Chabad RARA Travels Miles So No Jew Left Behind

Jewish people across Australia were able to celebrate Pesach this year, thanks to the efforts of a large team of volunteers that travelled far and wide to ensure that no Jew is without a Seder, or Matza, for Pesach.

Headed by Rabbi Menachem Aron at Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia (RARA), a multi-faceted approach was taken, with people being engaged in a variety of different ways.

RARA oversaw Public Pesach Seders being coordinated in four different locations around the country, and for hundreds of other families, Matza, grape juice, and other Pesach staples were made available on the RARA online store, and shipped around the country.

First up was Darwin, a city of 120,000 people in the north of the country. Home to about 200 Jewish people, Chabad of RARA has been visiting and hosting Pesach Seders there for more than 20 years. This year, Eli Selek and Shneur Gurevitch, as well as three rabbinical students from Yeshivah Gedolah – the Rabbinical College in Melbourne – made the trip up, spending one week in the area, and hosting a Seder for 40 people on the first night of Pesach.

Jessica, who has lived in Darwin for the past 3 years, shared, “I really appreciate the Chabad crew coming to Darwin. The rabbis explained everything that was happening during the Seder and what page of the Haggadah we were up to.”

Oliver, who attended the Seder with his wife, related that he most enjoyed everyone getting together to share a meal and celebrate Pesach.

Moving back 3,000 kilometres down towards the coast, another group of volunteers visited the inland city of Toowoomba, a two hour flight and 1.5 hour drive from Melbourne. This quite city is home to the site of the very first Shul ever built in Queensland in the late 1800’s, and today, a small but vibrant Jewish community. The Seder was coordinated by Sruli Shapiro and Tzvi Levitin and a group of rabbinical students from the Yeshivah Gedolah in Melbourne. Yossi Matoci, a long-time local in Toowoomba hosted the Seder at his house, which was attended by 30 people from all different age groups and backgrounds.

Crystal and her young daughter attended the Seder, and shared “This year the Seder was smaller, which gave me a chance to meet and talk to the other people. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Rabbi did an excellent job. He was funny and engaging and ran the Seder very well.”

Down in New South Wales, two hours from Sydney is the beautiful Blue Mountains. This year, just meters from the world famous Echo Point – Three Sisters Lookout, a very large Seder was hosted that saw over 100 people attend across both nights. A team from Melbourne led by Yeshivah College Shluchim Maish Geisinsky and Nechemia Herson made the trip up, and were assisted by Mendel Hoffman from Sydney. Arriving just over 48 hours before the Pesach weekend began, they worked tirelessly to ensure that everything was ready for the grand Seder night.

Becky joined the Seder had a great time, and shared, “The boys were so warm and inviting. They really made us feel comfortable and they were so talented in the kitchen- all the food was delicious! Avraham and Rabbi Moshe engaged with all the guests so nicely. Thank you!”

And lastly, Levi and Dina Rosenbaum from Melbourne headed up to Chevron Island, a neighborhood in Queensland’s Gold Coast, where they hosted 30 people for the Seders, including holiday makers from Melbourne, locals, and Israeli travellers. One of the Melbourne visitors shared, “I really enjoyed meeting such diverse people. Levi and Dina were so warm, and it was great to connect over the Haggadah and share new insights into the Pesach Seder.”

For those unable to make it to a community Seder, Chabad of RARA offered a “Seder at home” kit with the essentials for making a Seder in any setting, as well as an online store with a large selection of Pesach items.

Over 250 such packages were shipped all over Australia, enabling Jewish people to celebrate wherever they were. Shana from Port Macquarie in New South Wales shared, “this is an incredible service to the Jewish community of rural and regional Australia. Well done!”

Margaret, who lives in Ballarat, hosted her own Seder and ordered Matza and other items from Chabad. “I really enjoyed just everything! I am so very grateful for the Pesach supplies! It made celebration and observance so much more meaningful. Thank you.”

One notable story took place in collaboration with Rabbi Dudu Lider from the Beit Chabad in Melbourne. A package had been sent to Lavi, an Israeli traveller working on a cattle station some 10 hours from Brisbane. Although the package did arrive at the local post office a week before Pesach, widespread flooding in the area meant that the two-hour drive from the station to the post office was impossible. Rabbi Lider used his contacts, and was able to coordinate a private plane to pick up the package from the post office, and land on the farm where Lavi was working. In a video of the package arriving, Lavi’s eyes light up at the sight of a Kippa, matza, and a bottle of grape juice.

Thanks to RARA, over the Pesach season well over 1,000 people were engaged in celebrating the Passover holiday, whether they live 20 minutes from Melbourne, or across the country.

In addition to the Seders that Chabad of RARA coordinated themselves, Rabbi Menachem Aron was also instrumental in placing young Yeshiva student volunteers around Public Pesach Seders around Australia. Some 40 young bochurim headed out to 17 different locations, from as far as Margaret River in Western Australia to Cairns in Queensland, and lots of places in between, to ensure that Chabad Rabbis around Australia would have the help they needed to bring Pesach to the masses.

Chabad of RARA and the RARA Foundation would like to thank our donors, supporters, and friends for ensuring that Pesach this year could run so smoothly, and that so many Jewish people had access to what they needed, no matter where.

Pesach is behind us, but RARA is as busy as ever, with a new group of travelling rabbis this week making the trip 3,500km from Melbourne to Perth via road, where they will be spending the next two months visiting families in the south of Western Australia. And over the coming months, five more such trips will be taking place, ensuring that no Jew is left behind.