UNLIKELY CHABAD HOUSE FOR ISRAELI BACKPACKERS

Rabbi Ariel Antebi and his wife, Rivka, devotedly run a Chabad House in Santana, a district of S Paulo, Brazil. * Their Chabad House serves as the headquarters for numerous Jewish tourists who pass through the area.

By Avrohom Shmuel Zalmanov

The story of R’ Ariel Antebi, shliach in Santana, in northern S Paulo, is the story of hundreds of Israeli tourists who have passed through his Chabad House and remember the warm welcome they received. The impression made upon them from the warm welcome they receive does not fade so fast.

When R’ Ariel traveled with his family to visit Eretz Yisroel for a month, he was visited by many guests who got to know him from the Chabad House. The former guests became hosts who refused to pass on the opportunity of meeting up with Rabbi and Mrs. Antebi and repay their kindness. One of them even insisted on saying goodbye the day they left for Brazil, and took off in the middle of a workday to go to the airport to see them off.

So what is it about this charismatic rabbi? What is his outlook on life? What is his message to his fellow shluchim and what is he doing to earn such fond feelings?

Instead of waiting with these questions to the final minutes of the interview, which is how it is usually done, we started out by asking R’ Antebi what his approach to shlichus is, and what thoughts he uses to keep himself going. The simple answers he provided, as well as the many amazing stories he shared, had our jaws dropping. He has a whole empire going that is quietly, but forcefully, impacting one of the biggest cities in the world!

SURPRISE TORAH DONATION

R’ Ariel was born in Argentina but his parents moved to Brazil when he was young. He attended the Yiddish-speaking Satmar elementary school in S Paulo.

After marrying his wife Rivka (quite a story in itself; she was a Brazilian girl who became a baalas teshuva on her own at age 17), they worked in chinuch – he in a Chabad school and she in a girls’ school.

Eleven years ago, they were offered an opportunity to do outreach work within the Jewish community in Santana. Santana is somewhat removed from the center of the city and until that year, there were no ongoing Jewish activities there. The Antebis rose to the challenge. What began as a series of encounters in various parts of the neighborhood, each time in a different location, soon turned into a permanent Chabad House. Not long afterward, the new shluchim rented a place for a Chabad House and they moved.

From the outset, their target group was the local Jewish community. Nobody thought about Israeli tourists. In general, S Paulo is not a tourist destination for young people. It doesn’t have magnificent scenery or beaches. The tourists, who travel in droves to South America, including Brazil, flock to smaller, more picturesque cities. Few are interested in the more industrial cities.

This is why, at first, the Chabad House primarily served the local community and even then, R’ Ariel had plenty of work:

“The first half a year I was still getting regular grants from shluchim who wanted to help me establish the place, but the money soon ran out and I had to run the Chabad House on my own, in addition to my teaching.

“Then I received an astounding bracha from the Rebbe that made me realize that the Chabad House in Santana is meant to be my mission in life. It was on a difficult day, when I felt that the work was absolutely exhausting me. On the one hand, I was (and still am) a teacher, which requires a lot of work; on the other hand, the constant tension in raising funds, helping people, giving shiurim, and spreading Judaism, wore me out. I sat down to write a letter to the Rebbe and asked for a sign that would clearly show me whether I should continue operating a Chabad House or give up and fully devote myself to chinuch.

“I soon received a clear sign from heaven. A few days after I wrote to the Rebbe, someone from S Paulo, by the name of Chachamovich, contacted me. He runs a ‘Kabbala’ and spiritual teachings center for the broader public in Brazil. I never had a connection with him before and was surprised to hear from him. He said he heard about the new Chabad House I opened and he wanted to give me a Torah.

“I remember stammering – What? How? Why? He himself did not know what to say. He just said that recently, one of his rich followers called him and said he wanted to donate a Torah to an Orthodox shul in the city, and since he had just heard of the new Chabad House, he had the idea of calling me. He connected me with the donor and within a few months, our new shul had its own Torah, something that other shluchim usually have to wait for, for years, and sometimes they never get one.

