Pinchas Goldschmidt

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt (born 24 July 1964, Zurich) is the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Russia since 1993 [http://www.ticketsofrussia.ru/religion/judaism/mcs/Hiseng.html]

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt is the spiritual leader of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, the head of the rabbinnical court of the CIS, and is an officer of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC). [http://www.csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContentRecords.ViewWitness&ContentRecord_id=48&ContentType=D&ContentRecordType=D&ParentType=H&CFID=18849146&CFTOKEN=53] Goldschmidt represents the Russian Jewish community politically as well.

Biography

Pinchas Goldschmidt the Swiss born chief rabbi of Moscow wears many hats. He is at once the spiritual leader of the central synagogue of Moscow, and heads the rabbinical court of the CIS. In this capacity in 1990 he created the guidelines in conjunction with the Interior Ministry of Israel to reconfirm Jews who have hidden their Jewish identity during Soviet times. Thousands of families in the early 1990’s were able to emigrate to Israel and to the USA thanks to the certification process of the Rabbinical Court in Moscow.

Concurrently, as Jews decided to stay and rebuild the community in post Soviet Russia, Goldschmidt played a major role in founding and developing communal structures from colleges, day schools and kindergartens, soup kitchens and rabbinical schools, to political umbrella structures, such as the Russian Jewish Congress and the Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations of Russia (KEROOR).

Goldschmidt represents the Russian Jewish community politically as well. He published many op-ed’s in the international press pertaining to the issues of the day. He also addressed during the course of the years, the US Senate, the EU Parliament, The Council of Europe, The Israeli Knesset, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s – “Ne’eman-Commission”, Oxford University, OSCE Berlin Conference on anti-Semitism, and Harvard University, discussing the state of the Jewish Community, and the threats of anti-Semitism.

In January 2005, five hundred people, including newspaper editors, public intellectuals and 19 Duma deputies published an appeal to the prosecutor-general of Russia. The petitioners called for the closure of Jewish organized life in Russia. A subsequent television call-in show, during which 100,000 people phoned in, revealed that 54% of the participants supported the idea of banning all Jewish organizations in Russia. Goldschmidt wrote a detailed response to all the accusations and addressed the letter to Dmitriy Rogozin, leader of the nationalist Rodina (Motherland) party, who, after receiving Goldschmidt’s letter, apologized and distanced himself from the petition.

Goldschmidt though had to pay a price for his activism. He was deported from Russia during September 2005, and was allowed to return to his community after three month, only after an international campaign.

He takes an active part in the Jewish-Catholic, and was one of the initiators of the Jewish-Islamic dialogue, and spoke at numerous inter-religious gatherings in New York, Paris, Astana, Seville and Moscow.

He also leads the Conference of European Rabbis, the rabbinical umbrella group of Europe (uniting four hundred rabbis from Dublin to Khabarovsk) as the chairman of the Standing Committee.

Goldschmidt besides his rabbinical ordination possesses a M.A. from Ner Israel Rabbinical College, as well as a M.S. from Johns Hopkins University. He authored many articles on issues of Jewish law regarding post-Soviet Jewry and has published a collection of responsas with a compilation of Russian Jewish names “Zikaron Basefer”, (Moscow 1996) which became a must read for all rabbinical courts in the world.

Education

Rabbi Goldschmidt studied at the:
*Ponevezh Yeshiva, Bnei Brak, Israel (1979-1981)
* Telshe Yeshiva, Chicago, Il (1981-1982)
* Ner Israel Rabbinical College, Baltimore, MD (Rabbinical Ordination) (1983-1985)
* John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md (Masters of Science) [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/987/BB6] (1983-1985)
* Shevet Umechokek Institute for Rabbinical Judges, Jerusalem, Israel (1985-1986)
* Harry Fischel Institute for Rabbinical Judges, Jerusalem, Israel (1986-1987)

Honors and Awards

Rabbi goldschmidt has been awarded Certification as candidate for the Position of Chief Rabbi in Israel or in one of the cities in Israel by the Council of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel in the year 2002.

Goldschmidt has received the Jerusalem Prize for exceptional spiritual leadership from the Israeli Parliament in the year 2000.

Family life

Rabbi Goldschmidt is married to Dara Lynn Brodie from N.Y., a graduate of SCW, Yeshiva University and founder of the Lauder Etz-Chaim school in Moscow. [www.amyisrael.co.il/cis/index.htm] They are parents of seven children.

