R' Mendy Chitric | Living as a Rabbi in a Place Most Jews Wouldn’t Dare Go
Meaningful People
Meaningful Minute
4.8 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 24 May 2025
⏱️ 87 minutes
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Summary
This is the extraordinary journey of Rabbi Mendy Chitric, a Chabad rabbi based in Turkey. Born in Swat, Pakistan, and part of an 11th-generation Chabad family, Rabbi Chitric has spent the last 25 years serving the Jewish community in Istanbul — a city where Jewish life dates back 2,700 years.
Originally planning to stay for just one year, Rabbi Chitric remained to answer the needs of a community facing significant challenges: assimilation, declining population, and a need for strong Jewish infrastructure.
This video dives deep into Rabbi Chitric’s insights on:🕍 The rich Jewish history of Istanbul
🕊️ The importance of Jewish-Muslim coexistence
📖 The power of Torah in maintaining identity
🌍 How Jewish traditions are celebrated from Turkey to Qatar
🕯️ A moving metaphor of candles and torches — spreading light together
He shares personal stories of interfaith relationships, the role of rabbis in Muslim countries, and the importance of mutual respect and faith in building a better world.
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Editor: Sruly Saftlas
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to another episode of The Meaningful People Podcast, so happy to have you back here. |
| 0:03.4 | Hit that subscribe button if you haven't yet. |
| 0:06.8 | And leave a comment below. |
| 0:07.7 | Introduce yourself, it's so nice to meet. |
| 0:08.9 | My name is Nakhai. |
| 0:09.8 | And this week I sat down with Raimendi Khad-Rabbi of the Ashinaw's community in Turkey, |
| 0:17.0 | in Islamic State. |
| 0:18.4 | He also is the chairman of the alliance of rabbis and Islamic States since |
| 0:22.6 | 2019. Group of rabbis who are in Islamic States, be it Dubai, Turkey, Azerbaijan. He is the chairman of that. |
| 0:29.6 | And this is an interesting episode. We speak about what does it mean? What is it like to live in an Islamic |
| 0:35.6 | country? What does it look for your family? You live in an islamic country what does it look |
| 0:37.6 | for your family you're raising a Jewish family can Jews and Muslims coexist well you're |
| 0:43.9 | here his opinion this episode and come below agree disagree want to hear your opinion and |
| 0:49.2 | your discourse this episode is sponsored by my friends at pz Deals. Who doesn't want a good deal? |
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... |
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