Welcome to Chabad Moldova

Chabad Moldova is at the heart of Jewish life throughout Moldova, serving Jews in Kishinev, Bender, Tiraspol, Bălți, and communities across the country.

The modern revival of Jewish life in Moldova began in 1990, when Rabbi Zalman Abelsky z”l and his wife Leah were sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to rebuild Jewish communal life after decades of communist repression and the devastation of the Holocaust and World War II.

Since then, Chabad Moldova has grown into a nationwide network providing religious, educational, humanitarian, and community services to Jews of all ages and backgrounds.

Following Rabbi Zalman Abelsky’s passing in 2014, his son, Rabbi Zushe Abelsky, continued leading and developing Chabad Moldova. Today, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod serves as Chief Rabbi of Moldova, working together with the Chabad shluchim serving communities throughout the country.

Today, five Chabad shluchim families serve across Moldova:

  • Rabbi Zushe and Chaya Abelsky
  • Rabbi Menachem Mendel and Chaya Mushka Axelrod
  • Rabbi Shmuel and Chaya Zalmanov
  • Rabbi Mendel and Leah Gotsel, serving Bender and Tiraspol
  • Rabbi Shneur Zalman and Chana Tifenbrun, serving communities throughout Moldova

From Kishinev, Bender, Tiraspol, and Bălți to smaller and more remote Jewish communities such as Cahul, Rîbnița, and Dubăsari, Chabad Moldova reaches Jews in 18 communities across the country, ensuring that distance does not mean isolation.

Our activities include synagogues and daily prayer services, Jewish education for children and adults, youth and young-professional programs, kosher food, Shabbat and holiday meals, soup kitchens and food assistance, mikvah services, lifecycle events, outreach to remote communities, and support for elderly and vulnerable members of the community.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Moldova has also become an important transit and support center for Jewish refugees and travelers. Chabad Moldova has provided food, accommodation, transportation, medical assistance, and other essential support to tens of thousands of people passing through the country.

Our mission remains the same as it was when Chabad returned to Moldova more than three decades ago: to ensure that every Jew in Moldova has a place to belong, to learn, to pray, to celebrate, and to receive help when needed.