This is how it happens: in Israel, the daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar became the wife of the son of the Rabbi of Odessa and the south of Ukraine Avraham Wolf

On February 12, 2025 a wedding will take place (or has already taken place) in Israel, which will become one of the most significant in the Jewish community.

Rivka Lazar, daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, is marrying Sholom Wolf, son of the Rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine Avraham Wolf, the media reports, citing its sources.

According to journalists, the wedding ceremony will take place “in one of the best halls in the country”, but where exactly is not specified, but it is known that in Mishor Adumim (photos and videos have already been published on social networks) is an industrial park located in the industrial zone of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, about 10 minutes’ drive from Jerusalem.

The choice of venue was motivated by the desire to celebrate the birth of a new family with Jewish traditions.

The wedding preparations were first announced in December last year, when the Moscow Jewish Community Center (MEOC) announced the news.

Berl Lazar (full name Shlomo Dov-Ber Pinchos Lazar), the bride’s father, is a representative of Lubavitch Hasidism. He was born in Milan and is a citizen of the United States and the Russian Federation. He is married to Hannah Deren, the daughter of Ezekiel Deren, a rabbi from Pittsburgh. In addition to Ravka, he has 12 more children: five sons and seven daughters. He was elected Chief Rabbi of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR) in 1999, and a year later he became Chief Rabbi of Russia after a vote at the congress of Russian Jewish communities.

His three sons, Yechezkel, Menachem Mendel and Sholom, are the chief rabbis of Simferopol, Krasnodar and Sochi, respectively.

Avraham Wolf, the chief rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine since 1998, was born in Israel, in the city of Kiryat Malachi. He studied in the yeshivas of Jerusalem, Migdal HaEmek and New York, and served in the Israel Defense Forces.

From 1992 to 1998, Wolf headed the Jewish community of Kherson, and is now the head of the Odessa religious community “Shomrei Shabos” and the director of the largest Jewish newspaper of the same name.

He is also the founder of the educational complex “Chabad-Odessa”, which includes kindergartens, an elementary, middle and high school, and a boarding school. On his initiative, the South Ukrainian Jewish University was created, and he is also a member of the Board of Trustees. He is raising eight children. Wolf has Israeli citizenship, but after the war he wants to apply for a Ukrainian passport.

Here’s how it happens ……