Albania Argentina Sephardi (Syrian) •
Salomon Benhamu •
Yosef Chehebar Ashkenazi Austria •
Jitzchok ben Mosche von Wien, "Or Sorua" (ca. 1200–1270) •
Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller, "Tosfos Jomtov" (1578–1654) •
Scheftel Horowitz (1561–1619) •
Gerschon "Uliph" Aschkenasi (ca. 1612–1693) •
Samson Wertheimer (1658–1724) •
Mosche Chanoch Berliner (1727–1793) •
Isaak Noah Mannheimer (1824–1865) •
Lazar Horowitz (1828–1868), chief rabbi of
Vienna •
Adolf Jellinek (1865–1893) •
Moritz Güdemann (1894–1918) •
Zwi Perez Chajes (1918–1927) •
David Feuchtwang (1933–1936) •
Israel Taglicht (1936), provisional chief rabbi •
Insp. I. Öhler (1946), preacher at the
Stadttempel •
Akiva Eisenberg (1948–1983) •
Paul Chaim Eisenberg (1983–2016) •
Arie Folger (July 2016)
Belgium •
Eliakim Carmoly (1832–1839) •
Henri Loeb •
Aristide Astrue •
Élie-Aristide Astruc (1866–1879) •
Abraham Dreyfus •
Armand Bloch Bulgaria • Gabriel Almosnino (1880–1885) • Presiado Bakish (1885–1889) • (1889–1891) • Moshe Tadjer (1891–1893) •
Moritz Grünwald (1893–1895) • Presiado Bakish (1895–1898) • Moshe Tadjer (1898–1900) •
Mordecai Ehrenpreis (1900–1914) •
M. Hezkeya Shabetay Davidov (1914–1918) • (1920–1925) • No Chief Rabbi (1925–1945) • (1945–1949) •
Behor Kahlon (1990–2012) •
Aharon Zerbib (2012–2015) •
Yoel Yifrach (2015–Present)
Chile •
Angel Kreiman Brill, 1970s and 1980s
Colombia Ashkenazi •
Eliezer Paltiel Roitblatt (1946-1957) •
Chaim Menachem Bentzion Blumenkrantz (Early 1950s) •
Alfredo Goldschmidt (1974–Present) (appointed 1991)
Sephardi •
Miguel Attias (1948-Early 1950) •
David Sharbani (Early 1950s-1978) •
Yehuda Benhamu (1978-1986) •
Yehuda Ari Azancot (1986-2000) •
Shlomo Meir Elharar (2000-2010) •
Avi Amsalem (2010-Dec. 2020)
Chabad •
Yehoshua Rosenfeld (1980–Present)
Cuba •
Meyer Rosenbaum (Son of
Isamar of
Nadvorna, Elected 1948: left Cuba in 1956, a little more than two years before
Fidel Castro came to power in the
Revolution) •
Raphael Yair Elnadav (1956–1959) •
Shmuel Szteinhendler current Chief Rabbi of Cuba and regional director for
Masorti Judaism in Latin America.
