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April 15, 2005
A Mediterranean congregation
Chabad rabbi sets up a centre in Cyprus that is a home away from
home for both residents and travellers.
EDGAR ASHER
Cyprus is the Mediterranean's third biggest island. Situated 60
kilometres south of Turkey, it covers some 9,267 square kilometres,
just over half the size of Israel. It is here that Chabad has facilitated
the growth of what they hope will become a thriving Jewish community.
Jewish influence in Cyprus over the centuries has been very minimal,
although there was a failed attempt to establish a Jewish agricultural
settlement on the island just over 100 years ago, supported by the
French Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch Rothschild
through his Jewish Colonization Association (JCA).
The next time there was to be a Jewish connection was when the British
established detention camps for Holocaust survivors who were caught
attempting illegally to enter British-ruled Palestine. From 1946
until the founding of the state of Israel, the British incarcerated
more than 50,000 European Jewish refugees on the island.
Just over two years ago, the Chabad movement in New York decided
to set up a permanent presence in Cyprus, despite the fact that
there were at the time less than 100 known Jewish families dotted
around the island, including the families of diplomats at the Israeli
embassy in Nicosia. The call went out to 28-year-old Israeli-born
Rabbi Arie Zeev Raskin to move to the island with his family and
consolidate any religious Jewish interest.
"In Israel, I used to manage a mall in Ashdod," explained
Raskin, a large man with a matching big enthusiasm and charm. "It
was a good job – life was very comfortable – but by the
end of each day I would ask myself, 'What have I done today?' My
wife and I decided that we wanted a change and we would like to
become shlichim [emissaries] for the Chabad movement."
Raskin got in touch with the Chabad centre in New York and found
that there were a few options available to him. "We decided
we would come to a place where there was almost nothing about Judaism,"
he said. "We would be planting the flag by saying, 'also here
there is a synagogue and a Jewish presence.' "
When he first arrived in Cyprus, he looked around to find a suitable
location to set up his centre. "I didn't find a homogenous
Jewish group," he said. "The few Jewish families were
found all over the island, so I decided to establish the centre
just five minutes from the country's main airport in Larnaca. This
would mean, apart from anything else, that every Jew who lands at
Larnaca would have a place to stop by, as we are so close. Also,
on the day that people leave to fly home late at night, they have
to check out of their hotel at around midday and have nowhere to
go. So they can drop into the Chabad House, leave their luggage,
have some kosher food and spend a leisurely afternoon in Larnaca,"
he explained.
There are now about 140 families meeting together during the High
Holy Days and during Shabbatot. Most are Israelis, with some Jews
from Russia and some from England. They live all over the island,
but the largest group is from England and they live in Paphos in
the southwest of Cyprus. The Israelis are mainly located between
Larnaca and Limassol and the rest in the area of the capital, Nicosia.
In the summer, there is a big influx of Jewish tourists, with two
flights a day coming from Israel alone.
Raskin has found a need to fill the religious gap for the resident
Jewish community. "We hold a cheder every Sunday in Limassol
for about 20 kids," he said. "The cheder is not a traditional
Jewish cheder – it is mixed with arts and crafts and Jewish
studies."
The children come mainly from families who work at the Israeli embassy
in Nicosia and from Israeli families who work at the Israeli-based
Amdocs high-tech facility in Limassol.
Raskin is teaching Hebrew and Chumash (Bible) to the oldest
group, who range in age from seven to 12. Every week, they learn
a little about mitzvot (religious ordinances), such as kashrut
and Shabbat. "Remember," said Raskin, "these children
are not for the most part religious and this is their only connection
to Judaism." Today, the rabbi is even preparing one boy for
his bar mitzvah.
The Chabad centre is also home to Raskin and his family. He lives
on the top floor with his wife Shaindel and their four children:
Menachem Mendle, Lieber, Batya and Sneer Zalman. On the first floor,
there is a small synagogue, dining room, an English and Hebrew library
and a kindergarten.
When Raskin first set up the centre, he was able to get some initial
funding from a Chabad foundation in America. Now, he has to raise
all the money himself, as is the norm with Chabad centres worldwide.
"It is very hard here, as I know from my friends," he
said, "because they are able to collect about 70 or 80 per
cent of their funding needs from their local community. The balance
they can usually collect by making a few phone calls, but here in
Cyprus the community is very small and consists of mainly salaried
people who cannot give large amounts of money to institutions like
Chabad. I have to spend a lot of time contacting people all over
the world to collect money to continue our work.
"Even though it is very hard work, it is all worth it. Chabad
in New York wants to make sure that they will have representatives
all over the world – this was the mission of the Rebbe –
so that every Jew, anywhere in the world, should have an address
and a telephone number, so that when away from home, he can seek
any help he may need, or simply just have a kosher meal."
The future is also quite clear in Raskin's mind. "I have no
plans to leave Cyprus," he said. "In fact, as long as
there is a need for Chabad on the island, we will stay here."
Edgar Asher is with Isranet News and Media.
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