New Center Brings Chabad House Warmth to Jerusalem

There are more synagogues in Jerusalem than Starbucks in Manhattan, still Tully Guralnek is celebrating the opening of Jerusalem’s new Chabad of Rechavia center.

“Rabbi Goldberg is the first rabbi I’ve met here who reminds me of the Chabad rabbis back in Australia,” she said. Guralnek moved to Rechavia several months ago, right around the time Rabbi Yisroel and Shoshi Goldberg were transitioning from their first year of home-based Chabad programs to finding a storefront to rent that would accommodate their growing community.

Two months ago the Goldbergs leased space and opened a Chabad house in a former bridal salon, located under Rechavia’s landmark stone-faced, 19th century windmill.

The center caters to a diverse crowd. To Israelis who got a taste of Chabad in Thailand and come home wanting that same feeling of fellowship. And to English speakers who “come to Jerusalem and think they are going to see a blue light” guiding them to spiritual heights, said Rabbi Goldberg. There are those who catch and thrive on the vibe of this ancient holy city, but many – tourists and Israeli and English-speaking residents alike – struggle to find a place where they feel welcomed.

“In my view, when you come to shul and you don’t know anyone there but you feel at home, that’s a ‘blue light’ experience,” he said.

Guralnek started her path to Jerusalem in her home country of Australia. Guided toward a more mitzvah observant lifestyle by Chabad rabbis Down Under, she followed the path to study in Crown Heights, and made aliyah. She moved to Rechavia after trying out Ranana, and found in Rabbi Goldberg someone she could rely upon. “He’s a doer, he really listens, and gives you the sense that your questions are important.”

Rechavia is heavy with English speakers, international travelers and heady with the big shouldered institutions of Judaism. Prima Kings Hotel overlooks Chabad, and more hotels are down the street. Tour buses disgorge more guests at all hours. Around the corner from Chabad, guards at the entrance to the Prime Minister’s residents manage smiles accustomed to redirecting wandering foreigners who stumble into the secure zone. A two-block walk in the opposite direction reaches the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem. Hebrew University offices, the Jewish Agency, Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center are all Chabad neighbors.

It’s a place where Diaspora Jews find the grand scale of Jewish life bewildering, and feel more than a little homesick for their smaller, closer knit home communities.

Tzvi Shapiro, formerly of Passaic, NJ, now a mortgage broker living in Rechavia said there’s a need for both options: the grand and the homey. He illustrates his point with shopping metaphor. “Sometimes you need to go all the way out to a big store like IKEA, and sometimes you need to pick up a carton of milk at the corner store.” Chabad makes Judaism comfortable, accessible, said Shapiro, it is “where I can just walk in and be accepted.”

Chabad representatives from around the world have welcomed the news that there’s an out-of-town style Chabad center in the heart of Judaism’s holiest city. One of the joys a Chabad community member finds while traveling is the comfort of the worldwide Chabad network. Going to Mumbai? To Cancun? To Sydney? Chabad has a guy there who’s got your back. Now visitors to Jerusalem and residents of Rechavia have Rabbi Yisroel and Shoshi Goldberg.

“Shluchim should know that we offer a place where their community members will have a warm, friendly Chabad house experience in Jerusalem,” said Rabbi Goldberg. Guests who find themselves wanting a Shabbat experience more personal than a hotel buffet call – often on Friday afternoon – and more often than not get invited to Shabbat meals in Goldbergs’ home.

The new center has given Chabad of Rechavia a home base to lead Shabbat and weekday services for an average crowd of 60 people, host regular chasidic gatherings, Tanya classes, and off-beat events, like a Jewish graphology night.

On the first night the center opened three Israeli brothers who returned to the land of their birth after years in Geneva walked in. They had been looking for a Chabad house like the one they knew in Sweden. The center’s location, with very visible sign and wide open door made them brave enough to try Chabad of Rechavia.

Rabbi Goldberg straightens the chairs in his center readying the space for Shabbat. “People come to Jerusalem looking for angels. I can’t bring on angels, but I can give them a meaningful experience.”