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April 2, 2004
Join a seder on Khao San Road
Ten-year-old Chabad House is an example for other Jewish communities.
BAILA LAZARUS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Bangkok, Thailand
Travelling in 35-degree heat with what feels like 500 per cent humidity
is bad enough with a backpack full of clothing and other necessities,
but imagine if you had to add packages of food to the load because
you were trying to keep kosher while you travel. It's a daunting
task for any but the most committed backpacker.
So when Noach and Sarit Safra of Jerusalem realized they could lighten
their load slightly by eating at Chabad's kosher restaurant in Bangkok,
they were more than pleased.
"It's a wonderful opportunity," said Noach Safra as he
dug into a bowl of noodle soup in the air-conditioned room. "At
least in Bangkok, we don't have to worry about where we eat."
Part of a growing community of Jews in Thailand – both residents
and travellers – Ohr Menachem Chabad House serves one of the
biggest groups of Jewish backpackers in the world. They flock year-round,
mostly from Israel, to Bangkok's reknowned Khao San Road area and,
on any given day, you'll find them eating, chatting, relaxing and
reading in the nearby haven.
Chabad House, as it's familiarly called, celebrates its 10th anniversary
this year but the building in which the Safras stopped to eat, consult
their maps and say the Birkat Hamazon (blessing after the
meal) is a newly renovated Jewish centre almost three years old.
The centre is one of which Rabbi Yosef Kantor is particularly proud
and one which, he says, will serve as an example for Jewish communities
around the world.
"Our agenda is creating unity and breaking down barriers,"
said Kantor in his office at the centre. "It's a place where
[Jewish travellers] don't always have to be on their guard. Everybody
feels like they're in a Jewish cocoon."
The first permanent rabbi in Bangkok, Kantor came to the city with
his family in 1992 at the request of two established synagogues
– Beth Elisheva and Even Chen. He was part of the Chabad movement's
outreach program that established rabbinic leadership in growing
Jewish communities around the world. Within a year of working here,
he saw a need for a centre for the thousands of Israelis and other
Jewish travellers who came through the Khao San area.
Kantor started organizing Passover meals for the travellers, eventually
setting up the small centre in one of the local guest houses. Although
seders had been occurring at the other synagogues, never had there
been such a response as to the first one in the Banglampoo area
in April 1993. Just through word of mouth, hundreds came. After
that, year after year, the crowds grew, both for Passover meals,
as well as for Shabbat dinners. Eventually rabbinical students came
to help out with the meals and services, staying for months at a
time and, in 1995, a second rabbi, Nechamya Wilhelm, came to take
up permanent residence in the "Backpackers' Chabad" with
his family. Now the centre serves free Shabbat meals for as many
as 350 people on a weekly basis and offers Rosh Hashanah services
for more than 1,000. In addition, there is a permanent rabbi, Levi
Tzeitlin, conducting services in another tourist desination, Chiang
Mai, in northern Thailand; and holiday programming is held regularly
on the southern resort island of Koh Samui.
Kantor feels that part of Chabad's success in the Khao San centre
is due to the relaxed atmosphere.
"This is a place where they know that our agenda is one thing
– helping them in any way possible," said the rabbi. "We've
constantly felt an outpouring of appreciation."
In order to help the backpackers, Chabad House not only offers subsidized
kosher meals, but has a room for computers offering free Internet
access and telephones for free local calls, a synagogue, a social
hall for Friday night dinners and living quarters for Rabbi Wilhelm
and his family. A reading room has shelves of literature and travel
guides in numerous languages and even a television and video library.
In addition to serving the thousands of travellers who pass through
the area every year, the development of the centre has been a boon
to the community as well. Because of the critical mass the tourists
generated, the centre now serves as a "clearing house"
for kosher food in Thailand, said Kantor, who is currently the resident
shochet (ritual slaughterer). In addition, it's been a destination
for yeshivah students to both continue their studies and learn about
outreach work. Former students have gone to Nepal, Sydney, Melbourne,
South America and Costa Rica, areas that attract many Jewish backpackers
where Kantor thinks this type of project would be beneficial.
The centre also brings in guest rabbis and speakers and takes people
out to retreats for seminars on such topics as the origins of belief
and monotheism.
"The work we could do here was something we could never do
in Israel," said Kantor.
Still, perhaps the "relaxed" atmosphere of the centre
is not one that really supports the type of Jewish involvement that
Chabad would like to promote. After one Shabbat dinner, with people
still saying the Birkat Hamazon, one traveller pulled out his cellphone
right at the table to make plans for later in the evening.
"We have to look at each experience in the moment," said
Kantor. "So he's talking on his cellphone – but at least
he came to a Shabbat dinner."
For details on synagogue locations, service times and Shabbat meals,
visit www.jewishthailand.com,
e-mail ykantor@ ksc15.th.com,
call 011-66-2-663-0244 or fax 011-66-2-663-0245. Bangkok is 15 hours
ahead of Pacific daylight savings time.
Baila Lazarus is a Vancouver freelance writer travelling
in South East Asia. Travelogues of her trip can be found at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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