Chabad Lubavitch of Bulgaria
Chabad-Lubavitch in Bulgaria: the Sofia mission led since 2000 by Rabbi Yosef and Tamar Salamon from the Rohr Chabad Jewish Community Center, its centres in Plovdiv, Varna and Sunny Beach, its relief work after the 2012 Burgas bus bombing, and Salamon's meetings with Bulgarian leaders as Chabad's chief rabbi
| Chabad Lubavitch of Bulgaria
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| Type | Jewish religious organisation (Chabad-Lubavitch) |
| Founded | 2000 or 2001 (sources differ) |
| Founder(s) | Yosef and Tamar (Tami) Salamon |
| Headquarters | Rohr Chabad Jewish Community Center, Sofia |
| Location | Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Sunny Beach |
| Area served | Bulgaria |
| Key people | Yosef Salamon (head emissary; also spelt Salomon or Solomon) |
| Website | https://www.chabadbulgaria.org |
| Remarks | Also known as Chabad Bulgaria |
Chabad Lubavitch of Bulgaria (Chabad Bulgaria) is the Chabad-Lubavitch network in Bulgaria. It is led by Rabbi Yosef Salamon and his wife, Tamar, who came to Sofia as Chabad's first emissaries to the country in about 2000, and is based at the Rohr Chabad Jewish Community Center in Sofia.[1][2][3] Chabad also has emissaries in Plovdiv and Varna, and a centre in the Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach.[4][5]
Most Bulgarian Jews are represented by the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria "Shalom", the country's affiliate of the World Jewish Congress. The World Jewish Congress lists Chabad among several other organisations that contribute to Jewish community life in Sofia.[6]
History
COLlive, a Chabad news site, reported that 25 October 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the Salamons' move to Bulgaria. It said that since then they had opened a Chabad centre in Sofia and brought in further emissaries: Shlomo and Chaya Mushka Deutsch in Sofia, and Yossi and Racheli Halprin in Varna.[1] In a 2014 interview with 24 Chasa, Salamon said that he was born in Israel to parents from Hungary and Transylvania, that his family had been in Bulgaria for 13 years, and that they were the first emissaries of Chabad-Lubavitch there.[2] COLlive's anniversary date points to an arrival in October 2000; Salamon's figure points to 2001.
The Deutsches arrived in Sofia in September 2019 to work with the Hebrew-speaking community.[7] In August 2011 Salamon showed Israel Meir Lau, the former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, around the Sofia centre while Lau was in the city for a conference of religious leaders.[8]
Burgas bus bombing (2012)
After the bombing of a bus carrying Israeli tourists at Burgas airport on 18 July 2012, The Algemeiner reported that Chabad rabbis were providing food, drink and clothing to survivors, translating for doctors and answering calls from relatives. Rabbi Chaim Tevardovitch of Chabad of Sunny Beach said he reached the Burgas hospital just over an hour after the attack. Salamon, described as the main Chabad rabbi in Bulgaria, said that Chabad had people at the airport and the hospital and was running 15 phone lines from the Chabad house, and that it was working with the Israeli ambassador.[5]
Relations with the state
Salamon has met Bulgarian political leaders around Passover. The daily Standart reported that on 5 April 2017 Salamon, described as chief rabbi of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish centre, congratulated Boyko Borisov, the leader of GERB, on his party's election victory and gave him matzah.[9] On 4 April 2023 the Prosecutor General, Ivan Geshev, met "Chabad's Chief Rabbi Yosef Salomon" for Passover; the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) reported that they discussed interfaith dialogue and the fight against antisemitism.[10] COLlive called him "Bulgaria's Chief Rabbi" in 2019.[7]
Centres
Chabad headquarters lists three centres in Bulgaria:[4]
- Sofia: the Rohr Chabad Jewish Community Center, led by Yosef and Tamar Salamon, postcode district 1504;[3]
- Plovdiv: Mendi and Riki Mendelzon;[11]
- Varna: Yossi and Racheli Halprin, postcode district 9000.[12]
Chabad of Sunny Beach, led in 2012 by Chaim Tevardovitch, serves tourists on the Black Sea coast.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Sunday Was a Special Day for Shluchim in Bulgaria", COLlive, 25 October 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Borislav Zyumbyulev, "Главният равин на 'Хабад' Йосеф Саломон: Гробът на равина Папо е място, където молитвите се сбъдват" ("Chabad's chief rabbi Yosef Salomon: Rabbi Papo's grave is a place where prayers come true"), 24 Chasa, 11 June 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Sofia", lubavitch.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Bulgaria", Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters (lubavitch.com), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Chabad Rabbis Take on Vital Humanitarian Role in Aftermath of Bulgaria Bombing", The Algemeiner, 18 July 2012.
- ↑ "Community in Bulgaria", World Jewish Congress, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "New Shluchim Arrive in Bulgaria", COLlive, 29 September 2019.
- ↑ Joshua Runyan, "Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Tours Bulgaria Jewish Center", Chabad.org, 4 August 2011.
- ↑ "Равин Саломон поздрави Борисов" ("Rabbi Salomon congratulates Borisov"), Standart, 6 April 2017, pp. 1 and 5, reproduced on shalompr.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ Momchil Rusev, "Prosecutor General Geshev Meets Chabad's Chief Rabbi Salomon on Occasion of Pesach", BTA, 4 April 2023.
- ↑ "Plovdiv", lubavitch.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ "Varna", lubavitch.com, accessed 23 October 2026.