him on many issues, and Berl gives him advice in the form of parables.

Although, perhaps, the translator exaggerated something. However, one cannot be mistaken in the interest of our president in the affairs of the Jewish Russian society, because for all his busyness he finds time to visit the new Jewish museum, created with the participation of Berl, go to Israel to open a Jewish monument, set aside an hour or two for a private conversation with a rabbi.

Awards

Lazar Berl does an extraordinary amount for Russia, which is marked by medals, orders and diplomas. Decrees for receiving awards were personally signed by President Putin.

The Russian rabbi received two orders in 2004. The first is the “Order of Minin and Pozharsky”, the second is the “Order of Friendship”.

The following year, 2005, the Order of Peter the Great was awarded, given for courage and courage in the performance of civil or military duty and for activities for the benefit of strengthening Russia, and the medal "60 Years of Victory in World War II."

In 2006, the Russian rabbi was awarded the Golden Badge of Public Recognition, and in 2014, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.

Berl Lazar and Chabad

The whole world knows what the Chabad movement is now. Created in the 18th century with the aim of spreading the teachings of the Torah based on wisdom, understanding and knowledge, in last years it has become reactionary, which some members of this movement say in public speeches without hiding this fact.

In particular, they declare that Jews are special, chosen, sacred people, and everyone else should serve the chosen ones. In Russia, this movement is led by Lazar Berl. Chabad in his face does not fit in with barbarism and Nazism. The Chief Rabbi stands for the peaceful coexistence of peoples, while striving for the maximum improvement in the situation of the Jews. He wants to conduct another census, as he is sure that there are much more of his fellow believers in the country than the official figures say.

Tolerance

This term in sociology means tolerance for other worldviews and customs. In 2012, thanks to the efforts of Berl Lazar, the Tolerance Center was opened in Maryina Roshcha, where a branch of the Russian State Library soon appeared. There you can take to read the works of Schneerson, the last Rabbi of Chabad. Berl Lazar's book also found its place in the Center. All Russians are allowed to use the library. This cannot but rejoice.

The book of the chief Russian rabbi

The greatest number of disputes and rejection in Russian society was caused by the book, the author of which is Berl Lazar. "Jewish Russia" - that's what it's called. This work is written in Hebrew, but you can find a Russian translation of individual chapters. Some of the things that are in it may be surprising. Of course, it is quite possible that the whole thing is a mistranslation. You can find out by reading the book in the original.