Historic First: Tanya Printed in Djibouti, A Tiny Nation in the Horn of Africa

In a remarkable achievement that continues the Rebbe’s vision to bring the wellsprings of Chassidus to every corner of the globe, the the Tanya has been printed for the very first time in the tiny African nation of Djibouti, marking yet another milestone in the Mivtza Tanya campaign.

The project was organized and executed by the Chabad run Jewish Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the leadership of Rabbi Eliyahu and Rebbetzin Devorah Leah Chaviv, with assistance from two Chabad Chassidim who were previously in the area printing the Tanya, Mendy Lieberman and Yanky Rubin. Lieberman and Rubin made recent history by printing the Tanya in multiple African countries including Somalia, in the area that is now Somaliland.

This latest achievement represents another step in the Rebbe’s directive from 1978 to have the Tanya printed in every place where Jews live and beyond, with the date of print, Yud Tes Kislev – the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism- being especially significant.

Djibouti, located on the strategic shores of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, has a rich, if relatively quiet, Jewish history rooted in the broader Yemenite Jewish experience of the region. While a vibrant Jewish community lived the country in the early 20th century, most of those families made aliyah to Israel in the mid-20th century, and today only a small number of Jews remain.

At the heart of this endeavor was the Chabad run Jewish Center in Addis Ababa. The Center, established as a spiritual beacon for Jews and Jewish travelers in Ethiopia’s capital, has focused not only on community life and Jewish infrastructure but also on expansive initiatives that uplift Jewish life across East Africa.

Especially impactful is the work helping the thousands of Jewish travelers that flow through Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, a central hub for airlines between the Asian, African, and European continents. The airport houses the primary base for Ethiopian Airlines.

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