Rabbi Yehuda Sarna | |
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| Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue | |
| Assumed office February 2023 | |
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue of the Abrahamic Family House [1] in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is also Executive Director of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at New York University (NYU), [2] Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service [3] and University Chaplain at NYU.
Rabbi Sarna was born in Montreal, Canada. He attended Yeshivat Har Etzion from 1995 to 1997 before earning his B.A. in English Literature and Judaic Studies from Yeshiva College. [4] Rabbi Sarna is a 2003 graduate of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. In 2002, he began working at New York University's Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life, [5] a Hillel affiliate. He teaches and lectures at NYU Abu Dhabi and regularly attends the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace. Rabbi Sarna, along with Imam Khalid Latif, co-founded the 'Of Many' Institute for Multifaith Leadership at NYU. [6] They teach a course together and lead service trips to cultivate cooperation and dialogue among students from different faiths. [7] Sarna has been instrumental in building a strong and diverse Jewish presence at NYU. [8]
Today, Rabbi Sarna is the Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi.
In 2017, Rabbi Sarna learned of a small, under the radar Jewish community that met for services every week in people's homes in Dubai, a short drive from Abu Dhabi. He began advising them on religious and communal matters. By 2019, known in the UAE as the Year of Tolerance, the community asked Rabbi Sarna to serve as Chief Rabbi given its increasingly public profile. Rabbi Sarna became Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates. The historic character of the community was not lost on its members: this was the first new Jewish community to be established in the Arab world in over a century.
In 2016, Rabbi Sarna was appointed to the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, a project of the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America, which successfully lobbied for tougher legislation to address the underreporting of hate crimes.
Rabbi Sarna came to the UAE for the first time in 2010 at the invitation of NYU leadership. He was serving as the rabbi at NYU's Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and was asked to assist in interviewing high school students seeking admission to the first ever class of NYU Abu Dhabi. Returning year after year to NYU Abu Dhabi since 2010 unleashed the opportunity to share his experiences and inspire ways to dismantle stereotypes beyond the student sphere.
In 2007, he founded the Jewish Learning Fellowship, a ten-week course in Jewish thought for college students, which now enrolls thousands of students through local Hillels on hundreds of university campuses.
Rabbi Sarna is a member of the Council of European Rabbis, the Rabbinical Council of America and the International Rabbinic Fellowship. He spearheaded the campaign to build an Eruv in Lower Manhattan and founded the Downtown Va'ad.
He is the editor of The Koren Shabbat Evening Siddur (2011) and the Orthodox Forum Series: Toward a Jewish Perspective on Culture (2013).
In 2023, Rabbi Sarna was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. The Abrahamic Family House is a complex of houses of worship for the three Abrahamic religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue is the first purpose-built synagogue in the Arab world with the goal of promoting interfaith coexistence.
Prior to becoming the Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, Rabbi Sarna was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) in 2019. [9] [10]
Thirteen Specials, Amen-Amen-Amen, PBS, Dec. 13, 2021.
Chelsea Clinton and Linda Mills, Of Many , Spicy Icy Productions, 2014.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, “Foreword”, Warm Peace: How People-to-People Diplomacy Can Build What Governments Cannot. Edited by Sarah R. Cohen, Warm Peace Institute, Dec. 16, 2021.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, "Here's how to build Jewish life in a 21st-century Muslim nation", USA Today, Aug. 11, 2021.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, "What I’ve learned teaching Jewish texts in the UAE", Jewish News Syndicate, Mar. 23, 2021.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, "We are guests in the UAE; let's be gracious", Jewish News Syndicate, Jan. 18, 2021.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, "Chief Rabbi of UAE: Reflections on a Historic Accord", Jewish Exponent, Sept. 17, 2020.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, "How I Became Chief Rabbi of the UAE and Why That Matters", Times of Israel, Aug. 21, 2020.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, “The Danger in Sears Judaism”, E-Jewish Philanthropy, Oct. 21, 2018.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, "At NYU, Interfaith Solidarity Abounds”, The Forward, Dec. 23, 2016.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, “A Plea For Dialogue, Not More Stunts”, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Apr. 29, 2014
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, “Open Hillel: Right Spirit, Wrong Partners”, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Dec. 24, 2013.
Mike Wagenheim, "Rooting out abuse is a rapidly growing Orthodox communal concern, survey finds", Jewish News Syndicate, Mar. 20, 2023.
Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, "First-in-a-Generation Study Shows Positive Influence of Rabbis on Young American Jews", San Diego Jewish World, Mar. 16, 2023.
Adam Pourahmadi, "Abu Dhabi's stunning new multi-faith complex is a mosque, synagogue and church", CNN, Mar. 1, 2023.
Tamara Zieve, "UAE Jewish community opens the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue", Jewish Insider, Feb. 20, 2023.
Zvika Klein, "Interfaith center, including synagogue, to open in Abu Dhabi on Thursday", Jerusalem Post, Feb 16. 2023.
Lazar Berman, "UAE interfaith compound featuring new synagogue set to open Thursday", Times of Israel, Feb. 16, 2023.
