Mitchell Kaye put on tefillin at the 11th
Pan-American Maccabean Games in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
From the moment the more than 5,000 Jewish athletes arrived in the South American capital city, they availed themselves of a host of Jewish-enrichment activities, from putting on tefillin to posing questions to any number of the 20 rabbinical students who fanned out among the venues and mobilized a “mitzvah tank.” They even could munch on strictly kosher food supervised by Chabad-Lubavitch of Argentina.
Argentine Jewish Community Welcomed Thousands for Athletic Games
Mitchell Kaye put on tefillin at the 11th
Pan-American Maccabean Games in
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The series of Maccabi games that annually span the globe aim to highlight more than just Jewish athleticism: They’re in the business of reinforcing Jewish pride. No where was that mission more apparent than in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last week, as a team of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and rabbinical students cooperated with the 11th Pan-American Maccabean Games to help contestants, their families, friends and fans embrace their Jewish heritage.
From the moment the more than 5,000 Jewish athletes arrived in the South American capital city, they availed themselves of a host of Jewish-enrichment activities, from putting on tefillin to posing questions to any number of the 20 rabbinical students who fanned out among the venues and mobilized a “mitzvah tank.” They even could munch on strictly kosher food supervised by Chabad-Lubavitch of Argentina.
And on the Friday night leading into Shabbat, Jewish women lined up to light Shabbat candles before joining a standing-room-only prayer service attended by philanthropist George Rohr.
Marietta, Ga., natives Mitchell and Amy Kaye and their three children were among the visitors. In between winning medals on the golf course ñ Mitchell Kaye wrested a silver medal in the masters’ individual golf event, while his sons Jared, 17, and Adam, 16, placed second and fourth respectively in the junior division ñ the father participated in the prayer service operated each morning by Chabad-Lubavitch. Each of his sons, meanwhile, donned tefillin with Rabbi Tzvi Lipinski, director of Beis Chabad Palermo Soho in Buenos Aires.
