 Logo of the Jewish Community Center of UAE | |
| Formation | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Naum Koen [1] |
| Type | Jewish Community |
Region | United Arab Emirates |
| Services | Kosher Food, Jewish Education, Synagogue and other Jewish communal services |
Rabbi | Levi Duchman |
President | Solly Wolf |
| Website | jewishuae |
The Jewish Community Center of UAE is a Jewish community center in the United Arab Emirates led by the Chabad Rabbi Levi Duchman and community president Solly Wolf. [2]
Since the formation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1971, a small Jewish community grew and lived in the UAE for many years, but was mostly living in the shadows. [3] As improved relations between Israel and the UAE, Jews in the UAE started to openly pray and practice Judaism and established the Jewish Community Center of UAE. [4] [5]
The JCC (Jewish Community Center) of the UAE, is led by Chabad Rabbi Levi Duchman. [6] [7] [8] A Jewish benediction is recited to the president of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan as well as to the rest of the rulers of the UAE during Shabbat. [9] [2]
The supply of 1,000 kosher chickens per week is provided to the community by local Kosher Shechita. [8] In May 2020, it was reported that the JCC of UAE has imported the largest meat shipment in the history of the community. [10] [11] [12]
Following the normalization agreement, Duchman opened an upscale kosher restaurant in the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, serving Mediterranean fare and wine and sporting a "sleek Asian decor". [13]
A new Talmud Torah was reported in 2020 to have been recently established and now has around 40 pupils. [14] [8]
For the Sukkot holiday in October 2020, Duchman erected a public sukkah next to the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai. [13] [15]
Judaism is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people, having originated as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Contemporary Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the cultic religious movement of ancient Israel and Judah, around the 6th/5th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which was established between God and the Israelites, their ancestors. Along with Samaritanism, to which it is closely related, Judaism is one of the two oldest Abrahamic religions.
Kashrut is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the term that in Sephardic or Modern Hebrew is pronounced kashér, meaning "fit". Food that may not be consumed, however, is deemed treif, also spelled treyf.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
A sukkah or succah is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic themes. The book of Vayikra (Leviticus) describes it as a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating the time God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness they inhabited after they were freed from slavery in Egypt. It is common for Jews to eat, sleep and otherwise spend time in the sukkah. In Judaism, Sukkot is considered a joyous occasion and is referred to in Hebrew as Z'man Simchateinu, and the sukkah itself symbolizes the fragility and transience of life and one's dependence on God.
The history of the Jews in the United Arab Emirates describes the historical and modern presence of Jews over the millennia in the Middle East and the recorded meetings with Jewish communities in areas that are today in the geographic territories of the United Arab Emirates.
The history of the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to Biblical times. The Arabian Peninsula is defined as including the present-day countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen politically and parts of Iraq and Jordan geographically.
Rabbi Shimon Lazaroff is the current Texas Regional Director for Texas Friends of Chabad Lubavitch, Inc. and member of the board and executive committee of Agudas Chasidei Chabad. With the direction of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, he established Chabad Lubavitch in Texas upon his arrival with his family in 1972.
The mixture of meat and dairy is forbidden according to Jewish law. This dietary law, basic to kashrut, is based on two verses in the Book of Exodus, which forbid "boiling a (goat) kid in its mother's milk" and a third repetition of this prohibition in Deuteronomy.
Islam is both the majority and official religion in the United Arab Emirates, professed by approximately 76% of the population.The Al Nahyan and Al Maktoum ruling families adhere to Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence. Many followers Hanbali school of Sunni Islam are found in Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Ajman. Their followers include the Al Qasimi ruling family. Other religions represented in the country including Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrians, Druze, Baha'i, Judaism, and Sikhism are practiced by non-nationals.
Tza'ar ba'alei chayim, literally "suffering of living creatures", is a Jewish commandment which bans causing animals unnecessary suffering. This concept is not clearly enunciated in the written Torah, but was accepted by the Talmud as being a biblical mandate. It is linked in the Talmud from the biblical law requiring people to assist in unloading burdens from animals.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is also Executive Director of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University (NYU), Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and University Chaplain at NYU.
Rogers Park is an American Hasidic folk rock duo from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 2011 by childhood friends Yosef Peysin and Mordy Kurtz, the group is named after the Chicago neighborhood where they grew up. Their debut album, The Maggid, was released on January 19, 2016.
The Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) is the representative body of Part of the Jewish community in Dubai.
NY Koen Group is a multinational holding company involved in diamonds, private aviation, digital technologies, tourism, construction and security with executive offices in Dubai, and operational offices in Ukraine. The corporate office is located on board Queen Elizabeth 2.
Sharaka is a non-profit and non-governmental organization established in 2020 by people from Israel, The United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain after the signing of The Abraham Accords. The stated mission of the organization is to develop bonds between young Israeli and Gulf leaders, in order to strengthen peace, trust, and cooperation between the respective societies. The organization presently has three operational divisions located in Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
Elie Abadie is Senior Rabbi in the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities and Senior Rabbi in Residence of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE). He is the former Director of the Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University, with an area of interest on the topics of Sephardic Judaism, history, philosophy, and comparative traditional law. He is a member of the board of the American Sephardi Federation and the World Sephardic Educational Center, and co-president of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries. He is a former member of the Board and an Officer of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), the Treasurer/Vice-president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and co-chair of the Sadat Congressional Gold Medal Committee.
Levi Duchman is the first resident chief rabbi of the United Arab Emirates. He also serves as the head of the Jewish congregation of Abu Dhabi, of the Jewish Community Center of UAE in Dubai, and as a member of the executive board of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.
Solly Wolf is a Jewish businessman residing in the UAE. He is the president of the Jewish Community Center of UAE.
Yehuda Gerami is the Chief Rabbi of Iran and spiritual leader for the Jewish community of Iran since 2011.
The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue is a synagogue located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The synagogue was officially opened on February 17, 2023, and is named after the 12th century Jewish philosopher Moses Ben Maimon. The synagogue is the first public synagogue in the United Arab Emirates. It is a part of the Abrahamic Family House complex.
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