Posted to Chabad News on

Would You Like a Chaser with your Psalm?

by Ari Galahar – YNetNews

ISRAEL — One of its kind Chabad house opens in Jerusalem’s Nachlaot neighborhood: Bar with concerts, drinks and food that also serves as religious center. ‘We hope we can show people they can receive substance and content from Judaism,’ says co-owner Rabbi Crombie.

The Chabad Hasidism movement keeps reinventing itself in attempts to bring people closer to their Jewish heritage. Introducing: Chabar – a bar combined with a Chabad house in the center of Jerusalem’s Nachlaot neighborhood.

Behind the inventive idea are secular businessman Moshe Adhan and Chabad envoy in the area Rabbi Beral’e Crombie (CHI Edit: He is not listed as a Shliach on Chabad.org). It’s a new concept that combines a commercial bar and a neighborhood religious center. During the week, the bar hosts events and shows by local artists.

The bar targets both the religious and secular crowd and offers bi-weekly Torah classes side by side with regular performances. It’s open daily between 7 pm and 11 pm and located inside an ancient Jerusalem building with stone walls that suit the intimate bar lighting.

Adhan claims that he saw many Chabad centers abroad, but usually avoided going into them because they seemed too much like synagogues. So he and Crombie decided to decorate their bar in a totally different style.

He brought couches, an alcohol bar, plasma screen and didn’t forget to put up shelves for the books on Hasidism and Torah interpretation. Visitors looking to have a fun night out will be able to purchase espressos, beers and baked goods at reduced prices.

Crombie acts as the in-house rabbi while he completes his studies to become a personal trainer. According to the energetic envoy, most of the visitors to the “Chabar” are seculars and many choose the location for dates. He’s less interested in attracting the haredi crowd, because he doesn’t want them to scare away the secular customers.

For all his 23 years, Crombie has already served as a Chabad envoy in India. From there, he returned to Israel to establish the Nachlaot branch. At the most recent Chabad envoys’ convention in the US, he shared the idea of the ‘Chabar’ with his friends and received an enthusiastic response.

He claims that Chabad is already checking additional locations for Chabad houses with similar concepts. The Chabad administration welcomed the initiative and emphasized its positive aspects.

Crombie stresses that he has no intention of forcing religion on anyone; he just wants to bring a bit of Judaism to a younger crowd.

“We bring Jewish awareness to the younger generation and one can do what they wish with it. When I was in India I saw Israelis going to various meditations, yoga, introspection courses while every aspect of Judaism was untouchable in their eyes. We hope that we can show people that they can receive substance and content from Judaism the like of which they never would have imagined existed.”

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By Ari Galahar for Yediot Achronot

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11 Comments

  • Sick & getting sicker

    Menu:
    Mellow Yellow cocktail
    Bloody flag draped mary
    Screwy jihadist chai v’kayam driver
    Ad matai spacecrawler
    The YES mess
    Echi echi colada

  • Hatzlacha Rabah Umeflagah

    I wish I had that when I lived in Nachlaot!!! you have no idea how healthy this is and how “THIRSTY” people are in that neighborhood, they are open to learning in a non aggressive way! This is beautiful – you are going to have a LOT of Hatzlacha Be’H!!

  • Menachem

    CHI Edit: He is not listed as a Shliach on Chabad.org)

    And so what!!! The Rebbe made every Chossid a Shliach.

  • Michoel Dovid

    So it’s a Shul and bar in one? Is there a minyan there? Or is it a bar where people go on dates and a Lubavitcher hangs around and then answers questions every two weeks? This is also while he is working on becoming a personal trainer? I am not quite sure how “We hope we can show people they can receive substance and content from Judaism” plays itself out here. On the plus side, they have bookshelves for Torah interpretation.

    It seems his energy could be better spent on other projects that require his attention more than every other week for a few hours.

  • Cute, hatzlacha.

    “substance and content”, As long as there’s no substance abuse ;-), keep up the greAt work.

  • 2, 3, 4 & 8

    Do me a favor! Most of Chabad houses have this kind of parties and drinks ( and sometimes worse…) with or without a picture of the Rebbe…. And it doesn’t bother anyone!
    I know it is unpleasant for som people to see that it is not 100% negative what this “kind” of centers do but that’s also part of reality.
    thank you CrownHeights.info for posting the article

    PS: Though It is definitely important to be listed under ONE directory of Shluchim with everything that it could imply, if a person awaits to be listed there to do his work of Shlichus, it might never happen. וד״ל