Croatia •
Miroslav Šalom Freiberger (1941–1943) •
Kotel Da-Don (1998–2006) from 2006 rabbi of the Bet Israel community
Zagreb •
Luciano Moše Prelević (2006–)
Cyprus •
Arie Zeev Raskin (2005–)
Czech Republic •
Karol Sidon Denmark •
Abraham Salomon (1687–1700) • (1700–1728) •
Marcus David (1729–1739) •
Hirsch Samuel Levy (1741–1775) • (1778–1793) •
Abraham Gedalia (1793–1827) •
Abraham Wolff (1828–1891) •
David Simonsen (1892–1902, 1919–1920) •
Tobias Lewenstein (1903–1910) •
Max Schornstein (1910–1919) •
Max (Moses) Friediger (1920–1947) •
Marcus Melchior (1947–1969) •
Bent Melchior (1970–1996) • (1996–2014) • (2014–)
Ecuador • Menachem Mendel Fried (2022- )
Egypt •
Moses Israel (?-1802) • Refael Aharon Ben Shimon (1891–1921) • Masoud Haim Ben Shimon (1921–1925) •
Chaim Nahum (1925–1960) •
Haim Moussa Douek (1960–1972)
Estonia •
Michael Asher Alony (1995–1996) •
Shmuel Kot (2000–)
The Far East •
Aharon Moshe Kiselev (1937–1949)
Finland •
Simon Federbusch (1931–1940) • (1946–1951) • Mika Weiss (1957–1961) • Shmuel Beeri (1961–1963) • Mordechai Lanxner (1973–1982) • Ove Schwartz (1982–1987) • Lazar Kleinman (–1992) • Michael Asher Alony (1995–1996) • Moshe Edelmann (1999–2012) • (2012–) Due to its being a
center for Jewish scholarship, the Rabbi of
Lemberg was traditionally seen as the Rabbi of Galicia in the era prior to
World War II.
Greece •
Elias Barzilai • Jacob Arar • Gabriel Negrin
Guatemala •
Meyer Rosenbaum (Son of
Isamar of
Nadvorna, Later Chief Rabbi of Cuba)
Honduras •
Aaron Lankry Hong Kong •
Ephraim Mirvis •
Mordecai Avston •
Netanel Meoded Hungary :
Note that this list is not in chronological order. •
Meir Eisenstadt known as the ''Panim Me'iros'' (1708–), rabbi of Eisenstadt and author of "Panim Me'irot" • Alexander ben Menahem • Phinehas Auerbach • Jacob Eliezer Braunschweig • Hirsch Semnitz • Simon Jolles (1717–?) •
Samson Wertheimer (1693?–1724) (also
Eisenstadt and
Moravia) • Issachar Berush Eskeles (1725–1753) •
Joseph Hirsch Weiss—grandfather of
Stephen Samuel Wise • Samuel Kohn • Simon Hevesi (father of Ferenc Hevesi) • Ferenc Hevesi • Moshe Kunitzer a pioneer of the Haskalah movement in Hungary (1828–1837) • Koppel Reich • Chaim Yehuda Deutsch • József Schweitzer • Robert (Avrohom Yehudoh) Deutsch
Iran •
Yedidia Shofet (1922–1980) •
Uriel Davidi (1980–1994) •
Yosef Hamadani Cohen (1994–2007) • Mashallah Golestani-Nejad (2007–2011) •
Yehuda Gerami (2011–present)
Ireland •
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1921–1937) •
Immanuel Jakobovits (1949–1958) •
Isaac Cohen (1959–1979) •
David Rosen (1979–1984) •
Ephraim Mirvis (1985–1992) •
Shimon Yehudah Harris (1993–1994) •
Gavin Broder (1996–2000) •
Yaakov Pearlman (2001–2008) •
Zalman Lent (
acting, 2008–2023) •
Yoni Wieder (2023–present)
Israel The position of chief rabbi () of the
Land of Israel has existed for hundreds of years. During the
Mandatory Period, the British recognized the chief rabbis of the Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities, just as they recognized the
Mufti of Jerusalem. The offices continued after statehood was achieved.
Haredi Jewish groups (such as
Edah HaChareidis) do not recognize the authority of the Chief Rabbinate. They usually have their own rabbis who do not have any connection to the state rabbinate. Under current Israeli law, the post of Chief Rabbi exists in only four cities (
Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv,
Haifa, and
Beersheba). In other cities there may be one main rabbi to whom the other rabbis of that city defer, but that post is not officially the "Chief Rabbi". Many of Israel's chief rabbis were previously chief rabbis of Israeli cities.
