MIRACULOUS SHLICHUS IN THE CARIBBEAN

The Chabad House that operates in Bocas del Toro Archipelago in northwest Panama is not only a place whose outreach activities have been crowned with tremendous success and growth, it also regularly is witness to what we call “Baalshemske miracles.” The two dynamic shluchim, R’ Mordechai Cohen and R’ Yariv Klein, tell the story of their extraordinary shlichus.

The Bocas del Toro Archipelago is a beautiful area in the Caribbean that belongs to Panama and touches the border of Costa Rica. Bocas is comprised of six big islands and another 360 or so little islands. It is a stunning tropical archipelago with verdant rain forests, colorful animals, and alabaster beaches that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists a year including thousands of Jews. “We estimate that about 5000 Israelis visit annually and the numbers are growing,” says shliach, Motti Cohen.

There are many attractions that appeal to tourists. In addition to the magnificence of nature there are also the indigenous Indians who maintain their primitive way of life. It is sunny most of the year, there’s a coral reef, and parks that preserve the local natural treasures.

“The Chabad House is in the center of the main island,” says the partner in shlichus, Yariv Klein. “The island has about 4000 people living here and the same number of visitors and tourists on any given day. In addition to thousands of Israeli backpackers who visit every year, there are about fifteen Israeli families who live here who run hotels and various businesses. The American school on the island is also run by a former Israeli, a woman from a kibbutz in the south of the country.”

This season marks four years of outreach on the island. They started “l’chat’chilla aribber,” with almost no resources. “People can’t believe that in such a short time we managed to do all that we did,” says R’ Cohen. He says that his answer to all those who are surprised is that their success is thanks to the Rebbe’s blessings.

The Chabad House does so much, whether on weekdays or on Shabbos and holidays. It is situated in a spacious building that previously served as a guest house and has been rented to the shluchim in recent years. Most of the Israeli tourists who visit the island will visit the Chabad House more than once during their stay. There are even those who sleep there.

THE REBBE URGES TO GET TO WORK

How did this pair of fellows come to open a Chabad House on a Caribbean island? And why this island?

After they finished learning on K’vutza in 770, they went on shlichus to Chabad Houses in Central America. R’ Yariv Klein helped out in Cozumel, Mexico, and R’ Motti Cohen helped the shluchim in Guatemala. At a certain point, R’ Cohen went to Cozumel and their acquaintance turned into a strong friendship.

“When we finished the temporary shlichus, we knew we wanted to stay and devote our lives to shlichus,” says R’ Klein. “We saw the tremendous impact a Chabad House has on the Israelis who visit. Sometimes they are introduced to basic mitzvos for the first time in their lives and first become aware of their Jewish tradition.”

The big question they had was how to go about it. Running an independent Chabad House means having to raise funds, an understanding of how to run things, consistency and focus.

“The ones who encouraged us to take on this shlichus were the shluchim in Cozumel, R’ Shlomi Peleg and R’ Dudi Caplin, from whom we learned so much. After a period of time in which we wavered, we decided to go ahead to where the Rebbe wanted us to go.

“I wrote to the Rebbe via the Igros Kodesh and the answer shocked me. The Rebbe wrote that he was happy to hear that in recent months I was involved with spreading Judaism and Chassidus among Israeli youth. The Rebbe added a line that really hit me hard. ‘I was shocked to hear that he is considering stopping his activities.’ After such a clear answer it was clear to us that we were going on shlichus. R’ Cohen, who wrote separately to the Rebbe, opened to an answer addressed to ‘Cohen,’ in which the Rebbe wrote that the job of a Kohen/priest is to illuminate the souls of Israel, particularly when he is involved in spreading the wellsprings with youth, that it should be with doubled blessings in his efforts.”

The clincher was when Yariv’s father, R’ Amichai, visited Cozumel:

“We went with him to a farbrengen at another Chabad House in Mexico, on the island of Isla Mujeres,” recalls Yariv. “My father who heard about our hesitation, stood up during the farbrengen and asked for the floor. Without further ado, he announced that we were going to open another Chabad House and it cost a lot of money. He took off his hat and put $500 in it and asked those present to add to it.

