Leader in congregation cut chat short (5)
I believe the answer is:
rabbi
'leader in congregation' is the definition.
(Jewish leader)
'chat short' is the wordplay.
'chat' becomes 'rabbit' (I've seen this before).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'rabbit' with its final letter taken off is 'RABBI'.
'cut' acts as a link.
This may not be right. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rabbi that I've seen before include "Legal expert" , "Religious leader in a Jewish community" , "Jewish learned man" , "Sacks, for example" , "Religious scholar" .)