Rabbi Alexander and Leah Namdar, Chabad of Sweden, Gothenburg, SwedenSwede SuccessBy: Chaya ChazanIn our Kollel year, there were various options of shlichus that were suggested. At that time, there were many countries that still did not have shluchim.When we wrote to the Rebbe about visiting Sweden, the Rebbe immediately responded May you share good news. Shortly afterwards, we wrote to the Rebbe that we were ready to go there on shlichus and we were zoche to receive the Rebbe’s brochos to begin the shlichus in Sweden. —---------------When we fi
Rabbi Boruch and Chaya Rozmarin, Chabad of Grenada, S. George, GrenadaSpreading Light in ParadiseBy: Chaya ChazanGrenada (pronounced Gre-NAY-da), not to be confused with the Spanish city of Grenada (pronounced Gre-NAH-da), is a small Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. We’ve been confused for our sister city so often, we’ve created a pre-formatted email response for tourists, welcoming them to join us, but warning them they’d have to take a ten-hour flight from Spain if they chose to do so.Of course, we were prone to the same error when we
Rabbi Menachem and Chana Yidgar, Chabad Youth, Netivot, IsraelThe Power of the YouthShlichus was never a question of if, but simply where. I grew up in a Chabad family, where shlichus as a “career” was a matter of course. My wife’s family are descendents of the Baba Sali, and her parents had been on shlichus in Netivot for years already. With some of her siblings assisting her parents in and around Netivot, it was a no-brainer for us to do the same once we were married.When we joined the community, we noticed how many traditional families lived in
Rabbi Levi and Hindy Wilansky, Chabad of Portland, MaineThe Lighthouses of MaineBy: Chaya ChazanIn 1987, the shlichus “business” was booming. Every kollel yungerman was eager to find their place and get to work. My parents were no different. Their choice was clear when Rabbi Kotlarsky announced they’d be sending shluchim to five new states and offered my parents Maine. They were eager to accept, and wrote to the Rebbe. The Rebbe wished them that it should be “at a good and successful time with everything,” and that he would “mention it at the
Rabbi Yitzchak and Esther Tiechtel, Chabad of Nashville, TennesseeGiving the Rebbe Besuros TovosBy: Chaya ChazanBoth of us were lucky to grow up with a strong sense of pride in being the Rebbe’s chassidim, surrounded by the charismatic magnetism of the Rebbe. When I was a little girl of three years old, I remember attending a family yechidus. The Rebbe gave my brothers a bracha to “learn a lot of Torah,” and gave me a box of matches for lighting Shabbos candles. From that tender age, I was empowered to live up to the potential the Rebbe saw in me -
Rabbi Yaakov and Mushkee Raskin, Chabad of JamaicaThe Jewish Pirates of JamaicaMy grandfather was born in Russia and was sent by the Rebbe to Morocco in 1960. My father was born there, but in 1986, the Rebbe sent him on shlichus to Montreal, where I grew up. Some of my own children were born in Jamaica. This right here is the Chabad story – four generations in four countries; a Chabad dynasty of which to be proud. My father-in-law was the shliach in Panama. He moved back to New York after war chased him from the country. He soon became a renowned
Rabbi Mordechai and Nechama Dina Hellinger, Chabad of ChevronBayamim Haheim Bizman HazehBy: Chaya ChazanWhen I first stepped off the Chevron-bound bus as a young, inexperienced American yeshiva bochur, it felt like coming home. I spent the month of Tishrei assisting Rabbi Danny Cohen, helping all the soldiers stationed in Chevron put on tefillin, hear the shofar, and shake the lulav and esrog. The inexplicable pull I felt towards this city, so steeped in holiness and history, compelled me to return as often as I could. A few years later, when Rabbi
Rabbi Zvi and Chani Zwiebel, Chabad at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VAEach Person is a Whole WorldBy: Chaya ChazanIt’s a testament to the Rebbe’s vision of shlichus that our relative isolation is somewhat remarkable. Tucked away in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, our small, sleepy college town is two hours from the next closest shliach. In a country so heavily saturated with Chabad houses, it’s unusual to have to drive over four hours to the closest kosher store and Jewish school.Both of us were highly motivated to move on shlichus, so despite
Rabbi Yaakov and Edla Biderman, Chabad of Vienna, AustriaIt’s the Rebbe’s ShowAs newlyweds in 1980, we began our search for shlichus in Europe. We were advised to seek a rabbinical post, as we’d have more reach and influence as a rav of a city than we could as strangers. A position was open in Dusseldorf, Germany, and it sounded perfect - but when we wrote to the Rebbe about the offer, we received no answer.One day, Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik a”h, the shliach in Italy, entered kollel and gave me a hearty slap on the back.“I hear you’re goin
Rabbi Yair and Geulah Baitz, Chabad of Limassol, CyprusRemodeling the MediterraneanMy wife and I are both originally from Israel, and we settled there after we got married. We were both excited about going on shlichus, but we wanted a large community in which to invest all our resources and talents into developing it into something more.We were offered a position in Cyprus, and began our research. We were delighted to discover a strong, established Israeli community. This would make our transition and integration that much easier.—-----------While we l
