Rabbinical Top Ten!
Believe it or not, there is a web site featuring the world’s top ten rabbis… Sydney Rabbi Levi Wolff and Melbourne’s Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick have made the list….
Rabbi Levi Wolff
topglobalrabbis.com runs two lists and the highly-popular Rabbi Wolff has hit the number 9 spot in the Top 10 Rising Stars category.
This is what they had to say about him:
Wolff is a refined and charismatic emissary who arrived in 2001 to serve as rabbi of the city’s highly aristocratic Central Synagogue. He has become a recognizable face throughout Australia and was recently in the national spotlight in April 2009 when he presided over the funeral of billionaire Richard Pratt, the country’s fourth wealthiest man.
Tonight, Rabbi Wolff will host the farewell service honoring the NSW contingent to the 18th Maccabiah being held in Israel next month.
Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick is the spiritual leader of the Elsternwick Synagogue in Melbourne.
He made no 15 spot in the top 15 Global Rabbis…and this what they had to say
When research began on this project Rabbi Dovid Groner was the unanimous endearing influence within Chabad Australia. His passing in July of 2008 opened up the gates for a host of new leaders to fill the void. Gutnick is filling a segment of that gaping hole. His scope of control can be observed in three realms: (1) He directs kosher supervision for the entire continent under his “Kosher Australia” umbrella organization, the premier authority for the entire Australasia region; (2) He is acting head of the Melbourne Beth Din (Jewish Court) and is spiritual leader of the Elwood Hebrew Congregation, a position previously occupied by his late father the venerable Rabbi Chaim Gutnick; and (3) The name “Gutnick” travels far and wide: one of his 3 brothers is business mogul (gold and diamonds) and prominent philanthropist Yossel Gutnick.
What you haven’t said is that the listing is of the top CHABAD rabbis. Hence the exclusion of many other prominent rabbonim from the list.