By COLlive reporter
The Central Committee of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbis in the United States has issued a ruling reaffirming the movement’s authority and representation in the nation’s capital.
The top rabbinical court known as Vaad Rabbonei Lubavitch has stated that Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, as well his son Rabbi Levi Shemtov, are the sole representatives of Chabad-Lubavitch in Washington, DC.
In a ruling written last week and released on Sunday, the Bais Din wrote definitively that Rabbi Levi Shemtov of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) is “considered the regional Shliach of the city” – Washington, DC.
“Every activity (of Chabad) that is done in Washington must be with his permission and agreement,” they wrote regarding Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who has been operating in the city for nearly 25 years.
A former employee and other matters have brought challenges to his authority and the long accepted authority of his Philadelphia-based father who has served since the 1970s as the Rebbe‘s Shliach to the White House.
The ruling also stated that Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, the Head Shliach of Chabad in the state of Maryland, retains jurisdiction to serve the Jewish community in Maryland, so long as it does not interfere with Shemtov’s government relations activities.
Signed on the ruling are Rabbi Gedalya Oberlander of Monsey, NY (Av Beis Din), Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Rabinovitch of Jerusalem, Israel, and Rabbi Binyomin Kuperman of Ramat Gan, Israel.
