Turkey’s Jewish community has installed Isak Haleva as Chief Rabbi, a half-millennium-old post created when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul. Sultan Mehmet II established the post of Hacham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) following the conquest of Istanbul in 1453.
The 62-year-old Rabbi Haleva has been acting Chief Rabbi and leader of the 25,000-member Jewish community since his election to the post in October.
A moving and elaborate ceremony took place on December 19, 2002 in Istanbul’s main synagogue, Neve Shalom. The synagogue was the scene of a massacre in 1986 when terrorists murdered 22 Jewish worshippers during Shabbat morning prayers.
Rabbi Haleva was presented with a white, fringed tallit by Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, who headed the congregation, comprised of foreign and local dignitaries who attended the special occasion. Rabbi Benveniste from Turkey then draped a chain holding two golden tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments around Rabbi Haleva’s neck. The chain and the tablets are a symbol of the Chief Rabbi’s office and are worn at all official ceremonies.
Hazan David Sevi then performed a misheberach (prayer for the congregation) accompanied by the poignant sound of the shofar. Messages of congratulations from around the world were received, including one from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the head of Turkey’s ruling party, who sent a letter congratulating Rabbi Haleva. “Those of the Jewish faith have contributed…to and will continue to contribute to the improvement of our country and culture,” wrote Mr. Erdogan.
At the end of the official ceremony, a dinner was hosted by the head of the Turkish community, Mr. Bensiyon Pinto, in honor of the dozens of Jewish and Israeli leaders who came from near and far as a gesture of solidarity with their Turkish brethren.
Among the guests were official Turkish government members, all turkish religious leaders—Moslem and Catholic, the Israeli Minister for Religious Affairs, Rabbi Yitzhak Levy; Mr. Leon Levy, head of the American delegation and himself a descendant of Turkish Jewry; Mr. Sami Shamoon, the international entrepreneur and President of the World Sephardi Congress; Dayan R. Pinchas Toledano, Ab Beth Din of British and Dutch Jewry; Edwin Shuker from the British Sephardi Federation; and many other heads of Jewish aid and support organizations.
Representing the Sephardic community from New York at this spectacular event were Jack Avital, Vice President of the World Sephardi Congress, and Bunny Escava, head of the Ahi Ezer Congregation, who were extremely impressed by the ceremony and the Jewish community in Turkey. Mr. Avital remarked, “The services on Shabbat were exceptionally beautiful due to the absolute silence of the congregants.” Said Mr. Escava, “This is the closest thing I’ve seen to the coronation of a king. Government leaders from Turkey as well as top Muslim clerics sent their best wishes to Rabbi Haleva and spoke of their admiration and support of the Jewish community in Turkey.”
“I would like to emphasize that I am very proud of being a modest link in the chain of Turkey’s chief rabbis,” Rabbi Haleva said in his address in Hebrew and Turkish. The community also sees itself as a positive bridge between the governments of Turkey and Israel. The two countries maintain a strong political and economic relationship which has brought many benefits to the peoples of both countries.
Rabbi Haleva replaced Chief Rabbi David, Asseo who led the community for 41 years until his death in July, at the age of 88.
