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Mendy Chitrik

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Rabbi Menachem Mendel Chitrik (born March 31, 1977), better known as Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, is an American, Israeli, and Turkish Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Turkey since 2003. He became the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States in 2019. [1] [2]

Biography

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Rabbi Chitrik grew up in Safed, to a Chassidic family; his great grandfather was Rabbi Yehuda Chitrik. He studied in the Chabad Yeshiva system, at the Rabbinical College of America (Bachelor of Religious Studies) and in Colel Tzemach Tzedek in Jerusalem. He received his rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg of Jerusalem, the Sefardi Chief Rabbis of Israel Mordechai Eliyahu and Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, and from his maternal grandfather Chief Rabbi David Moshe Lieberman, the Chief Rabbi of Antwerp.[3]

Public life

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Chitrik moved to Istanbul, Turkey in 2001, and in 2003 became the Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Turkey, a small and ancient community that has existed for centuries and predates the much larger and more famous Sephardi community whose members settled in Istanbul mostly after the expulsion from Spain.

In 2019, Chitrik was elected the Chairman of ARIS (Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States), an alliance of rabbis living in the Muslim world. He previously served as a permanent member of the Standing Committee of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) 2014-2020 until his appointment as chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.[4] He is a member of the RCA and other rabbinical bodies. Chitrik belongs to the Chabad movement;[5] he has been outspoken[6] against Chabad Messianism.

Chitrik is involved with interfaith[7][8] activities[9][10] focusing on Jewish-Muslim relations.[11][12] He travels extensively and writes about the history of Jews in Anatolia.[13][14] His travels across Anatolia in Summer of 2021 were widely reported.[15]

As part of his responsibilities in the Jewish community of Turkey, Chitrik leads the KTR, Turkey's Chief Rabbinate's Kashrut department for exports (Denet Gida).[16][17]

He is also responsible for the Kosher standards at the Emirati Agency for Kosher Certification (EAKC).[18] He is also a field representative for the OU and other major kosher organizations, a shochet, Sofer and a mohel.

Rabbi Chitrik supervised the Kosher Kitchen at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. [19]

Chitrik and his wife Chaya[20] (nee Schochet, married 2000[21]) have been involved in strengthening the Jewish life and Jewish learning in Istanbul through classes, large scale Jewish holiday events,[22] one-on-one counseling, daily prayer services. With their eight children, they run an open house in Istanbul, where local residents and travelers from all over the world come on Shabbat and holidays.[23]

Some of the activities have been criticized by the more secular elements of the community.[24][25]

Publications

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Chitrik has published several books on Jewish life[26][27] in Turkish, and was involve in publishing a book on Turkish-Sephardic customs. Chitrik is fluent in six languages, including Ladino.[28] He lectures on the history and customs of Turkish Jews.[29]

Podcast

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In October 2021,[30] Chitrik started a podcast with his cousin Rabbi Eliezer Zalmanov[31] of Munster, Indiana titled "Chatting Rabbis," an unscripted weekly conversation about the many issues facing their families, their communities, and the Jewish world at large.

References

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  1. ^ "Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef endorses Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com.
  2. ^ פרקש, טלי (July 2021). "מקווה בדובאי, מצות בסוריה: הכירו את איגוד הרבנים במדינות האסלאם". Ynet.
  3. ^ "Elder Rav of Europe, HaGaon HaRav Dovid Moshe Lieberman zt"l". 26 January 2022.
  4. ^ "On the establishment of the alliance, see in Hebrew". www.makorrishon.co.il. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  5. ^ "Chabad Family in Istanbul".
  6. ^ "מפעל השליחות של חב"ד - ראיון כן ונדיר עם הרב מנדי חיטריק". עלי ספר (in Hebrew). 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  7. ^ "Bir papaz ve bir haham sohbete başlar". Şalom Gazetesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  8. ^ "Türkiye ABD'de 3 dinin temsilcisini iftarda bir araya getirdi". www.trthaber.com (in Turkish). 5 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  9. ^ "Personal relationships are the future of Jewish-Muslim coexistence". blogs.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  10. ^ "Turkish ambassador in US hosts religious leaders at iftar dinner". Daily Sabah. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  11. ^ "What is happening at the Muslim world (Hebrew)". www.makorrishon.co.il. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  12. ^ "Rabbis as Peacemakers". eJewish Philanthropy. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  13. ^ "Jewish Traces in Anatolia". www.salom.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  14. ^ Avlaremoz (2020-09-21). "ADİP Rav Mendy Chitrik'i Ağırlıyor -Avlaremoz". -Avlaremoz (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  15. ^ "This rabbi is tweeting his unusual 3-week Jewish heritage road trip through Turkey". 9 August 2021.
  16. ^ Chitrik, Mendy (16 September 2020). "A rabbi's 3000-mile Turkish odyssey, in the name of kashrut". The Forward. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  17. ^ "Glatt Kaşer Menü - Denet Gıda". www.denetgida.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  18. ^ "הרב מהאמירויות מבקש מהיהודים: "תלכו עם כיפה ברחובות. שיתרגלו" – חרדים10" (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  19. ^ "US Rabbi Facilitates Kosher Food at the World Cup in Qatar" (Press release).
  20. ^ "Chaya Chitrik".
  21. ^ "תשורה משמחת נישואין של ... הרב מנחם מענדל והכלה ... חיה גרוניא חיטריק : יום רביעי, ט"ו מנחם אב ה'תש"ס, מיאמי | קרסיק, חיים אליעזר, 1898-1960 | הספרייה הלאומית". www.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  22. ^ DOENYAS, Nazlı. "İstanbul´da Purim böyle geçti..." Şalom Gazetesi (in Turkish). Retrieved 27 March 2019..
  23. ^ "Jews want to see a future in Turkey, but doubts linger". The Times of Israel.
  24. ^ Altaras, Nesi (3 December 2017). "Dışarıdan Etkiler". -Avlaremoz (in Turkish).
  25. ^ Brink-Danan, Marcy (6 December 2011). Jewish life in 21st-century Turkey: the other side of tolerance. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-00526-7. OCLC 769007341.
  26. ^ Chitrik, Mendy (2012). On yıldır Türkçe konuşuyorum. İstanbul: Gözlem. ISBN 978-9944-994-56-9. OCLC 794271796.
  27. ^ Chitrik, Mendy (2014). Bar mı? Mitsva mı?. Gila Erbeş. İstanbul. ISBN 978-9944-994-71-2. OCLC 902838972.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  28. ^ Chitrik, Mendy. "10 words to know in Ladino".
  29. ^ "Virtual Farbrengen with Rabbi Mendy Chitrik". Archived from the original on 4 February 2022.
  30. ^ "So I'll talk to my cousin ezalmanov once a week, face to face, and you are all welcome to join in and evasedrop every Thursday, inşallah". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  31. ^ Porta, Sharon (15 December 2003). "Teachers arrive to collect the faithful". nwitimes.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
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