Publications

Rabbinical Halacha work (Hebrew)
"Sridim 23 "Psak-Din bItim shota" Bi-polar manic depressive status according to Halacha." Publication of the Conference of European Rabbis, 2006
"Sridim 22 "Amatla bechezkat kehunah" Determination of priestly status in a postSoviet context." Publication of the Conference of European Rabbis, 2005
"Sridim 21 " Av Veem shel Ben Noach" the obligation of a convert to honor his/her parent." Publication of the Conference of European Rabbis, 2003
"Sridim 20 "Srara Verabbanut L'or Halacha" Interference of state power in rasbbinic appointments." Publication of the Conference of the European Rabbis, 2002 [http://www.cer-online.org/en/Sridim.asp]
"Zikaron Basefer" Responsa, collection of 60 responsas regarding Jewish life in post communist Russia, Moscow. " Published in Jerusalem, Israel, 1995 [http://www.robinson.co.il/Search.aspx]
"Halachic Essay on Aliya to Israel on Shabbath" Hama'ayan Publishers Jerusalem, Israel 1994
"Guide to the Jewish Burial Societies of the CIS in Russian" Moscow, Russia 1994
"Shemot Gittin" Compilation and analysis of Russian names used by Jews in the Soviet Union for use in the "Bill of Divorce" (Get)- Critical analysis of earlier publications on this subject" Moriah Jerusalem, Israel, 1994
"Halachic Essay on the permissibility of the use of the Subway System in Moscow during the Sabbath and the holidays" Beth Israel V'Aharon Jerusalem, Israel, 1994
"Analysis of divorce of intermarried couples in Halacha" "Kol Hatora" London, United Kingdom 1992
"Responsa reg : Assistance to Soviet Jews when conflicting with personal obligations" "Zohar Barkai" Publication of "Barkai" - Institutions Nazareth Illith,Israel,1988
"Conceptual Analysis of the terms "Yeled" and "Naar" in the Scriptures" "Zohar Barkai" Publication of "Barkai" - Institutions Nazareth Illith, Israel, 1988
"Demography of the Jewish people in relation to the commandments of the Tora" "Nitsanei Arets" Publication of the Universal Yeshiva of Rabbi A.I.Kook Jerusalem, Israel, 1986
"Legal contracts of marriage " "Or Haner", Ner Israel Rabbinnical College Baltimore, MD, 1985
On Jewish Affairs
"Jews and Catholics must work together" a shorter version of an paper presented at the meeting of Cardinals and Rabbis in New York February 2005 and printed in the WJC publication on inter religious dialogue", International Herald Tribune Op-ed, September 1^st 2005
"Jews do not destroy synagogues". Op-ed regarding the idea of the pre emptive destruction of Gaza's synagogues by the IDF (The Israeli government afterwards canceled the plan)," Haaretz ,September 12^th 2005
"Rabbinical Morality in immoral circumstances". On morality of Israel's policies during the Intifadah", Jerusalem Post. Op-ed, September 9^th 2002
"Antisemitism in Russia" - paper presented to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Helsinki commission) while testifying, 1999
Editor in chief "Yevreiskaya Zhizn"-"Monthly bulletin of the Union of the Jewish Communities in the NIS, Moscow, 1993
"Jewish CIS Information Guide to all Jewish communities and institutions in the Former Soviet Union", Moscow, 1993
"Annual Report NIS -" 1993
"Report on the activities in the Jewish communities of the Former Soviet Union", Moscow, (quoted in the New York Times Feb 6, 1994), 1993
"Series of articles on the Jewish festivals from a Soviet Jewish perspective" Published in the "Yevreiskaya Gazetta" Moscow, 1993
"Annual Report CIS", 1992
"Report on the activities of the Jewishcommunities in the Commonwealth of Independent States" Moscow, 1992
"Reform Or Return". Essay on the historical relationship between Russian Jewry and the Western Reform movement" "Yevreiskaya Gazetta" September issue, Moscow, 1991

References and External Links

* http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/092805Goldschmidt.shtml
* http://www.amyisrael.co.il/cis/index.htm
* http://www.kosher.co.il/Auth.aspx?lang=en&parm=4&data=2613
* http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-29224909.html
* http://reportsbetsygidwitz.com/Visit_to_Jewish_Institutions_in_Moscow_NovDec_1997_06.html