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.”
