With destinations stretching from Rwanda and Ghana to Poland and Russia, China and India to Texas and California, Greece, Iceland, and all points in between, 650 rabbinical students set out from Brooklyn, N.Y., to run Passover Seders for Jewish communities large and small, all over the world.
Dispatched by Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, under its popularly-known “Roving Rabbis” program, the students spent the last few days getting briefed on their assignments and learning the ins and outs of any problems that might arise when Passover arrives April 18.
“While you may look like a wreck after having worked for days on end to prepare the Seder, it is important the guests don’t see that side of you,” Rabbi Tzali Wilshansky, a veteran of such efforts who today serves as a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Kenosha, Wis., advised the young men. “There is no excuse for not looking presentable.”
Saadia Weingarten of Grand Rapids, Mich., found the conference and send-off to be “fascinating.”
“I feel far better prepared to be able to perform the Seder with maximum efficiency and responsibility,” said the rabbinical student, who will be coordinating Seders in Pristina, Kosovo.
The students left New York with boxes of Haggadahs and handmade matzah, cartons of kosher meat, and other necessities.
“We have done everything possible to ensure a smooth experience for each of these rabbinical students who are giving up spending Passover with their families to help their fellow Jews,” said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch.
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