Earlier this week, I walked out of Chabad House towards my car around 4:30 pm. I saw a man getting out of his vehicle and snapping photos of our building and the Chabad Student Center next door with his phone. Being that we are in a sensitive time for Jewish people, I approached him to find out why he was taking photos. He immediately started speaking to me in Hebrew to put me at ease. I explained that these are difficult times, and I had good reason to be suspicious. He told me that he is in NOLA for a tech conference and he has developed a habit of finding Jewish facilities wherever he travels and photographing them to preserve Jewish history. He also likes to photograph Jewish tombstones and has created an online gallery to preserve them for future generations in the event of their erasure.
We got talking and he told me that he lives in New York. He is from the former Soviet Union, and though he is not much of a practicing Jew (Yom Kippur and Chanukah), he is very proud to be Jewish and is a vigorous defender of Jews and Jewish identity. Of course, the conversation came around to the mayoral race in New York and the concern he has with “misguided” young Jews supporting a candidate who shamelessly peddles antisemitic ideas. “This is why I am so devoted to preserving Jewish history in this country.”
My Chabad lightbulb went on, and I said to him, “you know, the best way to combat an assault against Jewish identity is by ensuring that Judaism and Jews are not just a “chapter of history” but rather a living and thriving entity. Why don’t you come inside to the Shul and put on Tefillin?”
He responded that even though he is not a “practicing Jew,” when he is asked, he agrees to participate. He showed me a photo of himself with another Chabad Rabbi with whom he put on Tefillin during a recent business trip. Turns out that Rabbi is my cousin… That “coincidence” was one too many for him. He came inside, put on Tefillin, read the Shema like a pro, and gave some Tzedakah. We took a few photos together and called it a day.
Our sages declare “the heart of the Jewish people is wide awake to their Father in Heaven.” The most powerful weapon we have against antisemitism is to be more Jewish by doing more Jewish.
#JustJewIt
This is what Am Yisrael Chai looks like!
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin