Uncovering Chabad in Cancun

It’s ironic that after growing up so close to the large Jewish community in Skokie, Illinois that I would finally get my Jewish education from a Hasidic Rabbi in Cancun, Mexico. The Jewish community that I stumbled across in Cancun is an oasis of familiarity for Jews in Mexico. Not only do Rabbi Mendel Druk and his wife Rebbetzin Rachel Druk provide one of the only kosher meals in Cancun; they also offer an opportunity for their fellow Jews to reconnect with their faith and heritage by bringing them closer to each other and to God.

An Unlikely Presence

My first experience with Judaism in Cancun was a brief sighting of a man in a black suit, large brimmed black hat, and a full red beard at one of the local grocery stores. This man was Rabbi Mendel, the leader of the Chabad Jewish organization in Cancun. This sighting would not have made me stop in my tracks, as it did, if I was in my native Chicago, where ultra-Orthodox Jews frequently occupy the sidewalks. It occurred, however, in a Mexican resort town that is more famous for its wet t-shirt contests than its acts of mitzvah
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Cancun is a city on the eastern coast of Mexico, a country that Hernando Cortez brought Catholicism to in 1519. Mexico is not a theologically diverse country; as Bryan Froehle noted in “Latin American Catholicism,” “Approximately nine in ten Mexicans are baptized Catholic,” and the other ten percent of the population is mostly composed of evangelical Christians.

Chabad and Jewish Continuity

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I had the opportunity to celebrate Simchat Torah with the members of Chabad Cancun. This is a celebration that marks the end and beginning of the reading of the torah scrolls (Karesh & Hurvitz, 2006, p. 481). The event featured the men dancing in a circle with the large Torah scrolls over their shoulders, and the women dancing in a circle with one another; both groups joyously singing in Hebrew.

During this occasion, the Rabbi told a story of a Hasidic Rabbi in Auschwitz that was beaten “on this day”4 some sixty years ago. He was left for dead in the barracks, and when the other Jewish inhabitants came back after their day of labor, they were shocked to not only find him alive, but dancing in a circle. He told them that they should never stop dancing. This story illustrates what I have found to be Hasidism. Even in the most adverse circumstances, they never stop singing and bringing a deeper sense of spirituality to their fellow Jews.

Chabad Center

Located off the main tourist strip. The space is defined by a white marble lobby with mosaic tiled walls, stainless steel elevators, modern velvet furniture, and a cold blast of air conditioning. Every time I have ascended in the elevator to the first floor of banquet space, I have been greeted by the inviting sights and sounds of children laughing and playfully chasing after one another. Large glass windows line the wall in front of the banquet lobby, looking down into the mangrove behind the hotel.

To the left of the elevators is the room where Friday service is held. Before entering the room, there is a table filled with Jewish Prayer books in Hebrew, with translations in English and Spanish, and a basket full of kippah. The room itself is a midsized banquet space that is separated by a mechitza with the women sitting in the section closest to the door, and the men sitting on the farther end. The Rabbi faces the front of the room, with his back to the audience and recites Hebrew prayers and song from the prayer book.

After service you can follow the children to the right of the elevators. They will guide you to the home of the Chabad community in Cancun. It is a long room that changes day to day, depending on the occasion. A typical Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat “(Welcoming the Sabbath)” dinner hosts a long banquet table meticulously set with purple glass plates, silverware, water glasses, meal prayer books, cotton napkins, white tablecloths, and freshly baked Challah rolls (Karesh & Hurvitz, 2006, p. 262). Other days, I have seen the room scattered with Jewish themed children’s books and toys after Rachel’s youth education class. I have also witnessed it filled with the mouth watering scents of Jalepeño, Garlic, Chocolate Chip, and Cinnamon Challah with the smaller center table lined with all the tools and ingredients for making it, at a Monday night women’s group.

The one thing that never changes about the Chabad center is its feeling of permanence. It is like a home. The walls are decorated with pictures of Chabad members, Jewish holidays, and visiting Rabbis. I can see the pride they feel for their faith just by gazing at the large collages
and uncovering photos of the grand menorah9 they annually host at the massive shopping center in the hotel zone. A large framed portrait of the Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson gazes over the space like a much missed and adored grandfather.

The People

My first experience walking into the newer B2B hotel to attend Kabbalat Shabbat service was like a covert mission. There was a sign marking a path to the floor B1, where the Cancun Jewish community celebrates together every Friday night. Once I found my way, I sat and observed the entire service and dined with the group without ever being recognized as an outsider by the Rabbi himself. The reason for this is that the table at Chabad Cancun is just as transient as the city itself. As my observations continued, I noticed that I was one of the few constants in the ever evolving world of Chabad Cancun.

