There are no traffic lights in the historic village of S. Miguel de Allende, Mexico, but now there is Chabad. Rabbi Daniel and Raizel Huebner, and their three
The mountainous, cobblestoned village, a three-and-a-half hour drive away from Mexico City, attracts artists, writers, weavers and others looking for creative inspiration. One section of the town that attracts tourists is a World Heritage Site, a center of the historic Chichimeca War of the late 1500s. The local Jewish community of 2,000 in the summer and 4,000 in the high season of winter is made up mostly of retirees and expats, including many businesspeople from the U.S.
The infusion of Judaism has been well received: a challah bake hosted soon after their arrival filled the family’s living room to capacity with over thirty people attending.
The Huebners didn’t come empty handed: the family brought with them a Torah recently dedicated by Rabbi Tuvia and Chaya Teldon, directors of Chabad in Long Island. They wrote the Torah in memory of their son Boruch, who passed away at age thirteen, twenty-seven years ago, from complications related to cystic fibrosis. The Torah will be loaned to communities who don’t yet have their own and S. Miguel is the first city to host it.
Gerald Getzel Teldon, Rabbi Tuvia’s father, lives in S. Miguel and proudly shares memories of his grandson whenever the Torah is read from at Chabad. The Huebners are grateful for the boost the Torah gives their start-up Chabad.
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Credit: M. Sharfstein for Lubavitch.com
