Chasidic Family Heads Up Jewish Outreach in Dominican Republic

With the arrival of Rabbi Shimon and Michal Pelman, the Dominican Republic became the newest country to host Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries.

The Caribbean nation, which was the first sovereignty to accept Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, has a Jewish community dating back to the 15th century, when Spanish Jews fled the Inquisition. Today, it numbers some 300 individuals, who congregate primarily in the city of S. Domingo, where the Pelmans opened the new Chabad House.

“What is special about the Jewish community of S. Domingo is its diversity,” said local English teacher Sandy Berkofsky-Santana. “Our members come from many different countries and backgrounds, speak many languages, and have different customs and traditions, yet we are one community.”

Shimon Pelman, 26, learned of the Dominican Jews as a rabbinical student several years ago when he helped his older brother, Rabbi Shalom Pelman of Chabad-Lubavitch of Guatemala. Last year, he and his wife, a seventh-generation Israeli, approached Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the education arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, about heading up outreach in the republic.

Article continued (Chabad.org News)