Slomó Köves (born Máté Köves; 18 May 1979) is a leading Orthodox rabbi and chief rabbi of EMIH () an affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch in Hungary which is led by rabbi Baruch Oberlander. Köves also serves as the chief Rabbi of the Hungarian Armed Forces Early life Shlomo Köves was born in Budapest into a secular Jewish family. On his mother's side were several famous Orthodox rabbis, including Rabbi Shlomo Silberstein of Bonyhád and Rabbi Yeshaya Silberstein of Vác. Köves’ paternal grandmother, Rózsa Köves, was a well-known journalist at Magyar Nemzet. While growing up in communist Hungary, Köves did not receive a Jewish education until the age of 13, when he decided to study abroad. He spent nearly 10 years pursuing rabbinical studies at various yeshivot. Köves graduated from the Yeshiva High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), the Institut Superieur D’études Rabbiniques et Talmudiques and the Central Lubavitch Yeshivot (New York). He received a Ph.D. from the University of Debrecen, in history, in 2007. Köves also became a certified sofer (Jewish scribe) and mohel (to perform Jewish circumcision). After his return to Hungary in 2002, he attended the University of Debrecen, receiving his Ph.D. in the History of 19th Century Hungarian Jewry. His thesis, Zsidó szakadás (“Jewish Schism”), was published as a book by the Noran publishing house in 2009. His original thesis dealt with the rabbinical disputes of Hamburg (1818-1821) and Nagymihály (1865) and how these impacted Jews living in Hungary and Europe. Return to Hungary and Ordination In 2001, Köves began teaching at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, at the Faculty of Hebrew Law; he also taught the Talmud at the Neolog Rabbinical Institute. On January 7, 2003, Köves became the first Orthodox rabbi to be ordained in Hungary since the Holocaust. Mordechai Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel; Yitzchak Yehuda Yaroslavsky, leader of the Israeli Chabad Rabbi Council; and Boruch Oberlander, head rabbi of the Chabad-Lubavich movement in Hungary, oversaw the ceremony. The event was widely covered in the media because of its historical significance; Ferenc Madl, President of Hungary at the time, also attended the event. Activity Rabbi Köves has spearheaded Jewish education in Hungary, founding the Maimonides High School, Open University for Judaic Studies and the Ashkenazium, the Jewish Studies department at the Milton Friedman University. He also started the first Hungarian-language Daf Yomi Talmud class, which can be followed daily online. Köves has been a