Just before Hanukkah 2003, Gabi and Rivki
arrive in Mumbai with little in tow but his knives and her wigs and
Menachem Mendel, not yet 1. They set up shop in a rented room at the
three-star Shelley’s Hotel on the water in the main tourist area: not
an ideal situation, with no kitchen, little space, and a highly
disagreeable owner. Still, they get to work, offering Torah study,
officiating at bar mitzvahs and weddings, serving meals, and, because
there is no kosher meat to be had—and no beef, of course; it’s
India—slaughtering hundreds of chickens a week.
This is an incredible piece. Not just because we already know the ending, but because it does an outstanding job of describing why Chabad has become so iconic and important to Jews everywhere, even ones who fundamentially disagree with the mission - like me. Read it, and weep.
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