Chabad of RARA travels 20,000km to provide connection to every Jew in regional Australia

Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia, famously known as “RARA”, has had a record-setting past two months. During this time, eight bochurim have travelled thousands of kilometres around Australia in search of Jewish people in far-flung places.

Founded in 2000 by Melbourne”s Sauly and Beverly Spigler, RARA seeks to bring connection and Yiddishkeit to Jewish people in remote places around Australia that do not have any Jewish infrastructure.

Led by Shliach Rabbi Menachem Aron, four different areas were identified to be visited by bochurim over the American summer.

Yaakov Zarchi and Mendel Zarchi were the first group to head out, visiting Jewish people in South-East and Central Queensland. They utilised the Chabad of Brisbane Mitzva Tank, a beautiful motorhome that is dedicated in honour of Sheindal Bas Eliezer Haltowski. A special thanks goes to Rabbi Levi Jaffe for facilitating this incredible vehicle.

The bochurim spent five weeks and covered 4,000 kilometres on the road, visiting Toowoomba, a town famous for being the site of the very first Synagogue in the state way back in the 1880’s, and then making their way all the way up the coast to as far north as Bowen.

One of the highlights of their trip was connecting with Danielle and her family in Maryborough, a town of just 18,000 people. Danielle has only recently connected with her Judaism, and was keen to learn as much as she could from the visiting Rabbis. Her children were equally as enthusiastic, with her son James donning Tefillin for the very first time during the rabbis visit.

Another Israeli family that the bochurim visited mentioned how much they missed traditional Israeli snacks, and in no time, Chabad of RARA organised that a box of Bamba be sent to them in the mail. “This brings back such great memories of Israel!” the family exclaimed when they received the package.

3,500 kilometres away, on the West Coast of Australia there were more Jewish people to visit. Mendel Lipskier and Mendel Shmotkin flew to Australia, and then spent 4 days driving across the Nullarbor, one of the flattest and most arid environments in Australia. They drove Chabad of RARA’s flagship Mitzva Tank and Mobile Library to people living south of Perth, visiting families there that that had not seen another Jewish face in over a year.

Just earlier this week, they visited Michael in Margaret River, who was so excited to hear that the rabbis were in town. He welcomed them to his 8 acre property, which was followed by a full afternoon of discussion and talking. Michael received a beautiful Mezuzah to hang up on his front door, and his children were gifted with colourful plush Torah toys. Michael was so thrilled to spend time with the rabbis, that he even invited them to spend Shabbos with him over the weekend.

Mendel and Mendel have been turning heads with their brightly coloured Mitzva Tank, which has been parked on busy street corners throughout South-West Western Australia, enabling everyone in the region to hop aboard and learn about Yiddishkeit.

Over 2,000 kilometres north, Chabad of RARA’s third group was hard at work. Menachem Manssouri, together with Mendel Junik, were visiting a region that had never before been visited by Chabad of RARA. Starting in Darwin, the rabbis hosted a Shabbos that was attended by more than 20 locals. It was an evening of L’chaims, Divrei Torah, and lots and lots of laughter.

After spending ten days in the Top End city of Australia, the bochurim jumped on a plane and flew to the small town called Broome, famous for its pearling industry. There, they met up with the only Jewish resident in town and a few Jewish doctors that were working in the area. They also visited the old Jewish cemetery that has half a dozen burials dating back to the turn of the 20th century.

Menachem and Mendel then rented a motorhome, adorned it with temporary Chabad of RARA magnet signs, and began their 2,500-kilometre road trip down to Perth.

With just a few names, their work was cut out: To locate Jewish people living in this remote part of Australia. An incredible encounter took place at a petrol station between Broome and Port Hedland, where the rabbis, by pure Hashgach Protis, happened to have stopped at the wrong petrol pump. When they came around to the right one, they were met with a loud “Shalom!”. They looked up, and met Sivan, a traveller.

The three quickly got into a conversation, with the rabbis mentioning that they were looking to connect with Jewish people in places like Port Hedland, Karratha and beyond. Sivan’s eyes lit up when she heard the names of these cities. “I know a Jewish woman that lives in Wickham, not far from Karratha”. Details were exchanged, and indeed, a few days later, Menachem and Mendel were sitting in Wickham and talking with Osnat about Jewish life.

That meeting led to another Jewish person, an Israeli man named Avi, who lives in a tiny little town called Roeburn with just 980 residents. The bochurim ended up spending an entire Shabbos with Avi, which was packed with farbrenging, singing Niggunim, and lots of great food. Avi had studied in Kfar Chabad many years back, and the bochurim brought back his memories from then. He had been living in Roeburn for 14 years, and this was the very first time that he had spent Shabbos with other Frum Yidden.

The visit came at the perfect time, as Avi wanted to have his Tefillin checked, and the rabbis were able to arrange for this to take place.

Although this all sounds like a lot already, there are even more people to be reached. So, just two weeks ago, a fourth group of bochurim arrived in Australia. Yosef Eagle and Yisroel Bernstein hit the road, and headed up to Albury-Wodonga, two cities located on either side of the Victoria and New South Wales Broder.

A very special visit took place with Paul, a paramedic who just managed to squeeze the bochurim’s visit into his busy schedule. Paul related how his mother had only revealed to him that they were Jewish when the family had arrived by boat in Australia. Paul described the connection that he feels every time RARA comes to visit, and was very excited to be able to put on Tefillin again.

While there, Yosef and Yisroel were sure to tell Paul about the upcoming annual RARA Shabbaton that takes place in Melbourne, were people from all over regional Australia are given the opportunity to spend Shabbos within the Melbourne Jewish community. Paul immediately checked his calendar and saw that the weekend was exactly when he had off from work. The same day that the rabbis visited, Paul booked to join the meaningful and uplifting Shabbaton.

To be able to have four groups travelling around Australia simultaneously is no small feat, at no small cost. “This year, for Shnas Hakhel we wanted to do something more than the usual,” said Rabbi Menachem Aron, who, together with his wife Shevi, has directed Chabad of RARA for the past 3 and a half years. “There are close to 10,000 Jewish people living in rural and regional areas around the country. So many people have reached out to us, asking for a visit, to spend time with other Jewish people, or even someone to just say ‘Good Shabbos’ to. The bochurim that we have are doing an incredible job at fulfilling the Rebbe’s mandate that no Jew should ever be left behind, no matter the distance.”

In addition to the above, the Aron’s and their two children, Chaya Mushka and Levik, also embarked on a trip during the recent winter break, spending 8 days visiting families in regional Victoria and parts of South Australia.

In Warrnambool, a beachside town, they were trying to meet with an older woman named Rachel who had been in the area for about six years. Unable to get through to her on the phone, they turned up at her house, only to learn that she had recently moved into an assisted living home. The timing was just right, as Rachel’s daughter was just then going to visit her. Rabbi Menachem followed along, and was able to meet with Rachel and her daughter. It had been some time since Rachel had seen a friendly Jewish face, and her eyes lit up when she heard some familiar Jewish songs being sung.

Later on, the Aron’s made a Shabbos in Mount Gambier, South Australia, and spent an afternoon with Geoffrey, who, since the passing of his mother last year, has become closer with his Yiddishkeit. Geoffrey used the opportunity to get the answers to many questions that he had come up with over the past months.

The stories continue to unfold, with three of the four groups still on the road, meeting more people every day.

Thank you to the generous support of those that enable Chabad of RARA to be there for every Jew.

To support Jewish life in rural and regional areas around Australia, visit chabadofrara.org/support

Report by Rabbi Menachem Aron