Saturday, July 7, 2012

Chabad Welcomes Travelers


Page 30 THE JEWISH PRESS Friday, June 29, 2012

Chabad Global Network Welcomes Travelers

By Ben G. Frank

Ben G. Frank, journalist, travel writer, is the
author of the just-published, “The Scattered Tribe:
Traveling the Diaspora from Cuba to India to Tahiti
& Beyond” (Globe Pequot Press), as well as “A Travel
Guide to Jewish Europe, 3rd edition,” “A Travel
Guide to Jewish Russia and Ukraine,” and “A Travel
Guide to the Jewish Caribbean and South America”
(Pelican Publishing Company).
http://www.amazon.com/The-Scattered-Tribe-Traveling-Diaspora/dp/0762770333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337002629&sr=8-1


Page 30 THE JEWISH PRESS Friday, June 29, 2012

“No matter what, you’ve come to the right place!”

That’s just one message on the website of a

Chabad-Lubavitch Center, one of thousands known

to welcome travelers not only in the U.S. but in a

global network that reaches, for example, in more

than 16 countries in Asia, including such far-off destinations

as Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Ask any frequent traveler on business or pleasure

and he/she will tell you, “Chabad is everywhere,” including

six of the seven world continents. Global indeed,

with about 3,300 institutions world-wide in

more than 75 countries.

Just a few years ago, stranded as I was on Passover

in Ho Chi-minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam

where I was researching my recent book, The

Scattered Tribe: Traveling the Diaspora from Cuba

to India to Tahiti & Beyond (Globe Pequot Press),

I turned to Chabad which I knew welcomes Jews

wherever they might be, especially in an exotic land.

Of all the Jewish holidays, Passover remains

the one where you don’t want to fi nd yourself in a

strange land with strange customs and strange language.

But it happens. True to form, Rabbi Menachem

Hartman invited my wife and me to the Seder

where I met American and French Jewish expats,

Israelis, and Jews from many lands. Even though

I was with total strangers, the rabbi made us feel

like we were one big family as we read the Haggadah.

Before we started the second half of the Seder,

the rabbi asked each of us to talk about the most remarkable

Seders in our lives, where and when they

occurred. He assured me I would never forget this

Seder and meal in Saigon. He was right.

The above incident happens every day and night

some place in the world to many Jewish travelers.

After all, it has been said, American Jews are one of

the most traveled ethnic groups in the U.S.

Speaking of Passover, about 1,200 people are

known to attend the Chabad-sponsored Passover

Seder in Cuzco, Peru, the home of the Incas and destination

of hundreds of Israeli backpackers and tourists

who use this mountain city as base for their trek

to Machu Piccu, a wonder of the world. According

to one blogger, it took 15 chefs, 30 hired hands, and

170 security agents to prepare for the Cuzco Seder.

And in Kathmandu, Nepal, a reported 1,500 Israeli

tourists attended one of the largest Passover

Seders in the world.

One does not have to travel to Vietnam or Russia

or India or Thailand or Brazil to partake of Chabad

hospitality. In Florida, where many New York area

residents winter in this environment of swaying palm

trees and warm ocean breezes, the state boasts 153

Chabad facilities. Many fi nd a welcome, whether it

be for daily services, Shabbat meal, or a high holiday.

Rabbi Sholom Ciment, director of Chabad-

Lubavitch of Greater Boynton Beach, Fl., and head of

the 15,000 sq. ft. Chabad campus with a mikveh and a

10 sq. mi. eruv, located at 10655 El Clair Ranch Road,

Boynton Beach, Fl., said that he gets about 25 calls

a week from out-of-towners who ask questions about

“times of services, shopping, eruv and local sleeping

accommodations. Added to the inquiry list might be

such subjects as real estate and available-communities

within walking distance of the synagogue.”

Sometimes, according to Rabbi Ciment, visitors express

needs that are “are beyond our scope of expertise,

such as, ‘mental counseling.’” Some of these on occasion

are referred to Jewish Family Services, he explained.

He pointed out that “young people traveling here

are often visiting family members who are not at the

same level of observance as they are, so they do inquire

about local host families and shopping for kosher

products.”

Even as far back as the late 1970s, when traveling

to Brazil it was a pleasant surprise to fi nd a

Chabad house in Sao Paulo, where I spent time interviewing

Rabbi Shabsi Alpern and noting that under

his leadership, Chabad now has grown to nearly

20 Chabad centers in Sao Paulo.

Well-known is the fact that Chabad houses in various

parts of the world often served as a meeting place

for Israeli backpackers who travel to India, for instance.

It is reported that a higher percentage of Israelis have

visited India than people from any Western country.

Chabad House Delhi – Chabad Lubavitch of India

– provides meals, advice and prayer services. When

travelers lose money or documents (as sometimes

happens), Chabad offers a sympathetic ear, more

than a cold embassy offi ce. The rabbis of Chabad,

though they focus on their respective Jewish communities,

are known for their willingness to help prac-

Da tically and spiritually the often-troubled tourist. In

a visit to Chabad House Delhi, where I was greeted

by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Sharf and his wife, Debbi,

I met Israeli and American tourists, who told me

they considered this facility “their home in Delhi.”

Closer to home, Ed Robin and his wife, Bree, of Croton-

on-Hudson, N.Y. who are members of Chabad of the

Rivertowns, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., say when they travel

they visit Chabad Centers and “the door is always open,”

and that goes for cities from Denver to Venice. In this

case, “because of our Chabad linkage from our hometown,

it’s a welcoming community wherever we go.”

Commenting on Chabad hospitality, Allan Coplin

of Boynton Beach, Fl, who frequents Chabad of Boca

Raton, Fl, and whose son, Michael, visits Chabad

centers whenever he travels, said that “Chabad

wants Jews to be exposed to Judaism.”

According to Rabbi Ceient, it is a uniform policy

not to ask visitors to donate or pay anything when

they visit Chabad. “We want each and every Jew to

feel welcome at all times, regardless of fi nancial circumstances,”

he said. “Hospitality is our goal, but in

a realistic world, we do rely heavily on donations. We

do have a membership drive, but it is not mandatory.

Again, we want all Jews to feel welcome with

our open door and we hope they have an open heart

when it comes to their support of us…We welcome

all with an outstretched arm and a warm smile.”






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