Ever since Tami Sasporta moved from Israel to Accra, Ghana, 12 years ago —her husband, Shahar, is involved in road construction—she says Jewish communal life pretty much began and ended with the High Holidays and Passover.
“Each year, Chabad of Central Africa sent two young rabbis,” she explains. “They’d improvise a synagogue, spend a few days before the holiday meeting as many Jews as possible, hold educational programs for the children, and then invite everyone for services and meals during the holiday itself.”
For the rest of the year, the Sasportas and families of mostly Israeli expatriates living in the sub-Saharan nation were pretty much on their own Jewishly.
She expects that to change, however, with the imminent arrival of Rabbi Noach and Alti Majesky and their three children, who will be leading a new Chabad center in what will be the latest branch of Chabad-Lubavitch of Central Africa, founded in 1991 by Rabbi Shlomo Bentolila of Kinshasa, Congo.
In fact, Rabbi Majesky notes that many of the people he has met on two pilot trips there were on first name with Bentolila, even though the French-speaking rabbi rarely has time to visit Ghana in person. Based out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chabad-Lubavitch of Central Africa currently operates in 13 countries, including the Congo Republic, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Namibia, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mali and Senegal.
“There is no doubt,” he says, “that the fact that we are able to open a Chabad center, and that the community is so supportive and receptive is due to the very strong connections that Rabbi Bentolila has established, both personally and through the ‘Roving Rabbis’ who have been coming throughout the decades.”

Discussing the rapid expansion of Jewish life in the region, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—pointed out that “Central Africa is renowned for refining its physical resources, and our mission is to refine its bountiful spiritual resources. Torah and mitzvah observance are thriving in Africa with the continued growth of its Jewish communities.”
‘A Positive Buzz’
Majeski says neither he nor his wife—natives of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Paris, respectively—ever thought they would call an African nation with no more than several hundred Jewish souls home. But then, after a visit to the Ohel in Queens, N.Y.—the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—in which he prayed for direction, he suddenly got phone calls from a number of friends who had seen a notice on an message board for Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries that a position had opened up in a distant location. He soon discovered that location was Ghana.
“I went to visit for Chanukah,” he says, “and I am still amazed by what I saw. There is a beautiful community of young families and singles—mostly from Israel, but also Americans and others—and they are just thirsting for Jewish communal life.
“We had a kids’ program for the holiday, and 40 children attended. We then hosted over 100 people for a Chanukah party,” recalls the rabbi.
The whole family flew in for Passover with 15 suitcases in tow. Three contained personal belongings; the rest were stuffed with matzah, wine and other Passover essentials.

After a round of successful children’s programs, followed by well-attended holiday services and meals, the Majeskys were ready to make Ghana their new home. They plan on settling in the Airport Residential Area, where many of the Israeli families live.
With just a few weeks left until their arrival in Africa, the rabbi says he and his wife are busy planning programs, fundraising, and taking care of the countless odds and ends that come with moving across the globe to a new nation. As for Sasporta, she and her fellow Israeli-Ghanaians are eagerly awaiting the Chabad family’s arrival.
“There is no doubt that there is a positive buzz,” says the mother of three, who has raised her children in both Israel and Ghana. “My friends and I are looking forward to Jewish programs for ourselves and improved Jewish education for our children. And I know that some of the men are very excited about the prospect of having a synagogue—something we’ve never had before.”
To help jump-start Chabad of Ghana, visit their page here.



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