“We have had other difficulties since then, but I got my sign.”

DOING IT ALL

Rentals in S Paulo are very expensive and this is aside from having to hire cleaning help, drivers, cooks, etc. How do they pay for it all? The answer is simple. They don’t.

“We do everything on our own. My wife and I prepare the food for Shabbos and the children help us set the tables and set up the shul. When we have to make deliveries, we do it all ourselves.

“It isn’t easy, especially when we both have jobs outside the Chabad House as teachers which requires a lot of work. At times of crisis, I write to the Rebbe through the Igros Kodesh and a few times already, I have opened to encouraging answers that provide my wife and myself with renewed energy.”

LOVE MELTS BARRIERS

Until about five years ago, the Chabad House in Santana was officially meant for the community, but slowly, as the years went by, R’ Ariel and his family began to discover that they were attracting more and more Israeli backpackers who were passing through.

It turns out that Santana is strategically located as a through destination for tourists who are crossing South America.

S Paulo, although not a tourist destination, is still the capital, and when trips are made around Brazil it is almost impossible not to pass through S Paulo, whether by plane or bus. Santana is very close to the main airport and to the central bus station, which have a steady stream of backpackers from all over South America.

Most of them have to wait for a few hours or even days until they can continue traveling, and since Santana is located on the connecting road between the airport and the central bus station, it makes sense that many Israelis visit the nearest Chabad House to rest up.

The number of Israelis who showed up at the Chabad House in the early years was relatively small, since the Chabad House did not see itself as targeting tourists and few people had heard about them. As time went on, the number of tourists grew, and five years ago the Antebis decided to officially turn their place into a branch of the Chabad Houses for tourists.

Since they have started posting on social media, many young Israelis have been dropping in every day of the week. Some come for a few hours while others stay for a few days. The Chabad House has some guest rooms and the shluchim have good connections with all the managers of nearby hotels to whom they refer tourists.

Work with tourists is a constant. The Chabad House is always getting phone calls, texts and emails from people who want to know where they can stay, what there is to do for a few days, where they can buy kosher food, and how to sign up for Shabbos meals. This is aside from tourists who show up and need attention.

How do the Antebis deal with all this? His answer is: unconditional love. That is what is needed. According to him, the fact that he welcomes everyone warmly without asking for anything in return, melts people’s hearts.

“Last Pesach, we had many more tourists than we anticipated. We prepared to host about 70-80 people, but as Pesach got closer, we realized we were going to have no fewer than 200. We had to quickly arrange for space and more food, wine, and matzos. Boruch Hashem, we managed, and Erev Pesach everything was in place.

“Erev Yom Tov, in the midst of the preparations and pressure, a tourist showed up who had just landed that day, and let us just say that things were hopping all around us. I worked very hard not to show any signs of tension and welcomed him warmly, like I do everyone. He stayed in the Chabad House, drank coffee, used the Internet, and when he was ready to leave I invited him to stay for the seder. He politely declined and said he wanted to go to a local festival.

“The truth is that I wanted to show him that I was displeased. We had been working so hard around him and made him feel at home, and he did not show even a minimal sensitivity and he refused to stay with us, for free! I didn’t say anything to him. I smiled, gave him a Hagada, and told him that since it would be Pesach, after all, he should take the Hagada and read it in his free time. “Still and all, we are Jews, and we can remember our history,” I said to him. He smiled back and left.

“Toward the end of the seder, after shulchan orech, if I am not mistaken it was precisely when we stood up to open the door for Eliyahu HaNavi, that Israeli came back, all emotional. He told us what happened.