“About seventy tourists were there and the hat made its way among all of them. It was moving to see them all participate. At the end of the farbrengen we knew that we were going out to prepare another point on the globe for the hisgalus of the Rebbe MH”M. The one who helped us all along the way was Dudi Caplan.”

THE FIRST SHABBOS

The young shluchim headed for Panama City, the financial capital of Panama, where they made final arrangements, bought kosher wine, utensils and other important items and after receiving the approval of the shliach in Panama, R’ Laine, they set out for Bocas del Toro. “We boarded the plane on Thursday afternoon knowing that as soon as we arrived we had to make arrangements for Shabbos.”

On the flight, a middle-aged man sat next to the shluchim. He wore a captain’s uniform and was busy reading the paper. “I did not start a conversation with him since he did not look Jewish to me. How taken aback I was during the last fifteen minutes of the flight when he asked about our purpose for visiting the island. When we told him we were going to open a Chabad House, he looked horrified. He told us he was Jewish and was born and raised in New York but since he was a child he hid his Jewishness. ‘Why do you need to announce your Judaism to everyone?’ he complained.

“Instead of debating the issue with him, we invited him to join us for the Shabbos meal. ‘Where?’ he asked. We told him that we didn’t know yet but we would definitely be having a meal and many would attend it. After we landed, we parted ways and we went to rent a room in a building owned by a Jew named Andy. Andy was happy we came and within an hour we were out on the streets canvassing for Jews. Our plan was to spend Shabbos in our apartment.”

The shluchim spent hours walking around the island. They helped many Israelis do the mitzvah of t’fillin and of course they invited them for Shabbos. During their walk they had an unusual experience of divine providence (see sidebar).

Their first Shabbos in Bocas many Jews joined them, most of them Israeli. The meal took place on the balcony of one of the hotels on the island. “About sixty tourists joined us,” says R’ Cohen. “In the middle of the meal, I glanced at the open sea and suddenly saw the man we met on the flight. He was going out on the water in a small boat on his way to a large boat that he captained. I called his name and motioned to him to come closer. He recognized me and brought his boat to the shore and agreed to come up to the balcony. He heard Kiddush and joined the meal and was particularly moved. He told the tourists that the last Shabbos meal he attended was when he was a little boy in his grandparents’ home in New York.”

A BUILDING FROM HEAVEN

That was the “launch” of their shlichus, and from that point on word got around about the new Chabad House on the island. Tourists told their friends. To meet the growing demand for their peulos, the shluchim set out on a search for a spacious building where they could regularly hold their programs. “We looked for a big building in a central location that would meet all our needs,” says R’ Klein.

One day they met an Israeli by the name of Danny Mizrachi who lived in Key West, Florida, but owned a large property on the island that was used as a hostel. He visited the island several times a year.

“He was happy to meet with us and to hear that we had initiated Chabad activity on the island. He said that he was traditional and ate only kosher food. He showed us a T’hillim that he reads whenever he has free time. He has a son who became close with Chabad and learns in the Chabad yeshiva in Ramat Aviv. We soon became friends and he became a regular visitor at the Chabad House.

“One day, an Israeli who had been adversely affected from smoking drugs fell into a deep depression. The friend who brought him asked us to take care of him. We immediately got to work and the one who helped us a lot was Danny Mizrachi, who referred us to an Israeli woman in Panama who was a holistic healer. After just a few treatments she managed to get him out of his depression. That was the first time on shlichus that we felt how we helped a fellow Jew b’gashmius. Danny was impressed by our devotion.

“When the balcony at the hotel became too small to contain all the participants at our meals, we suggested to Danny that we transfer our activities to his building. He happily agreed. He told us that he was tired of running his hostel and that he planned on selling it. We didn’t have the money to buy it, but we really wanted to rent it as it was a large building and was centrally located.

“Divine providence had an Israeli investor from Panama City come to us the following Shabbos. When he heard about the proposed sale he jumped at the opportunity and bought it, and agreed to sign a contract with us for a long-term rental. He donated the first three months for free.”

