(Photo: Daniel Tellman)
For Jewish travelers and academics exploring Salonica, Greece’s second-largest city and a fabled crossroads between Europe and the East, a new center endorsed by the local community is providing a menu of religious services previously offered on a spotty basis.
Chabad House Opens in Second-Largest City in Greece
(Photo: Daniel Tellman)
For Jewish travelers and academics exploring Salonica, Greece’s second-largest city and a fabled crossroads between Europe and the East, a new center endorsed by the local community is providing a menu of religious services previously offered on a spotty basis.
According to residents, the new Chabad-Lubavitch center directed by Rabbi Yoel and Ruth Kaplan has made a sea change in how foreign students – drawn to the region’s rich Jewish and non-Jewish history – perceive the ancient community.
“People are very happy that they are here,” stated Rabbi Eliyahu Sheetrit, the community’s chief rabbi. “What the Kaplans are doing for students and travelers is very important work. We support them 100 percent.”
Together with their five children, the Kaplans arrived in Salonica, once home to one of the world’s largest and most-vibrant Jewish communities, just before Passover. Appointed by Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Hendel, the Athens-based directors of Chabad of Greece, they hosted Seders for visiting travelers. After the holiday, they canvassed local families to help plan their programs.
“Salonica is a very old community,” said Mendel Hendel, who prior to the opening of the Chabad House, visited the port city several times a year. “Before World War II, it was a flourishing community, so there are always Jews coming to the city to study and visit. The tourists and students needed a place where they could feel at home, and the local community wanted more educational programs.”
