St Kilda short-lists rabbis

FOLLOWING an extensive search both locally and overseas, four rabbis have been announced as the candidates for the chief minister role at St Kilda Hebrew Congregation.

President of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria and the current rabbi of the North Eastern Jewish War Memorial Centre in Doncaster, Yaakov Glasman, and the head of the Elsternwick Jewish Community, Rabbi Yisroel Sufrin, are the local candidates, while the international contenders hail from Switzerland and South Africa.

Belgium-born Rabbi Arie Folger has been rabbi of a community synagogue in Basel, where he oversaw the local school, mikvah and kosher shops.

Across the ocean, South African Rabbi Levi Silman has also been short-listed.

Based in Cape Town, the young rabbi and his wife Leah have been involved with a number of congregations, including Chabad.

“There were certainly a lot of applications for the position,” St Kilda Hebrew Congregation president Phil Levy told The AJN.

Levy explained that an application committee, led by chairman Peter Cohen, interviewed each candidate to narrow down the list.

“The short-listed candidates will be visiting our shul over the coming weeks,” Levy said.

The first visit will be from Rabbi Folger, who will attend services on January 22. A final decision will be made before Pesach.

“This is an important time for our shul,” Levy said, adding that the board is keen to receive feedback from its members to make the “difficult transition” between outgoing chief minister Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn and the new leader smooth.
Rabbi Heilbrunn joined St Kilda shul in 1988 and announced last year that he planned to retire.

DALIA SABLE

Caption: Rabbi Yaakov Glasman.