The Rabbinical Centre of Europe brought a blessed and wide-ranging year of activity to a close with an uplifting chizuk mission through the Jewish kehillos of Spain and Gibraltar, ahead of the forthcoming Yamim Nora’im. The mission was led by Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, grandson of Sidna Baba Sali, zy”a, and director of the educational institutions in Netivot named in his honor. Rabbi Abuhatzeira, Shlita, delivered divrei Torah, brachos, and words of hisorerus to members of the kehillos.

The Rabbinical Centre of Europe’s annual mission takes place in a different country each year, with the aim of reaching Jewish kehillos scattered across the continent, strengthening the rabbanim and members of the kehillos, hearing their needs firsthand, and bringing them dvar Hashem ahead of the Yemei HaDin. Spain was selected this year. Many of its Jewish kehillos face spiritual difficulties, educational challenges, and manifestations of antisemitism, and they need encouragement, assistance, and a sense of connection with European Jewry as a whole.

The delegation opened the mission in Madrid at the Or LaYeladim community center, headed by the community’s Rav, Rabbi Chaim Maman. A large public Selichos gathering was held there, during which members of the delegation delivered divrei chizuk in preparation for the Yamim Nora’im. Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, gave members of the kehillah brachos and encouraged them to strengthen themselves in tefillah, limmud haTorah, and shemiras hamitzvos.

The delegation then visited the headquarters of Madrid’s central Jewish community, where it was welcomed by the city’s new Rav, Rabbi Moshe Chicurel, who was elected to the position during the past year, together with the community’s leaders and representatives. During the dignified reception, the community leaders presented the activities taking place there and the challenges they face. The leadership of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe heard their concerns and promised to stand by the community and assist it as much as possible through ongoing cooperation.

The delegation also visited the city’s Chabad House, headed by Rabbi Shneur Zalman Goldstein, and met members of the Israeli community and those involved in outreach to the younger generation. A wide-ranging discussion was held there on ways to strengthen Jewish identity among families and young people, and to bring more Jews to shuls, shiurim, and educational institutions.

One of the special stops on the mission was the town of Villanueva, near Madrid, where hundreds of Jewish students from France study at medical schools. The delegation met the local community Rav and Chabad shaliach, Rabbi Rafael Ghebali, who is extensively involved with the students and brings young people who grew up without basic knowledge of Yiddishkeit closer to their heritage.

Members of the delegation heard about the extensive activity taking place there, including tefillos, shiurim, the provision of kosher food, a kosher shop, and a kosher restaurant. Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, met the students, gave them brachos and chizuk, and encouraged them to uphold their Jewish identity with pride, even during their years of study far from home.

In his remarks, Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, emphasized the need to strengthen oneself especially at a time when manifestations of antisemitism are increasing. He called on the young people to strengthen themselves in tefillah, shemiras hamitzvos, Jewish chinuch, and kashrus, and to turn their homes into beacons of Yiddishkeit for those around them.

From Madrid, the delegation continued south toward Malaga and Gibraltar. In Gibraltar, the delegation was welcomed by the community’s Rav, Rabbi Ron Hassid, who has served in his position for decades and is a member of the Rabbinical Council of Europe, together with community president Mr. Chaim Levy and the leaders of the Jewish community.

The welcome there was warm and dignified. Community members gathered to hear divrei Torah and receive brachos, and in the evening a meeting was held with the avreichim of the local kollel. This was followed by a major chizuk gathering for the Jews of Gibraltar, featuring divrei Torah and words of hisorerus ahead of the Yemei HaRachamim VehaSelichos.

Members of the kehillah passed one after another before Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, to receive a personal brachah. For an extended period, Rabbi Abuhatzeira, Shlita, listened to each person, heard each one’s requests, and davened on their behalf for brachah and hatzlachah. Community leaders later said that the gathering left a profound impression on the participants and gave them a sense of spiritual elevation and connection.

The delegation then arrived in Marbella, where a Jewish kehillah operates under the leadership of Chabad shaliach Rabbi Menachem Mendel Attal. More than 150 Jews from the area gathered for a special chizuk gathering. The participants listened to divrei Torah, came forward to receive a personal brachah, and left carrying renewed chizuk ahead of the Yamim Nora’im.

From there, the delegation continued to the Jewish kehillah in Malaga, headed by Rabbi Avraham Mahfoda. Members of the kehillah participated in a large public Selichos gathering, followed by a meeting with community members. In his remarks, Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, addressed the responsibility parents bear toward the younger generation and their obligation to provide their children with chinuch deeply rooted in Yiddishkeit.

He called on parents to set a personal example at home, to be meticulous in living a Jewish way of life and in shemiras hamitzvos, and to educate their children to carry their Jewish identity with pride. He said that even in the face of antisemitism, one must not withdraw or become alarmed, but must continue along the path of Torah and Yiddishkeit with confidence and emunah, while exercising caution and responsibility.

The delegation concluded the mission in Melilla, the Spanish enclave in North Africa, which is home to a longstanding Jewish kehillah as well as Jewish refugees who have arrived in recent years. The delegation was welcomed by the community’s Rav, Rabbi Aharon Peretz, a member of the Rabbinical Council of Europe, and by the community leaders.

An uplifting gathering was held there with the participation of community members and included Selichos, a shiur, and divrei chizuk. The following day, the delegation took part in the opening of the school year at the local Jewish school, which has more than 100 students. Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, gave the students and teaching staff brachos for a successful school year and called on them to continue illuminating the city with the light of Torah.

The practical high point of the mission in Melilla was the cornerstone-laying ceremony for a new mikveh taharah in the city. The Rabbinical Centre of Europe, which accompanies and assists in the construction of mikvaos across the continent, also mobilized in support of this project, which is intended to safeguard the community’s spiritual future and add an important building block in strengthening Jewish life there.

Rabbi Arie Goldberg, CEO of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, summed up the mission and said that the spiritual awakening evident at every stop exceeded all expectations. According to him, community leaders asked that the visits be extended, and at every location long lines could be seen of Jews, old and young, who wished to receive a personal brachah, voice their requests, and gain chizuk ahead of the Yamim Nora’im.

“It was uplifting and moving to see how Jews throughout Spain and Gibraltar thirst for divrei Torah and chizuk,” Rabbi Goldberg said. “Everywhere, we felt the yearning to draw closer, to strengthen ourselves, and to receive renewed kochos. The mission left a tremendous impression on the kehillos and proved once again how important it is to reach the Jews of Europe, stand by them, and connect them to the wellspring of Torah and mesorah.”

Alongside Rabbi Moshe Abuhatzeira, Shlita, the mission also included the leadership and representatives of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, among them the RCE’s CEO, Rabbi Arie Goldberg; RCE Vice President Rabbi Yossi Bainhaker; and RCE Secretary Rabbi Avraham Aba Torezki. The delegation members agreed with the rabbanim and community leaders on continued cooperation and on a series of initiatives providing assistance and chizuk during the coming year.