That is how the shluchim, only one month after they arrived, found themselves with a spacious, two-story building, centrally located, with eight employees who were familiar with the property, a ready infrastructure, a large kitchen and everything that shluchim who are starting out dream of.

R’ Cohen tells us about many tourists who keep in touch with them, like those who were helped by the Chabad House, and some who made major changes in their lives.

“During our first year here, a tourist came who was ‘ripe’ for anything Jewish. He liked the warm atmosphere of the Chabad House and decided to stay on the island for a long time. He visited us every day. Then he decided to put t’fillin on every day and we lent him a pair. When he returned to Eretz Yisroel he bought himself new t’fillin.”

WHEN THE REBBE SENDS REGARDS

R’ Klein and R’ Cohen tell of the constant sense that the Rebbe is with them.

“These are daily occurrences. I’ll tell you a story that is nothing less than a Baalshemsker miracle. If it hadn’t happened to us, I would not believe it could happen,” says R Klein.

“This happened a few days before Rosh HaShana 5774. Hundreds of Israelis asked us to host them on Rosh HaShana. From other Chabad Houses in the area we were told that there was a mass migration of tourists heading to Bocas. The truth is, we were at a loss as to what to do.

“We had the means to host at most a few dozen tourists. We had never had hundreds before. It required a completely different set of logistics. We decided to go to Panama City to raise money and shop for wine and other basic items. On the Motzaei Shabbos before the trip we sat down to write to the Rebbe and ask for a bracha. We are used to getting clear answers but this answer was especially moving. The Rebbe wrote that he already sent us a check via the secretaries. Accompanied by this clear bracha we left Sunday afternoon for the big city where we stayed with one of the shluchim, R’ Mendy Karniel.

“I took this opportunity to shecht some cattle for the Chabad community, and the plan was that on Monday morning we would go fundraising. R’ Karniel woke us up at six saying there was a person, a wealthy diamond dealer, who asked to meet us right away. He mentioned the man’s name but the name did not ring a bell. We went to the Shevet Achim shul for Shacharis where we met an Israeli, a dealer in kitchens, who donated a new, fully equipped kitchen to us.

“When he heard about the diamond merchant we were going to meet, he offered to drive us there even though it was just a few minutes’ walk away. When we arrived at the office, we suggested that he join us and he did. The diamond dealer was very happy we came. He said he had been looking for us for a whole day already. He opened a drawer in his desk and took out $1000 and gave it to us. It was a nice sum and we wanted to hear what he had to say. The story he told was incredible.

“He said that on Motzaei Shabbos he went to bed and he dreamed that the Rebbe came to him in a dream and asked him if he wants to be rich. When he said yes, the Rebbe told him that he needed to give tz’daka to the Chabad House that was outside the city. He motioned to the Rebbe, a dollar? The Rebbe said no. Ten dollars? No. A hundred dollars? No. A thousand dollars? The Rebbe said yes. When he woke up in the morning he was agitated by his dream. There were moments he thought it was nonsense. What he found most confounding was that he had no idea that in Panama there was another Chabad House aside from the one in Panama City. That night he told the dream to a friend, a mekurav to Chabad, who urged him to do as the Rebbe said and not miss the opportunity.

“The fellow told him that he had just heard about two young shluchim who were operating in Bocas, who had come that morning to Panama City to raise money and he considered this incredible divine providence.

“When we heard his story we thought we were dreaming because we remembered the Rebbe’s answer we opened to about the check he sent us. We burst into joyous dance, being so excited that the Rebbe was looking out for us.

“The Israeli from the kitchens who had joined us stood there in shock and when we left, he said he was making two days available for us and would take us to all his friends and acquaintances, businessmen in many fields. Within two days we were able to collect all the money and equipment we needed not only for Rosh HaShana but for the entire Tishrei.”

Incredible. It looks like the Rebbe spoils you…

R’ Cohen (smiling): “Definitely. And yet, we are still always busy raising money for our work. When you are involved in the work, the Rebbe helps in supernatural ways.

