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Chabad Rabbi Decries ‘Pesach Vacationing’

Rabbi Eliyahu Yochonon Gurarie, head Shliach and chief rabbi of Hulon, Israel, created a firestorm within the Israeli Chabad community with the release of an open letter decrying the increasingly popular ‘custom’ of spending Pesach at a hotel or resort away from home.

Rabbi Gurarie released his letter following the heavy promotion of a Pesach resort on the Greek island of Crete, which is being specifically targeted at the Lubavitch community in Israel.

In his sharply-worded letter, Rabbi Gurarie quotes the words of the Rebbe that on Pesach a G-d fearing Jew ought to be at home. “All of this was obvious and taken as granted by Chassidim until recent years, when some have decided to promote this practice within the Lubavitch community,” he writes.

“Every Shliach knows how difficult it is to properly Kosher a kitchen, especially for Pesach. Is a Goy on a Greek island going to keep all of the Hidurim of Lubavitch?” he continued.

The full letter (Hebrew) appears below, courtesy of Shturem.net.

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38 Comments

  • We lost our touch

    Pesach at bubbys and Zeida’s house are memories that will mold future warm frump yidden. No yiras shomaim comes from pesach resorts

  • Reb Dovid

    טאקע, ער איז גערעכט. איך טראכט אויב איימעצער גייט, ער ווערט אויס יראי שמים

  • Easy to say

    But for some people, making Pesach is impossible. When I was ill a few years back we went to a hotel. Even though we would never do it again, there wasn’t a choice that year. The year before I had major surgery 2 weeks before Pesach and I made Yom Tov. It was so hard I still shudder from it. Would Rabbi Gourarie send his family to scrub out my home & cook for my family? No? Then even though I get his point, it’s not fair to judge. Some people cannot physically or even emotionally cope with making Pesach. It is important to make sure that all the minhagim are adhered to, that’s the best we can do. But criticizing people who go…that’s not right. It’s nobody’s business. Some reasons are not so obvious.

    • ignorent

      Read his letter again, or have somone who understands hebrew to do it for you… he specificly adressed the point of excluding people who are not healthy. Please have the courtesy to read and understand his letter before attacking a well respected rabbi which is smarter and obviously more learned then you

  • Bravo! Bravo!

    Rabbi, it is about time, I know countless chabadnik a and lubavitchers some shluchim that go on these vacations … It’s called selective adherence, or aka religious when convenient.

    Giving a shiur or two at a hotel does not permit one to spend an entire yom tov, maybe it’s me but my respect for those folks drops a notch when rabbis who represent our rebbe only heed his call when it’s not interfering with a tempting vacation

    Good on ya rabbi

  • Kop Mentch

    Chabad has many people that recently became shomer Torah. Such people are likely better off at a resort, poperly kashered with a valid hashgocha, then remaining in their own home “winging” it for their first pessach.

    Even those who are FFB’s or what they call “gezah” might be unfamiliar with the intricte halachos especially in our modern times. Example: Flavored coffee or tea was not an issue years ago – since it did not exist, but they present a pessach problem that unflavored tea/coffee don’t!

    Also, Older people might not have the ability to properly clean the home of chometz for pessach.

    To these, a resort is the BEST solution!

  • I Agree

    I always thought of the Pesach preparations as part of the whole Pesach experience of nullifying one’s yetzer hara. Going away just to avoid the preparations seems to me like a patient who skips taking his medicine by being away.

  • don't judge another

    Different people need to go away for various reasons. Finally there are options for people who due to illness, special needs children, lack of family support or other reasons, are able to keep Pesach in a mentchlik way. Not everyone is looking for the “vacation” in going away for Pesach……but rather a place to go at our standards

  • I knew it

    I always said that true lubavitchers should not go away for pesach to hotels. who knows what goes on in the kitchen. Us lubavtichers are so nizahar on pesach. In a hotel there are so many points where anything can happen..

    I told the dan deal on his website deals that it is assur

  • Andrea Schonberger

    Could someone please translate letter into English. I’m spending Pesach at home but I’m interested in what Rabbi Gurary had to say on the matter.

  • Depends which program

    I was at one of these chabad pesach programs in Israel last year. They had a very strict level of kashrus with all chabad chumros. There were rabbanei anash, mashpiim etc in the program, and all frum staff in the kitchen. I keep a strict chabad pesach and I felt very comfortable.

    I do agree with rav gurary that very large programs in fancy hotels like the one in Ccrete is a bit over the top and could be problematic. But I don’t see anything wrong with the smaller, more heimishe chabad programs in Israel.

  • agree!!!!!

    next generation of hotel-goers have a misconstrued view of pesach and oy vey if they wont be able to afford a hotel.

    • Milhouse

      So when will the small issues ever be addressed? Should we leave them alone and let them become permanent, “pachim ketanim” in both senses of the word “pach”?!