Sephardi •
Moshe Galante (the Younger) (1665–1689) •
Moshe ibn Habib (1689–1696) • Moshe Hayun • Abraham ben David Yitzhaki (1715–1722) • Binyamin Maali • Elazar ben Yaacob Nahum (1730–1748) • Nissim Mizrahi (1748–1754) •
Israel Yaacob Algazy (1754–1756) •
Raphael Samuel Meyuchas (1756–1791) • Haim Raphael Abraham ben Asher (1771–1772) • Yom Tov Algazy (1772–1802) •
Moshe Yosef Mordechai Meyuchas (1802–1805) • Yaacob Moshe Ayash al-Maghrebi (1806–1817) •
Jacob Coral (1817–1818) •
Yosef ben Hayyim Hazan (1819–1822) •
Yom Tov Danon (1822–1824) •
Salomon Moshe Suzin (1824–1836) •
Yonah Moshe Navon (1836–1841) •
Yehuda ben Raphael Navon (1841–1842) •
Chaim Abraham Gagin (1842–1848) •
Isaac Kovo (1848–1854) •
Haim Nissim Abulafia (1854–1861) •
Haim David Hazan (1861–1869) •
Avraham Ashkenazi (1869–1880) •
Raphael Meir Panigel (1880–1892) •
Yaacob Shaul Elyashar (1893–1906) •
Yaacob Meir (1906) •
Eliyah Moshe Panigel (1907–1909) •
Nahman Batito (1909–1911) •
Moshe Yehuda Franco (1911–1915) •
Haim Moshe Elyashar (1914–1915) •
Nissim Yehuda Danon (1915–1921) •
Yaacob Meir (1921–1939) •
Benzion Uziel (1939–1954) •
Yitzhak Nissim (1955–1973) •
Ovadia Yosef (1973–1983) •
Mordechai Eliyahu (1983–1993) •
Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron (1993–2003) •
Shlomo Amar (2003–2013) •
Yitzhak Yosef (2013–2024) •
David Yosef (2024–)
Ashkenazi •
Meir Auerbach—Rabbi of Jerusalem (1860–1871) •
Samuel Salant (1871–1909) •
Abraham Isaac Kook (1921–1935) •
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (1936–1959) •
Isser Yehuda Unterman (1964–1973) •
Shlomo Goren (1973–1983) •
Avraham Shapira (1983–1993) •
Yisrael Meir Lau (1993–2003) •
Yona Metzger (2003–2013) •
David Lau (2013–2024) •
Kalman Ber (2024–present)
Military Rabbinate •
Shlomo Goren (1948–1968) •
Mordechai Piron (1968–1977) •
Gad Navon (1977–2000) •
Israel Weiss (2000–2006) •
Avichai Rontzki (2006–2010) •
Rafi Peretz (2010–2016) •
Eyal Karim (2016–)
Japan •
Binyamin Edre'i (2015–present)
Latvia •
Mordechai Nurock Lebanon •
Moïse Yedid-Levy (1799–1829) •
Ralph Alfandari •
Youssef Mann (1849) •
Aharoun Yedid-Levy •
Zaki Cohen (1875) •
Menaché Ezra Sutton •
Jacob Bukai •
Haïm Dana •
Moïse Yedid-Levy •
Nassim Afandi Danon (1908–1909) •
Jacob Tarrab (1910–1921) •
Salomon Tagger (1921–1923) •
Shabtai Bahbout (1924–1950) •
Benzion Lichtman (1932–1959) •
Shahud Chreim (1960–1978)
Lithuania •
Avraham Duber Kahana Shapiro Luxembourg •
Samuel Hirsch (1843-1866) •
Robert Serebrenik (1929–1941)
Mexico • Shlomo Tawil (1998–Present)
North Macedonia • Avi Kozma
Morocco •
Mardo Chee Bengio Chief Rabbi of Tangier. •
Raphael Ankawa (1918–1935) •
Mikail Encaoua •
Chalom Messas (1961–1978) •
Aaron Monsonego (1994–2018) •
Yoshiyahu Pinto (2019–present)
Nepal •
Chezki Lifshitz (2000–present)
Norway •
Isaak Julius Samuel (1930–1942) •
Michael Melchior (1980–)
Panama •
Zion Levy (1951–2008) Sephardic Chief Rabbi •