“Someone once came to the Chabad House and started asking us about our vision and our dreams. At that time, we wanted to renovate the kitchen and equip it. We told him this without considering that anything would come of it.

“The kitchen back then was nothing but two plastic tables, a few chairs, a simple gas burner and a pathetic fridge. He began asking us how much we thought it would cost to do the renovations. We threw out a wild figure of $20,000. He smiled and said, ‘Chevra, I will pay for the kitchen. I have a kitchen company in Panama and my workers will come in a few days to make you a new kitchen.’ We were stunned. We did not know him and he did not know us and in that first encounter he made such a generous donation.”

R’ Cohen recalls another incident to share:

“At a certain point we wanted a machine to make dough. There are days when we make hundreds of challos and doing it by hand takes up way too much time. When we visited Panama City we looked in a few Jewish owned stores for this machine. In one store the man told us he doesn’t carry it but he found out for us that it costs $3000. I was surprised by how much it cost. I hadn’t planned on spending that much on it. I told him so and said we could not buy such an expensive machine. He asked me to wait while he consulted with his wife. A few minutes later he came back and said that he and his wife decided to donate it to us on condition that every time we did hafrashas challa we would say that it’s in the z’chus of the Gabbai family from Panama City.”

How are you preparing the island for the hisgalus of Moshiach Tzidkeinu?

“Every tourist who comes to the Chabad House knows that the Lubavitcher Rebbe is Moshiach, and all the good resolutions made here are not only to make the world a better place but to hasten the hisgalus.

“As soon as they walk in, people hear about the opportunity of writing to the Rebbe for a bracha and advice. Some do it as a matter of course and there are some who heard about it at other Chabad Houses they visited and they know what it’s about.

“There are also those who look askance at it, but instead of getting into a whole discussion about it, we invite them for supper at eight o’clock. At supper we talk about the Rebbe and thoroughly explain the idea of the Nasi HaDor and the need to connect to him. Many questions are asked about Judaism, Chassidus and Moshiach, and we answer everything to the best of our abilities. People understand that the reason we are on the island instead of living in a nice community in Eretz Yisroel or New York is in order to prepare this place for Moshiach.

“One day, I met an Israeli couple walking near the Chabad House and I invited them to come in. At first they hesitated but when I offered them shakshuka they came for supper. After we exchanged a few pleasantries, we realized they were not a couple but a brother and sister who had come to the island to surf.

“My colleague Yariv told them that he knows a longtime surfer who also surfs in the area and said his name. ‘He’s our relative,’ they exclaimed, surprised that Yariv knew him. Yariv told them that their relative told him that thirty years ago his sister did not have children after many years of marriage. She went to the best doctors who were unable to help her.

“At a certain point she went to the Rebbe who gave her three dollar bills for tz’daka and blessed her. To her amazement, a year after her visit to the Rebbe she gave birth to triplets. The brother and sister smiled and said they were two siblings of the triplets and the third sibling lived in Australia.

“Dozens of Israelis heard this story. Naturally, after a story like that, the shliach doesn’t have to explain too much because whatever he will say will be readily accepted.”

***

R’ Klein concludes by saying that he keeps on hearing about stories that began at the Chabad House in Bocas and concluded later, in other places around the world.

“On our very first day here, we met two young guys, kibbutznikim, veterans of the navy special forces, Shayetet 13, who put t’fillin on for the first time in their lives, here with us. At the chanukas ha’bayis we made for the Chabad House, we noted that it was also their bar mitzva. I later found out that the two of them began getting more involved in Jewish life and that one of them went to learn in a yeshiva and became completely religious.”

R’ Cohen follows up by telling about the many ideas they have for expanding their work:

“There is a rich fellow who is willing to give us the initial sum to buy land on which to build a Chabad House. Our dream is to put up a building that will be ours. On the first floor will be a mikva.

“We are right now in the process of establishing a kosher kitchen, which will produce high quality kosher meals for Jewish groups, not necessarily religious, who come to the island a few times a year on organized tours from the US.”