This first visit clearly defined what I was to expect from the rest of my experiences with visiting Jews over the course of my study. That night I dined with Jews from France, the United States, Mexico, Canada, Israel, Morocco, Argentina, and a visiting Rabbi and his wife from Brazil. There were clear ethnic and linguistic differences. French, Spanish, and Portuguese were among the guest’s native tongue and Hebrew and English became the universal languages at the table. These strangers came together with each other and the permanent members, at the guidance of Rabbi Mendel and Rachel, to welcome in the Sabbath as if they had known one another all their lives.

The diversity of the permanent group rivals that of the group’s weekly visitors. I frequently observed a young couple from Canada with their infant child that I could see shared a personal relationship with the Rabbi and his wife. I also witnessed Luis, a Mexican Jew, and his wife and young adult daughters frequent the Chabad Cancun services and often sponsored the meals. Ari, one of the groups most devoted members, is originally from Ohio although he does have Mexican heritage and speaks Spanish. He is of retirement age and acts as a proud uncle to Rachel and Mendel’s two young children.

The permanent members share a sense of togetherness that outshines the unity of any other group of expats I have encountered in Cancun. This is a group that finds pleasure and humor in their differences, such as cracking jokes about the tastier kosher meals of Sephardic Jews and friendly debates over the proper Hebrew pronunciation of certain words. Just like a family, it seems easy for them to overlook what makes them different from one another because of their more solid connection to what makes them the same.

My fear had always been that these members felt my presence to be invasive. Understandably, these gatherings are their weekly opportunity to escape their Christian surroundings and to just be Jewish together. To share this sacred table with a gentile could easily become a bother. I was, however, always greeted with open arms and welcomed to every meal. It was this hospitality that I witnessed the Rabbi, Rachel, and the other members pass onto thousands of Jews and even their non-Jewish counterparts traveling through Cancun during the course of my observation.

Chabad Offerings

Jewish law states that Shabbat is a day of rest, which the Jewish family should use to reconnect with one another and friends. (Karesh & Hurvitz, 2006, p. 468). This means that starting at sunset on Friday and ending at sunset on Saturday, observant Jews do not handle money, drive cars, use phones, cook meals, or do anything that could be considered handling business. (Karesh & Hurvitz, 2006, p. 468). To welcome in the Sabbath together, the Jews at Chabad Cancun attend Kabbalat Shabbat services led by Rabbi Mendel, and then dine together in the Chabad Cancun community center every Friday evening. These get-togethers are where the majority of my observation occurred.

Rachel Druk prepares a host of kosher salads, dips, meat and rice dishes, vegetarian fare, and desserts for her guests to enjoy. Kosher foods must be prepared, butchered, packaged, and served according to the laws of kashrut15. At one of the meals, Rabbi Mendel explained to me that kosher meat is prepared by covering it with salt, therefore pulling all of the blood out of the meat. Since much disease is carried in the blood of an animal, historically observant Jews were safe from many plagues. Unfortunately, this did not make them safe from being accused of causing the plagues because of their immunity to it. Regardless of their history of persecution, Rabbi Mendel and his wife carry on the tradition with the members of their organization, “because God says so.” Although kosher foods do provide many obvious health benefits, the Rabbi, his wife, and other highly observant Jews abide by the dietary guidelines on a strictly faith based reasoning.

Rabbi Mendel and his wife offer more than a tasty meal. I have participated in a Jewish women’s circle hosted by Rachel, where I witnessed her spark delight in a group of ladies as she educated them of the three responsibilities of Jewish women, which are lighting candles before Shabbat, making Challah, and Mikvah. Rachel also provides Jewish education for the Jewish children in Cancun. The Rabbi hosts Torah study and also serves as a family counselor, although he tells me that he is no psychiatrist and only provides guidance when approached. The center also offers a Hebrew school, and “over 20 classes delivered each week” for adults (Chabad website). Additionally, the center hosts large Jewish holiday celebrations for hundreds of resident and visiting Jews from all over the world.

Even though the center provides Jewish visitors and residents with a surplus of goods and services, there are many more plans underway. “The Cancun Mikvah Fund has been established to raise capital for the construction of Cancun’s only Mikvah,” a ritual bath that Jewish women must bathe in after their monthly menstruation (Chabad website). Rachel currently leads women to Cancun’s oceans and cenotes, since a Mikvah must be from a natural water source, but because of the deep spirituality of this Jewish law, private bathing facilities are preferred. The Rabbi also has dreams of a permanent synagogue, kosher restaurant, and kosher store; all things that I believe Cancun’s tourist industry would greatly benefit from……………….