Aaron Laine (1986–) Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi •
David Perets (2016–) Sephardic Chief Rabbi
Peru •
Abraham Moshe Brener (1930-1967) •
Baruj Epstein (1966-1967) •
Yaakov Kraus (1987-1998) •
Efraim Zik (1999-2009) •
Itay Meushar (2009-2016) •
Salomon Cohen (2016-2019)
Poland •
Jacob Pollak (appointed 1503) •
Moses Fishel (1541–1542) •
Dow Ber Percowicz (1945–1956) •
Zew Wawa Morejno (1956–1957) •
Dow Ber Percowicz (1957–1961) •
Uszer Zibes (1961–1966) •
Zew Wawa Morejno (1966–1973) •
Pinchas Menachem Joskowicz (1988–1999) •
Michael Schudrich (2004–)
Military rabbinate •
Chaim Elizjer Frankl (?–1933) • Major
Baruch Steinberg (1933–circa 12 April 1940) murdered by
NKVD in the
Katyn massacre Romania • Yaakov Yitzhak Neimerov (d. 1940) •
Alexandru Safran (1940–1948) •
Moses Rosen (1948–1994) •
Menachem Hacohen (1997–2012) • (2012–present)
Russia •
Adolf Shayevich (1983, officially since 1993–) • Chabad •
Berel Lazar (2000–) • Military Rabbinate •
Aharon Gurevich (2007–)
Serbia •
Isaac Alcalay (till 29 December 1978, also Chief Rabbi of
Yugoslavia from 1923 to 1941) •
Isak Asiel Singapore • Mordechai Abergel
Slovakia •
Moses Sofer (1806–1839) •
Samuel Benjamin Sofer (1839–1871) • Simcha Bunim Sofer (1871–1907) • Akiva Sofer (1907–1938) • Izidor Katz (1950–1968) •
Baruch Myers (1993–present)
South Africa •
Judah Leo Landau (1915–1942) •
Louis Rabinowitz (1945–1961) •
Bernard M. Casper (1963–1987) •
Cyril Harris (1988–2004) •
Warren Goldstein (2005–)
Spain The following are Chief Rabbis of the Jewish Community of Madrid (CJM): • Baruj Garzon (1968–1978), the first Chief Rabbi in Spain since the expulsion in 1492 •
Yehuda Benasouli (1978–1997) • Moshe Bendahan (1997–)
Chabad-Lubavitch • Menachem Naftalin (2025-)
Sudan • Solomon Malka (1906–1949) • Haim Simoni (1950–1952) • Massoud El-Baz (1956–1965 by which time the Jewish community in Sudan had declined so dramatically that they could not afford to pay a Rabbi)
Syria •
Yom Tov Yedid (1960–1982), moved to the United States in 1982 and died 27 July 2016 in the United States
Thailand •
Yosef Kantor (1992–present)
Transylvania (before 1918) Note: The chief rabbi of
Transylvania was generally the rabbi of the city of
Alba Iulia. • Joseph Reis Auerbach (d. 1750) • Shalom Selig ben Saul Cohen (1754–1757) • Johanan ben Isaac (1758–1760) • Benjamin Ze'eb Wolf of Cracow (1764–1777) • Moses ben Samuel Levi Margaliot (1778–1817) • Menahem ben Joshua Mendel (1818–23) • Ezekiel Paneth (1823–1843) • Abraham Friedmann (d. 1879), last chief rabbi of Transylvania
Tunisia •
Chaim Madar (1984–2004)
Turkey •
Eli Capsali (1452–1454) •
Moses Capsali (1454–1497) •
Elijah Mizrachi (1497–1526) •
Mordechai Komitano (1526–1542) •
Tam ben Yahya (1542–1543) •
Eli Rozanes ha-Levi (1543) •
Eli ben Hayim (1543–1602) •
Yehiel Bashan (1602–1625) •
Joseph Mitrani (1625–1639) •
Yomtov Benyaes (1639–1642) •
Yomtov Hananiah Benyakar (1642–1677) •
Chaim Kamhi (1677–1715) •
Judah Benrey (1715–1717) •