  • TY

    thankyou. I hope that this will ehance the spirit of Pesach. it is not a time to get away, it is a time to remember zecher yetzias mitzrayim, and its a time where we can grow in ruchnius to help Moshiach come closer,
    AD MOSSAI
    Moshiach NOW

  • Kop Mentch

    Since when is it relevant that the kitchen was treif a few hours BEFORE it was kashered (as stated in letter) ?

    This is raised in the letter as a reason for not going to such places while it also seems to reject halacha – that once something is kashered it is 100% kosher?!

    This actually “attacks” the entire halachos of hagalas keilim and libun!

  • Nobody

    If you are going to a pesach hotel, the only chumra you maybe get is no gebruks directly in your soup (the plate from the previous meal has the other guy’s gebruks on it).

    Beyond that, it is mevatel the whole idea of being more machmir about Pesach.

    That being said, instead of just saying no, there is an alternative to those who find cleaning and kashering their house too daunting, and have no family to just go to. You can rent pre-cleaned apartments where all you have to do is bring food. This is tremendously better Halachicly.

    Take it from a former Mashgiach in a Pesach hotel. It is simply not what you think it is, back there in the kitchen.

  • To #3

    Rabbi Gurary is not referring to people who are ill R”LZ. He is referring to people vacationing on pesach.

  • Have Pesach at home for the sake of your kids!

    If you look for ways to “make Pesach easy” that is what your children will do, and that is what your grandchildren will do , until the real tradition is lost. The memories of preparing and celebrating Pesach at home are the best memories you can give your children. As an added perk : your house is organized and clean! We should all have a kosher and freilichen Pesach with Moshiach in Yerushslayim!!

  • Kop Mentch

    Of course a MAN is advocating for staying home for pessach. It is easy for HIM (and cheaper!). How about asking the WOMAN who needs to do all the pre-pessach cleaning, cooking multi-yom tov meals, cleaning up all the dishes and pots, dealing with all the pessach guests…THAT IS THE PERSON WHO SHOULD DECIDE!!

    • you should be learning Torah

      If you can afford to vacation on Pesach, you can afford tons of help to make things easier on your wife.

      Pesach is not a time for vacations. Chassidim would not (and still do not in any many cases) eat in other people’s homes and now ‘chassidim’ go to public hotels to relax and fres and sit by a pool during chol hamoed and it’s holy.

      The Rabbi is saying nothing at all controversial.

    • Kop Mentch

      “The Rabbi is saying nothing at all controversial.”

      Tell that to the caterers and organizers of the pessach retreat that he just put out of business!

      Next he will be going after the U.S. pessach retreats, like KMR – run by Chabad people!

  • Thank you

    What a breath of fresh air for a Rav to take a stand to protect our chassidishe traditions even if it elicits criticism to do so. I hope this becomes a trend.

  • get a life

    You guys are frum on someone else is account. If you could afford it then you would go. These programs a fully supervised by the same hasgoch that you rely on all year so don’t all of a sudden go crazy and say that its not good enough just because you are not going or can’t afford it or simply want to stay home and be a little more machmer but don’t bad mouth others that do and criticize them the Sutton does a good job on his own. I’m sure if the Rebbe was a live he would say havas yisroel is much more important then bad mouthing other Jews . and no I am not Chabad but am very close to Chabad and this is not what Chabad is all about at all. It was easier and better just to say I encourage everyone who can to stay home for pesach because of xyz that message would of con further and much more effect. Now you just have people gossiping and people going just to make a point. So no gain all around. Kosherin pesach

    • Citizen Berel

      Everyone what can afford it goes. If you do not go, you cannot afford it. You are sure about what the Rebbe would say.You are not chabad — just very close.

      A real Chabad rov states a chabad view point but has no life.

      They are fully supervised but the more close you are to the supervision the more you know the degree to which it isn’t like at home.

      That about sums it up?

  • Toshov Hashchunah,

    Kop Mentch wrote:

    “Since when is it relevant that the kitchen was treif a few hours BEFORE it was kashered (as stated in letter) ? ”

    I means they do not wait 24 hours before kashering the kitchen. That itself is not mihudar…

    • Kop Mentch

      No, they wait 24 hours before hagolas keilim.

      When I wrote it “was treif a few hours before it was kashered”, that does not mean the kelim were USED within a few hours of the kashering. The keilim were simply STILL treif from previous usage.
      .

  • shalom Ben Adam le chavero

    I agree with what get a life wrote not his name though. No matter who you are you need to be a mench and respect one another and yes I am chabad .

  • Ruth Sager

    We went to hotels a few times in the 90’s.
    It seems silly for us to say ” next year in Jerusalem” and abandon our Jerusalem home to go elsewhere.

    Yet for some families it is a solution.Large families could get together for the seder….cousins could hang out….
    I do think that we should not make ourselves so crazy with the Pesach cleaning that we want out.

  • Realist

    I think that Rabbi Gurary is 100% right. But, maybe if I could afford to go away to a Pesach Program I would not be so idealistic.