Spreading the Jewish Faith

Kelowna, BC, Canada — Chabad-Lubavitch is a Jewish organization based out of New York, whose summer program for their university students aims to connect disparate members of the Jewish community together and give them support and resources for observance in everyday life.

The organization currently has two young rabbis in the Okanagan working on outreach to the local Jewish community, Yisroel Kotlarsky and Simcha Zajac.

The goal of the rabbis, who are on summer break from their studies, is to encourage and enhance the Jewish people in the Okanagan.

“We are traveling the whole Okanagan, working with people in each town,” said Rabbi Kortlarsky.

“This is about us finding any way to help people and to help build understanding.”

Both Kotlarsky and Zajac have finished the bulk of their university studies in New York, but within the Jewish rabbinical tradition. “It is more or less whole life studies,” said Kotlarsky.

Chabad-Lubavitch is a part of the Hasidic branch of the Jewish community. Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for wisdom, comprehension and knowledge.

The philosophy of the movement is to apply those three concepts to the deep understanding of the faith and everyday life, thereby refining personal actions.

Lubavitch is the Russian town where the movement started 250 years ago.

Kotlarsky and Zajac are a part of the group’s goal of providing for the welfare of the Jewish people worldwide.

“Our goal is to meet Jewish people, see how we can help and to show Jewish unity,” explained Kotlarsky.

Kelowna has a small Jewish community and a community centre in north Glenmore.

The rabbis work on educational efforts and one-on-one meeting times with members of the local community Kotlarsky explained.

“We are going to be giving a class. There are (spiritual) laws pertaining to everyday Judaism. You are a Jew from when you wake up in the morning until you go to sleep.

“We work to find people who might not be connected with the community and we try to help them.”

According to Kotlarsky there are no exact numbers as to how many Jewish people make their home in the Okanagan Valley. He said it is thought the number reaches at least 500.

Hoping to reach as many of those people as possible Kotlarsky wants to reach a broader goal as well.

“We want to make the world a better place, to encourage every good deed,” Kotlarksy said. “The world we are in…we need that a lot.”