When Shalom Elcott started bringing missions to Israel as CEO of the Jewish Federation of Orange County in California, he always made a point of beginning his tours at Jerusalem’s Western Wall for an inspirational Friday night. After the onset of Shabbat, he would take his group back to its hotel for dinner with a guest speaker.
Lives Intersect at Historic Jerusalem Synagogue
When Shalom Elcott started bringing missions to Israel as CEO of the Jewish Federation of Orange County in California, he always made a point of beginning his tours at Jerusalem’s Western Wall for an inspirational Friday night. After the onset of Shabbat, he would take his group back to its hotel for dinner with a guest speaker.
But ever since 2007, when the Tzemach Tzedek Synagogue – a Chabad-Lubavitch institution founded in the middle of the 19th century – opened its doors to travelers looking for a place to eat of a Friday night, Elcott’s tours have proceeded from the airport to the Western Wall to the synagogue. From the outpost on the appropriately named Chabad Street, Rabbi Yossi and Hindel Swerdlov, entertain their guests with a mixture of uplifting stories, songs and dancing.
The evenings, say Elcott, “set the stage for the mission” by allowing its participants to celebrate Shabbat in a nexus of spirituality.
“When we start at the kotel,” explains Elcott, using the Hebrew term for the Western Wall, “and then Yossi explains all of the different synagogues around, everyone is low-key. Then he grabs them and starts to dance, and then representatives from other groups and soldiers join the circle.
“That moment, for all the people, is transformational,” he adds. “That moment demonstrates the unity of the Jewish people.”
Abraham
The Tzemach Tzedeck Shul is a great place to daven because it is the highest Shul in Town