Though their customs and rituals may vary, Jews around the world should be united in the tradition of the Jewish laws given by God, said Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel David Baruch Lau during an appearance at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza in Thousand Oaks last week.
About 450 people attended the Jan. 7 event organized by Chabad of the Conejo. This was the first time in the history of the Conejo Valley that a chief rabbi of Israel has visited the area.
“We need to continue to support each other,” Lau said as he spoke about the bond between the Jewish communities of the U.S. and Israel.
Lau serves in the office of the Chief Rabbinate, the head of religious law and spiritual authority for Jews in Israel. While he is the Ashkenazi chief rabbi, the Sephardi chief rabbi is Yitzhak Yosef. The men were elected to their 10-year posts in July 2013.
Ashkenazi refers to Jews descended from those in Eastern and Central Europe, while Sephardi refers to Jews whose ancestors came from Spain, Portugal and other countries in the Mediterranean.
Lau is the son of former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, one of the youngest survivors to emerge from the Buchenwald Nazi concentration camp after it was liberated in 1945.
The Rabbinate has jurisdiction over many aspects of Jewish life in Israel, including marriages and divorces, burials, conversion to Judaism, kosher certification and supervision of holy sites.
A Torah scholar and a reserve major in the Israel Defense Force Intelligence Corps, David Lau previously served as chief rabbi of the City of Modi’in in Israel.
During his appearance in Thousand Oaks, Lau said that, while Orthodox Jews in Israel should continue to reinforce established customs, they must not alienate secular Jews and people of other faiths.
“It’s not so simple to be a Jewish country. We must also think about non-Jewish people and give them respect. They too are citizens of this country. But Israel is a small place,” Lau said.
Rabbi Moshe Bryski, the executive director of Chabad of the Conejo, and David Suissa, the president and editor of the Jewish Journal, moderated the program in Thousand Oaks.
Lau said he intends to use his post to promote unity among the world’s Jews, Bryski said.
“We’re extremely touched and moved that the chief rabbi chose our community to give forth his message of unity,” he said. “The Conejo Valley is a perfect example of how Jews from all walks of life can live together, study together and pray together as one family.”
Throughout his conversation, Lau emphasized that Jewish people are all brothers and sisters.
“That was the key thing of the evening. We may have our differences, but we’re all one,” Bryski said.
During the town-hall-style event, Lau talked about American Jewry and the state of Israel, as well as issues that affect the Jewish community as a whole.
“A rabbi must teach all Jewish people,” he said. “We need the connection to keep the Jewish tradition going, to give ideas to each other, support each other and give each other power to help the next generation.”
According to Lau, about 40 percent of the world’s 14 million Jews live in Israel and another 40 percent live in the U.S., with the remainder spread throughout other countries.
Lau said that, as a spiritual leader, he respects all Jewish people, Orthodox or not, religious or not.
The main branches of Judaism are Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Orthodox is considered the most traditional denomination, while Reform is considered the most liberal.
Lau, an Orthodox Jew, told the audience, which represented Jews from all branches of Judaism, that, while non-Orthodox rabbis and congregants are good people with good intentions, “I believe my way can keep tradition for the next generation better” than the other denominations.
Lau said that first and foremost he is chief rabbi of Jews in Israel. But because he’s also part of the government, he strives to foster relationships with people of all faiths.
“I need to represent the Jewish tradition to Christian and Muslim brothers,” he said.
Although he had some diffi- culty speaking English, the rabbi mesmerized the crowd and his message was clear.
“He was not wavering, apologetic or ambiguous,” said Lysa Frankfort of North Hollywood. “The goal is to keep the tradition firm and not wavering on the laws given by God. He’s there to make sure the Jewish laws are followed.”
She agreed with the chief rabbi on the importance of tradition in the Jewish faith.
“We wouldn’t still be standing here if it wasn’t for the stiffnecked insistence that we continue with those traditions,” she said. “His being here reminded us of the importance of following the same track. We can all go off in different directions, but the foundation needs to be reinforced.”
The evening concluded with a question and answer period.
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