Qualification exams were held this week for students at the Yeshiva under the auspices of the Synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya.
Four rabbis participated in the board for examining the graduates’ knowledge to see if they are fit to become a new generation of rabbis and shochtim (ritual slaughterers of kosher meat). Among them were two rabbis who travelled to Moscow especially for this occasion – Chief Rabbi of Kfar Chabad Mordechai-Shmuel Ashkenazi and Rabbi Meir Aaron of the Ohr Zerua Kolel in Rehovot, Israel. They were joined by Rabbi Yitczhak Kogan of the Synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya and the yeshiva’s director, Rabbi Segev Friedman.
All students successfully passed the exam to become shochtim. First came the theoretical part of the exam, in which they answered questions about the laws of ritual slaughtering in accordance with Jewish law. Afterwards they had to demonstrate their practical skills in this regard, giving a careful demonstration of how to slaughter chickens and sheep according to Jewish law. Five of the graduates also successfully passed their exams to be ordained as rabbis.
On Monday evening, the new synagogue in Ramenskoye hosted the ceremony for presenting the diplomas to the graduates. Apart from the rabbis and the graduates themselves, the momentous event was also attended by trustees of the yeshiva, friends and family.