Olympic Rabbi runs a Spiritual Marathon at Beijing Games

BEIJING, China — There is one man at the Beijing Olympic village who is not officially classified as an athlete, but runs as many kilometers as the competitors. He too began preparing for the Olympics many years ago and he too has put forth a lot of effort. He’s running a “relay race” which he has not yet completed. “It was more than worth it,” the man who was appointed “Beijing’s Olympic rabbi” told Haaretz on Monday.

Rabbi Shimon Freundlich could be worthy of a gold medal considering the trials and tribulations the Chabad representative faced before he was officially appointed and allowed to operate a synagogue within the Olympic village.

China is a secular communist county that recognizes five religions (Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.) “The Chinese knew that according to Olympics bylaws they are required to provide a synagogue and kosher food, and they knew there would be a rabbi, but since Judaism is not one of the religions recognized by the Chinese, they didn’t really know how to operate,” Freundlich said. “Only after I made it clear to them that I understood my appointment was not an official government appointment did the Chinese agree to meet with me,” he added.

After much goading, the Chinese ultimately offered their assistance. They provided security around the Chabad house and the Chinese religions minister made an exception to the country’s laws and allowed Chabad to bring prayer books into China.

When it came to the food, things were a little more difficult. The athletes were given vegetarian airplane meals prepared in accordance with Muslim dietary laws. Israeli Taekwondo competitor Bat-El Getterer took one look at the prepared food and immediately had her coach contact Freundlich to ask for his help. Since then, the rabbi has been bringing kosher food from his restaurant in Beijing to the Olympic village twice a day.

When Freundlich wanted to bake challah for Shabbat, the organizing committee deviated from its stringent rules and allowed him to bring in food. The Chinese sent supervisors to accompany him while he baked. They photographed every step of the process. They took samples to be tested in a lab, and had the rabbi sign an affidavit attesting to the hygiene of the baking process.

Freundlich carried his challah around Beijing for two consecutive Fridays trying to find every Jews who wanted to observe Shabbat. Last Friday, he found 80 such people. “The understanding, respect and consideration they have displayed has been above and beyond. There are no words to describe how grateful I am,” Freundlich said of the Chinese.

He went on to describe heart to heart talks he conducted with the athletes and with his colleagues, representatives of other religions at the Olympic village. Before the beginning of the games, he said, they complained that no one had come to pray. “Have patience,” the Olympic rabbi assured them. “When the games begin, they will come looking for God.”