Chabad Lubavitch of Singapore
Chabad-Lubavitch in Singapore: Chabad emissaries who serve as the community rabbinate under the Jewish Welfare Board, led since 1994 by Rabbi Mordechai Abergel
| Chabad Lubavitch of Singapore
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries serving a communal body |
| Founded | 1994 (Abergel's arrival) |
| Founder(s) | Mordechai Abergel; Simcha Abergel |
| Headquarters | 24 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187950 |
| Area served | Singapore |
| Key people | Mordechai Abergel; Netanel Moshe Rivni |
| Website | singaporejews.com |
| Remarks | Affiliations: Jewish Welfare Board. |
Chabad-Lubavitch in Singapore differs from most Asian postings. Rather than running a separate Chabad house, the Chabad emissaries serve the established community. Lubavitch.com lists them as "Chabad-Lubavitch Representatives in Singapore (operating under the auspices of the Jewish Welfare Board)". The listed rabbis are Mordechai Abergel and Netanel Moshe Rivni, at 24 Waterloo Street.[1] According to the community's website, Abergel and his wife Simcha arrived in 1994.[2]
Emissaries and centre
- Mordechai Abergel. Born in France in 1968 and raised in Belgium. He studied at the Rabbinical College in Morristown, worked as an emissary in Miami in 1989–90, and received rabbinic ordination at Tomchei Tmimim in Brooklyn in 1992. He is a trained shochet.[2]
- Institutions. The community credits Abergel and his wife with founding Ganenu, a Jewish day school, and with the Yeshiva Youth Leadership Programme, which brings rabbinical students to Singapore each year.[2]
Relations with the community
Because the emissaries work "under the auspices of the Jewish Welfare Board", Chabad here is part of the communal establishment rather than alongside it.[1]
Relations with the state, business and Israel
- Interfaith bodies. Abergel was vice-president of the inter-religious organisation in Singapore in 1997, according to the community website.[2]
- IRCC. In 2009 Lubavitch.com reported that Chabad rabbinical students hosted a group from the state-promoted Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) at the synagogue. It noted that the IRCC was formed in 2002 after the September 11 attacks and the December 2001 arrests of 15 local terrorism suspects.[3]
Funding
No accounts were found.
Controversies
None found in the sources consulted.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Mordechai Abergel and Simcha Abergel arrive in Singapore |
| 1997 | Abergel vice-president of the inter-religious organisation |
| 2009 | Chabad students host an IRCC visit |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lubavitch.com centres directory, Singapore, accessed October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Jewish Welfare Board, "The Rabbi", singaporejews.com, accessed October 2026. Official (community body).
- ↑ "Chabad Rabbis In Singapore Host IRCC", Lubavitch.com, 1 May 2009. Chabad-side.