100 Jews in the UAE take part in Torah lesson with leading European rabbi
Members of the Gulf state's small community based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi discussed Jewish texts with Conference of European Rabbis President, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt
Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.
One hundred members of the United Arab Emirates’ small Jewish community took part in an online Torah lesson with a leading European rabbi.
Jews based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi discussed Jewish texts with Conference of European Rabbis (CER) President, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, and UAE Chief Rabbi Yehuda Sarna.
Held on Zoom before last Shabbat, the meeting took place to ensure Jews in country were not sidelined amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The CER is made up of around 700 rabbis in over 50 European countries, supporting communities around the world.
Rabbi Goldschmidt said: “Since the outbreak of this horrible plague, we are all in our house in isolation, without the ability to join prayers and communities together.”
He added: “I want to wish each and every one of you that we merit to unite together, while ensuring the importance of each person and the mutual respect which builds the nation, ends plagues for generations and will bring the complete redemption.”
The community in the United Arab Emirates is estimated to number about 150 families or up to 2,000-3,000 people, with most residents originally from the United States, Europe and South Africa, the Yeshiva World News reported.
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