Samuel Levi (1717–1720) •
Abraham Rozanes (1720–1745) •
Solomon Hayim Alfandari (1745–1762) •
Meir Ishaki (1762–1780) •
Eli Palombo (1780–1800) •
Chaim Jacob Benyakar (1800–1835) •
Abraham Levi Pasha (1835–1839) •
Samuel Hayim (1839–1841) •
Moiz Fresko (1841–1854) •
Yacob Avigdor (1854–1870) •
Yakir Geron (1870–1872) •
Moses Levi (1872–1909) •
Chaim Nahum Effendi (1909–1920) •
Shabbetai Levi (1920–1922) •
Isaac Ariel (1922–1926) •
Haim Bejerano (1926–1931) •
Haim Isaac Saki (1931–1940) •
Rafael David Saban (1940–1960) •
David Asseo (1961–2002) •
Ishak Haleva (2003–)
Chabad •
Mendy Chitrik (2003–present)
Uganda •
Gershom Sizomu () (see:
Abayudaya)
Ukraine •
Yaakov Dov Bleich (1992–) •
Moshe Reuven Azman (2005–) • Penitentiary rabbinate •
Jonathan Markovitch (2009–)
United Arab Emirates •
Levi Duchman (2015-) first resident rabbi to the UAE, appointed
Chabad Shaliach to the UAE in 2020, making him the first Chabad Shaliach in a Gulf country. Directs the Jewish Community Center of the UAE.
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is the current Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates.
United Kingdom and Commonwealth Presbyter Judaeorum (England) •
Jacob of London, (appointed 1199) •
Josce of London (1217–1237) •
Aaron of York (1237) •
Elias le Evesque (appointed 1237) •
Hagin fil Mosse (appointed 1257) •
Hagin fil Deulacres (appointed 1281 by the favour of
Eleanor of Provence).
Ashkenazi chief rabbis •
Judah Loeb ben Abraham Ephraim Asher Anshel (1696–1700) •
Aaron the Scribe of Dublin (1700–1704)
United States A chief rabbinate never truly developed within the United States for a number of different reasons. While Jews first settled in the United States in 1654 in
New York City, rabbis did not appear in the United States until the mid-nineteenth century. This lack of rabbis, coupled with the lack of official colonial or state recognition of a particular sect of Judaism as official effectively led to a form of
congregationalism amongst American Jews. This did not stop others from trying to create a unified American Judaism, and in fact, some chief rabbis developed in some American cities despite lacking universal recognition amongst the Jewish communities within the cities (for examples see below). However,
Jonathan Sarna argues that those two precedents, as well as the desire of many Jewish immigrants to the US to break from an
Orthodox past, effectively prevented any effective Chief Rabbi in America. •
Eliezer Silver Uruguay • Jaime Spector (1931–1937) • Aaron Milevsky (1937–1943) • Aaron Laschover (1943–1967) •
Nechemia Berman (1970–1993) • Eliahu Birenbaum (1994–1999) •
Yosef Bittón (1999–2002) •
Mordejai Maarabi (2002–2009) • Shai Froindlich (2009–2010) • Isaac Fadda (2011–2012) •
Ben-Tzion Spitz (2013–2016) • Max Yojanan Godet (2017–present)
Uzbekistan •
Baruch Abramchayev Venezuela • Sephardi •
Isaac Cohen • Ashkenazi •
Pynchas Brener (1967–) ==By city==