Greek Orthodox Archbishop presents the Greek edition of "Shulchan Aruch" in Athens

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Thursday, 22 March 2018 11:02

The presentation of Rabbi Isaac Mizan's new book, the Greek edition of "Shulchan Aruch - Guide to Law Implementation according to Sephardic Tradition" took place on March 5, 2018, in the crowded hall of the Benaki Museum Amphitheatre, in Athens. The book presentation was organized by the General Secretarial for Religious Affairs of the Greek Ministry of Education and the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS).

In his address, G. Kalantzis, General Secretary of Religious Affairs, referred to the importance the state attaches to the promotion of humanitarian values and the dialogue between religions, but also to the programmes of the Ministry of Education which are focused on combating anti-Semitism.

In the same spirit, D. Saltiel, President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, referring to the work of Rabbi Mizan and the value of the Greek version of Shulchan Aruch, stressed the crucial role of religions in the creation of a spirit of mutual understanding and mutual respect.

Rabbi Elias Sabetai, from Larissa, - also the birthplace of Rabbi Mizan - and author of books on Judaism, spoke of the essence of religious teachings in the spiritual guidance of man.

On a personal tone, Samuel Matsas, President of the Jewish Museum of Greece, talked about how he and his family built their religious identity’s consciousness, on the teachings of Rabbi Mizan.

Of the main speakers at the event, His Reverence Chrysostomos, Archbishop of Messinia, referred to the meeting of Hellenism and Judaism over the centuries, stressing that fundamental elements of civilisation and humanism emerged from it, and thus, the mutual understanding through works of reason and spirit, such as Shulchan Aruch, contributes to the reconciliation, harmonious coexistence and understanding of shared universal values.

The presentation of the contents of Shulchan Aruch, its historical background, the wealth and breadth of information and its meanings were thoroughly analysed by David Moissis, who was among Rabbi Mizan's first co-workers in the realisation of the multi-year project of the Greek edition of Shulchan Aruch.

Then, co-ordinator Victor Eliezer, second Vice President of KIS, presented the project as well as the human dimension of Rabbi Mizan, who served the Jewish community of Larissa for a period of 6 years and the Jewish community of Athens for almost 45 years.

Obviously deeply moved, Rabbi Mizan took the stand, thanked the organisers of the event, the speakers, sponsors of the publication and his associates during the years of the book's processing and concluded with a really meaningful wish: "May this project help awaken consciences, in order to see things from a different perspective. And may each of us climb up one or more steps to improve his life and at the same time the whole world".