Daniel Ben-David, "New documentary tells story of Torah scroll gifted to UAE", The Jewish Chronicle, Nov. 24, 2022.
Abigail Klein Leichman, "‘Amen, Amen, Amen’", Jewish Standard, Oct. 19, 2022.
Dan Lavie, "A year on, Abraham Accords depict new chapter in region's history", Israel Hayom, Oct. 4, 2021.
Binsal Abdulkader, "'Muslim woman who stood guard Jewish prayer at AUH airport embodies UAE's tolerance:' Chief Rabbi", Emirates News Agency, Sept. 16, 2021.
"Every Family Reunion Needs the Right Venue," Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the UAE, Jan. 29, 2021.
"'Amen-Amen-Amen': New documentary tells the story of the UAE's first Jewish community", The National, Dec. 15, 2020.
Sam Zieve Cohen, "UAE chief rabbi: 10,000 Jews could soon live in gulf nation", Jewish Insider, Sept. 30, 2020.
Aviva Engel, "UAE's Chief Rabbi Yehuda Sarna: The pride of Montreal's Jewish Community", The Suburban, Sept.17, 2020.
David Brooks, "From One Chief Rabbi to Another", Jewish Insider, June 27, 2019.
Ron Kampeas, "NYU Chaplain to Be First Chief Rabbi in the United Arab Emirates", Haaretz, May 15, 2019.
Rabbi Sarna has received numerous awards for his work. In 2009, he was an honoree at the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus Awards dinner. Additionally in 2009, he was listed as one of the "36-under-36" by The Jewish Week. [11] In 2012, Rabbi Sarna received an award from Temple of Understanding with NYU's Imam Khalid Latif and Chelsea Clinton for their work in, "advancing a new model of integrating interfaith and cross cultural education into campus life." In 2013, he was honored by Yeshivat Har Etzion as "Alumnus of the Year." [12] [13] [14]
Rabbi Sarna is married to psychologist Michelle Waldman Sarna. They have six children. [15]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply TheEmirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal, elective monarchy composed of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi as its capital. It shares land borders with Oman to the east and northwest, and with Saudi Arabia to the southwest; as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran, and with Oman in the Gulf of Oman. As of 2024, the UAE has an estimated population of over 10 million, of which 11% are Emiratis; Dubai, is the most populous city, and is an international hub. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language, while English is the most spoken language and the language of business.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, Israel has had two chief rabbis, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardi.
Interfaith worship spaces are buildings that are home to congregations representing two religions. Buildings shared by churches of two Christian denominations are common, but there are only a few known places where, for example, a Jewish congregation and a Christian congregation share their home.
The Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Saadiyat Island is a natural island and a tourism-cultural environmentally friendly project for Emirati heritage and culture that is located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The project is located in a large, low-lying island, 500 metres (1,600 ft) off the coast of Abu Dhabi island. A mixed commercial, residential, and leisure project is currently under construction on the island. When completed, Saadiyat Island is expected to become Abu Dhabi's cultural centre, mostly for the Island's Cultural District that is expected to include eight museums.
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.
Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's second-most populous city, after Dubai. The city is situated on a T-shaped island, extending into the Gulf from the central-western coast of the UAE.
Israel–United Arab Emirates relations had been jagged and fueled by mutual distrust and hatred for several decades, but in the 2010s, the countries' informal relations improved considerably and they began engaging in extensive unofficial cooperation based on their joint opposition to Iran's nuclear program and regional influence. In 2015, Israel opened an official diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Islam is the majority and official religion in the United Arab Emirates, professed by 74.5% of the population as of 2020. 63.3% are Sunni, 6.7% are Shia, while 4.4% follow another branch of Islam. The Al Nahyan and Al Maktoum ruling families adhere to the Maliki school of jurisprudence. Many followers of the Hanbali school are found in Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Ajman. Their followers include the Al Qasimi ruling family. The other main religions present in the country include Christianity (12.9%), Hinduism (6.2%), and Buddhism (3.2%). Zoroastrians, Druze, Baha'i, Judaism, and Sikhism are also practiced by some non-nationals. 1.3% of the population is agnostic.
Holy See – United Arab Emirates relations are the foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The earliest form of contact between officials of both states was when the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, unofficially met Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Relations between the two were not established until 31 May 2007. According to a Vatican communiqué, the diplomatic arrangement was founded on a desire to promote “bonds of mutual friendship and of strengthening international cooperation.
New York University Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting portal campus of New York University, established as a private liberal arts college in Abu Dhabi, 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.
The Abrahamic Family House is an interfaith complex on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The undertaking was inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis on behalf of the Catholic Church and Ahmed El-Tayeb on behalf of the al-Azhar Mosque on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi. It houses the St. Francis Church, Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue in separate structures.
St. Francis Church is a church on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The church is part of the Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex that includes a mosque, a synagogue and a church, built with the aim of promoting Interfaith dialogue. The church is named after St. Francis of Assisi.
Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The mosque is named after the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayeb. It is a part of the larger Abrahamic Family House complex.
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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