Rabbi Shlomo Bistritzky, the Chabad Shliach to Hamburg was elected yesterday to fill the post of Chief Rabbi, thus continuing the Rabbinic tradition of the city which saw the likes of Rabbi Yonasan Eibeshitzand Rabbi Yaakov Emdin. Rabbi Bistritzky has been the Chabad representative to Hamburg for the past 8 years.
His grandfather, Rabbi Leibel Bistritzky was born in Hamburg and escaped at the young age of 11 with his family after the Nazi regime started persecution against the Jewish people. When his grandson notified him of his plan to open a Chabad house there, he was not happy about his grandchild settling in this city where many Jews were murdered, but the grandson promised that he will enact a "Sweet Revenge" against the city. Yesterday it happened, as he got elected to serve as the Chief Rabbi.
The city of Hamburg has a rich Jewish past starting from the early 17th century when Portuguese Jews settled in the city to escape the horrors of the inquisition, followed by a large immigration of Ashkenazi Jews who created one of the most successful Kehillos in Ashkenazi Germany along with the neighboring cities of Altona and Wandsbek.
Today the city counts with 8000 Jews associated with various Jewish communities who all chose Rabbi Bistritzky as the new Chief Rabbi in appreciation of his work for the Jewish people in the city.
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