5th Arrondissement of France Sees New Shliach

The biggest university campus in southern France has a place for Jewish students to come home to — and if you find yourself at the largest hospital in the south of France, you won’t be alone either.

Rabbi Tzemach and Rivkah Gansburg have arrived in Marseille’s 5th arrondissement, to serve as Chabad representatives in one of the most dynamic and densely populated districts in all of France.

The 5th arrondissement is home to a massive student population on the largest university campus on this side of France. Since arriving just one month ago, the Gansburgs have hit the ground running. They’re already serving kosher lunch to students daily, running Shabbat programming, and visiting Jewish patients at the hospital every single day.

The massive Hôpital de la Timone is so central to the region that patients arrive daily from surrounding countries and islands, sometimes by helicopter. “Each day we have requests for visits,” says Rabbi Gansburg. “It’s the biggest hospital in the south of France — people come from everywhere.”

And when it comes to the broader community — “There are a lot of Jews here, a lot of Jewish students — our goal is to meet them and help them reconnect.”