“He went to the festival as he planned but suddenly felt an emptiness, how he did not belong. Everyone was acting wild and dancing and all he could think of was, ‘What am I doing here? Why am I not celebrating our wonderful holiday like all Jews?’ In the middle of all the commotion and noise he sat down on some nearby steps and opened the Hagada I gave him and began to read ‘Avodim hayinu,’ out loud. Slowly, more and more Israelis began gathering round him who had also come for the festival. At a certain point, there were about twenty of them sitting there, who separated themselves from the celebrating throngs and connected to what the Hagada has to say.

“He came to me personally to tell me what happened that night. I think it happened because I didn’t pressure him; because I accepted him unconditionally and showed him that despite everything we love him and our home is always open to him. If I had let my feelings be known, it is quite possible that I would not have remembered to give him a Hagada (or I would have thought it wouldn’t interest him) and the whole story of this Jewish neshama would not have happened.

“The Rebbe teaches us to love unconditionally, to send waves of warmth to everyone without considering appearances. This is what I always try to do and boruch Hashem, we see results!”

NO GIVING UP

“There is another story that shows the power of unconditional love. We had an older man here from Miron who was staying with us for all of Sukkos, but he refused to do things ‘which he did not relate to,’ as he put it. He refused to do the mitzva of the dalet minim. I begged him every day but made him feel comfortable. He knew that our home was absolutely open to him, even if he refused to do the mitzva, but each time I would say to him with a smile, ‘Come on already, don’t be so stubborn. What do you care if you shake some leaves for a minute and a half?’

“One time, he agreed and we excitedly took out a camera to take a picture of this stubborn Jew who finally agreed to do the mitzva. We made a whole ceremony out of it. I explained the meaning of the mitzva and we celebrated together and made him feel so good about it that he himself got swept up and excited too.

“The end of the story is that when we visited Eretz Yisroel, this guy, more than any of the other guests and acquaintances who met us, insisted on repaying the favor. He let us stay in his bungalow for a few days for free, and brought special dates that he grows. He repaid us more than anyone else.

“I think it was the unconditional love with which the Rebbe teaches us to embrace every Jew that melted the walls of his heart and allowed rays of Jewish light to get in.”

EXPLAINING GEULA AS A REALITY

“The topic of Geula and Moshiach is one that we discuss at length. Oftentimes, the tourists themselves, who are familiar with Chabad around the world and in Eretz Yisroel, bring up the question, ‘What’s with Chabad and Moshiach? Why is he so important to us? When is he coming?’

“We explain the topic to them thoroughly according to the Rebbe and the teachings of Chassidus. People often have no idea that Moshiach is a central Jewish concept. They think it’s a side matter, which is why they do not understand why Chabad turned it into something so major. But when we show them that it is one of the Rambam’s principles, and that it is actually the reason the world was created, that there should be a perfected world, with a palpable sense of G-d’s presence, they are really surprised and far more willing to absorb the idea.

“When we also show them how the Rebbe is directing and continues to direct the world toward this harmonious state, while preaching genuine, unlimited Ahavas Yisroel, to increase in mitzvos and good deeds and awareness in the existence of a Creator, many of them are amazed by the concept and realize we are talking about a tangible process that is happening right now.

“Tourists have said to me when parting from us, ‘If Moshiach is coming, then there is no doubt that the Rebbe and his Chassidim are the ones who will bring him. Obviously, because only they are busy with this…’”

A SMALL LIGHT WHICH ILLUMINATES THE ENTIRE WORLD

R’ and Mrs. Antebi’s work is being done without fanfare. Numerous tourists pass through their Chabad House every day and many of them put on t’fillin, say a bracha on kosher food, keep Shabbos or participate in a tefilla in the shul. It is no surprise then that many dozens of tourists came specially to see him on his last visit to Eretz Yisroel.

We hear in the media about big Chabad Houses in Thailand, India and the Far East that are accomplishing so much, but there are dozens of “small” Chabad Houses that together, are changing the face of the globe. You may not have read about them in the media and may not have seen pictures of them, but they are there, fighting for their existence day by day, and adding countless mitzvos to our world.