Avraham Osdoba

Avraham Osdoba is an Orthodox rabbi and a member of the Chabad Hasidic movement. Rabbi Osdoba serves as the head of the Bais Din Tzedek (Jewish Rabbinical Court) of the Chabad community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; he is an authority on Halacha (Jewish law) and Hasidic philosophy.

As a member of the Crown Heights Beth Din (rabbinical court), Rabbi Osdoba is considered one of the community's chief rabbis (Aramaic, מרא דאתרא (Marah D'Asra)). The rabbinical court is the spiritual and religious body governing the Crown Heights Chabad community. There are currently four rabbis serving on the Beth Din:

• HaRav Avraham Osdoba
• HaRav Yosef Avraham haLevi Heller
• HaRav Aharon Yaakov Schwei
• HaRav Yosef Yeshaya Braun

Each hold the title Marah D'Asra. As head of the court, Rabbi Osdoba holds the additional title of Av Beth Din (head of court).

The Crown Heights rabbinical court is funded by the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (CHJCC), a religious corporation representing the Jewish community of Crown Heights.

Appointment

Rabbi Osdoba assumed the role as Av Beth Din (chief rabbi) of the rabbinical court, following the death of Rabbi Yehuda Kalmen Marlow, the court's first head rabbi.

Aside from the usual responsibilities of a community rabbi (officiate weddings etc.) Rabbi Osdoba also administers Crown Heights Kashrus (CHK, a kosher certification agency operating under the Crown Heights rabbinical court.

CHK controversy

In recent years, Rabbi Osdoba's authority as sole administrator of the CHK was challenged by others, including supporters of Rabbis Schwei and Braun arguing that the arbitration panel (Zabl"a) ruled that the CHK should be run by a board of directors and is not a private entity, stating: "There is a need to create a new Vaad HaKashrus, which shall be the executive body of the Rabbis and the Vaad Hakohol. The court however remanded this ruling back to the arbitration panel for clarificationwhich is yet to reconvene.

A controversy occurred over the election of Rabbi Braun, the Beth Din's third member. Following the election, Rabbi Osdoba sued Rabbi Braun in a civil court.