On the Front Lines: Stories to Inspire

Summer Merkos Shlichus registration will soon be opening after a wildly accomplished Pesach, where some 600 bochurim in roughly 300 locations around the world connected with more than 32,000 Jews. According to Rabbi Shneur Nejar, director of Merkos Shlichus, “We fulfilled the Rebbe’s blessing to the Merkos Shluchim, to go ‘with extraordinary success.’”

“It’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of Merkos Shlichus,” says Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. “These young men foster lifelong connections with Jews in the world’s most remote areas and provide the research and groundwork to establish full-time Chabad Houses.”

The Rebbe used to tell the bochurim who had been chosen that “your very presence will affect them.” Indeed, it’s impossible to go on Merkos Shlichus and not come back with an inspiring story or two.

Shanghai, China via Moscow, Russia

“Going as a shliach of the Rebbe, you’re bound to experience wonders and miracles,” says Moshe Sasonkin, an Ohio native studying in Kfar Chabad, Israel. “My chavrusa Gavriel Glitzenstein and I were on our way to Shanghai by way of Moscow when the airline cancelled our connecting flight to China. We had to spend the night in Moscow and returned to the airport the next morning. With more than an hour before our flight, we put on tefilin and davened Shacharis. A few Israeli men who were on our flight were looking at us, and when we finished, we asked them if they’d like to put on tefilin. One of them told us that he’d wanted to borrow our tefilin but wasn’t sure if we’d allow someone else to use them! What had started as a major inconvenience was really a case of hashgocho protis: We merited to be Merkos Shluchim in Moscow as well as Shanghai!”

Boquete, Panama

Before Pesach in Boquete Panama, Leibel Greenbaum and his chavrusa Levi Levitin consulted a local couple who told them that there already was a public seder planned…at a treif restaurant. “We called the (Jewish!) restaurant owner, who said that he would love to have us kasher his restaurant for Pesach,” explained Leibel. “Erev Pesach, we kashered the restaurant and supervised the cooks while the owner put on tefilin for the first time in his life. During the seder, he stood up and told the assembled guests that by kashering his restaurant and putting on tefilin, he was leaving his personal Mitzrayim. The community even asked for shluchim for next year’s seder. Who knows, maybe one day there will be a Chabad house in Boquete!”

Manang, Nepal

Shmuel Nadler and Levi Pekar were sent to Manang, a little town high in the Himalayas of Nepal. “Many people come to Manang to get used to the thin atmosphere for a few days before climbing higher into the mountains,” says Shmuel. “There are no roads to Manang, only a trail for mules, so to bring in all the supplies, we had to go by helicopter. Despite the lack of oxygen, we had very successful sedorim with dozens of Israelis. Without much to do in Manang besides relax and let your body acclimatize, our guests were glad to come back for shiurim and farbrengens. Finally, it was time to journey to Pokhara for the last days of Pesach. Our only problem was that we had no helicopter, so we had to hike down the mountain path, a six day journey…with only three days until Yom Tov! Having no alternative, we walked for 13-14 hours a day until we reached Pokhara, just in time. Along the way, we realized why hashgocho protis had led us down this (literally) rocky path: We encountered hundreds more Israelis along the way! Every few minutes, we’d see another group of Israeli backpackers hiking to Manang. No Jew passed us without a word of Torah, a bite of kosher l’Pesach food, and yet another warm encounter with Chabad in the snowy Himalayas.”

Barilocha, Argentina

Barilocha, Argentina was the site of Levi Friedman and Moshe Weg’s energetic and emotional seder. Scores of guests enjoyed the food, wine, novel haggada explanations, and joyous singing and dancing on chairs and tables. Near the end of the seder, one young Israeli – a soldier admired by many of the assembled – asked to speak. Teary eyed, he told the hushed crowd that five years had passed since he had shared a Pesach seder with his family. He’d spent the holiday in many different locations, but never had he had an experience like the one they were all sharing together in Argentina, with such incredible achdus bridging gaps of age, politics, and religious observance. He finished by thanking the Lubavitcher Rebbe for the shluchim that he sends to all corners of the world, and for the remarkable unity that can be found “only at a Chabad House.”

The Merkos Shlichus office would like to thank all of the bochurim who participated in this year’s Pesach shlichus, as well as the sponsors who continue to make Merkos Shlichus possible. It is because of you that tens of thousands of Jews worldwide receive a Jewish experience and make connections with Chabad to last a lifetime. To become a sponsor, to register, or to get more information, please e-mail office@merkosshlichus.com or call 718-467-4400.

Abuja, Nigeria

Antigua, Guatemala

Boquet, Panama

Pnom Penh, Cambodia

Cartagena, Colombia

Cusco, Paru

Darwin, ND

Goa, India

Reykjavik, Iceland

Ko Samui, Thailand

Manang, Nepal

In the sky

Pokara, Nepal

Pucon, Chile

Quito, Ecuador

Belgrade, Serbia

Shptavka, Ukraine

S. Teresa, Costa Rica

Taraz, Kazakhstan