This morning, as we were walking to the Chabad House, we encountered a Russian couple. They stopped us and asked if they could take a picture of our "I love Chabad" T-shirts. We agreed. We then enquired if they were Jewish, to which they replied that the husband was. While he knew that he was Jewish, he had no idea what Judaism was or what Jews do. We invited them to visit the Chabad House.
In Cyprus, this is almost a daily occurrence.
Yoav, an Israeli tourist who hangs out at Chabad, told us that most of the teens at the Chabad House, himself included, would have never layed Tefillin in Israel. "When we lay Tefillin or just hang out with you at the Chabad house," Yoav related, "we get this sense of camaraderie and belonging that we never feel in Israel; thank G‑d for Chabad."
Last night, a few guys who had never stepped foot in a synagogue in their lives came to the Chabad House. They told us that they would never have walked into a synagogue in Israel, yet when they leave Israel, their innate connection to Judaism breaks through the barriers which have unfortunately sprung up in modern Israeli society.
This past Friday night, approximately 300 Israeli teens came over. For many of them it was the first Shabbat in their lives.
Sephardic and Ashkenazic, traditional and kibbutznik, all Jews come together under one roof to celebrate their Judaism.
