Halfway Around the World

After 10 months of learning two hours a week at their local Chabad houses, 120 students from throughout Brazil, including Bahia, Recife, Belem, Manaus, Tocatins, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, embarked on an inspiring trip through Southern Europe.

Founded by Shliach Rabbi Dovid Weitman, “Projeto Alicerces” is a learning program instilling Jewish pride and identity in these young students, and creating young Jewish leaders.

Studying at Chabad Lubavitch institutions with the support of Keren Nehor Menachem, and the Jewish Philanthropist Mr. Elie Horn, the students learn about their roots, and where their ancestors came from.

Many of them are from cities where they are the only Jewish family in town. Through this trip they can meet other young Jewish men and women like themselves.

During the three-week whirlwind trip, accompanied by their local Shluchim Dani Eskinazi, Dovid Goldberg and Ilan Stifelman, the group explored cities in 8 countries, visiting many historical sites.

Landing first in Spain, the students started their trip in Madrid, and continued on to Toledo, Cordoba where they visited the Rambam’s shul, Barcelona, Sevilla and Grenada where they visited the Alhambra castle.

In Morroco, they were received by the Shliach Rabbi and Mrs. Levi Banon, travelling through Marrakech, Casablanca and Fez where they went to visit the Rambam’s house and the Kever of Rabbi Yehudah Ben-Attar.

Their first Shabbos was spent in Lisbon, Portugal, where they took part in a very inspiring ceremony on motzei Shabbos, together with local Shliach Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld, in the biggest square in the city, where thousands of Jews were burnt during the time of the Inquisition.

France was the next stop, during which they traveled to Montpelier, where they had a beautiful dinner by the local Shliach Rabbi Peretz Partoush, and visited Nimes, Carpentras and Nice, where they were received by the Shliach Rabbi Yossef Pinson. From there they stopped in Monaco.

The trip then went on to Italy, whre the Shliach Rabbi Sholom Hazan received them, and where the students visited the Casalle Monferato synagogue, known as one of the most beautiful synagogues in Europe and a place where so many Jewish weddings had taken place throughout the ages.

Milan, Pisa, Firenze and Rome were next, with a beautiful Shabbos spent in Venice at the home of Shluchim Rabbi and Mrs. Rami Banin.

In Greece, the students visited Athens, where shluchim Rabbi and Mrs. Mendel Hendel received them with a very warm dinner, before continuing on to Salonika, where they were received by local Shliach Rabbi Yoel Kaplan. One of the most emotional moments of the trip was in Salonika, Greece. All the students gathered in the Main Shul, and Rabbi Weitman told them: “Here was a city that had so many Jews, that even the port would be closed on Shabbos. It had over 50 synagogues. More than 80,000 Jews lived here, and 90% of them were taken to Auschwitz, and died in the gas chambers. Only because they wanted to live as Jews…”

The European part of the trip ended in Istanbul, Turkey, where the students had the opportunity to hear from the local Shliach Rabbi Mendy Chitrik about the Mesiras Nefesh he has for his shlichus, where the Jewish community has been attacked three times in recent years.

The trip culminated with a visit to New York, where they had the opportunity to visit the Rebbe’s Ohel and spend Shabbos in 770. On Motzei Shabbos they were treated to a beautiful Melava Malka at Chabad of Midtown Manhattan, hosted by Rabbi Yehoshua Metzger.