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Luciano Prelević
Episode · #321

EKUMENA i ETIKA U POSLOVANJU Luciano Moše Prelević

Guest Luciano PrelevićHosted by Augustin BašićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Many business conversations orbit around innovation, market shifts, or quarterly results. Fewer grapple with the foundational questions of why we work, how we treat each other, or what principles underpin a truly sustainable enterprise. Rabbi Luciano Prelević, the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Zagreb and Chief Rabbi of Montenegro, brings these ancient questions directly into the modern business landscape. He invites listeners to consider how millennia-old texts like the Ten Commandments continue to shape our understanding of human equality, collective responsibility, and even the nature of rest. This conversation explores the often-unacknowledged roots of contemporary ethical thought, challenging assumptions about where our values truly originate and how they ought to guide our actions in work and life.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
George Bernard Shaw's playful critique of the Golden Rule — 'What if we don't have the same taste?' — frames Rabbi Prelević's explanation of Hillel's 'silver rule': 'Don't do to others what you don't want done to you.' True ethical interaction, he suggests, begins with self-respect and a clear understanding of your own boundaries, rather than projecting your desires onto others.
02
The rabbinic teaching that all humanity descends from a single Adam is, as Rabbi Prelević points out, the unacknowledged source for many modern secular movements advocating universal human equality. Understanding these ancient roots reveals that many contemporary values are not new discoveries, but echoes of a shared, foundational intellectual heritage.
03
Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, is not merely a day of rest, but an 'intentional cessation of creative work,' mirroring God's pause after six days of creation. This active, deliberate suspension of effort, Rabbi Prelević explains, is a way to renew one's purpose and acknowledge humanity's role as co-creators, making it essential for long-term engagement and character formation.
04
Despite preparing to chair the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), Croatia remains the only EU country that has not adopted its working definition of antisemitism. This disconnect between a nation's stated international ambitions and its domestic policy, Rabbi Prelević notes, undermines its credibility and operational effectiveness on the global stage.
05
The Zagreb Jewish community, now fewer than 1,000 members, plans a new synagogue significantly smaller than the pre-war structure that seated over 2,000. This pragmatic approach, combined with repairing its earthquake-damaged building using its own funds without state aid, shows that community infrastructure must align with current realities and rely on self-sufficiency when external support is absent.
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