Mordechai Chazanin, secretary to Moscow’s Chief Rabbi Yehuda Leib Levin, arrived in Israel two weeks ago, after obtaining the Soviet Union’s permission to emigrate, it was learned today.
Mr. Chazanin, a member of the Chabad Hassidic group, is believed to have received permission to leave the USSR through intermediaries acting on behalf of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, of Brooklyn, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who is the acknowledged leader of Chabad. The former secretary to Chief Rabbi Levin speaks Hebrew fluently, with a Sephardic accent. He came here accompanied by his wife and 9-year-old daughter.
It is understood here that, since Mr. Chazanin’s departure from Moscow, Chief Rabbi Levin has been without a secretary.
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