F
or six weeks this
summer, three young
and newly ordained
rabbis put into action the
teachings of the late Chabad
Rebbe Menachem Mendel
Schneerson — that every
Jewish soul matters, no matter
where they live — by hitting
the road and traveling to the
farthest reaches in Michigan on
a mission to locate and connect
with other Jews.
Embarking on a first-of-its-
kind outing in many years for
Michigan, the young men were
taking part in a decades-old
tradition known as the roving
rabbis.
On the road in Michigan this
year were Yisroel Shemtov, 23,
whose family leads The Shul
in West Bloomfield; Mendel
Slonim, 23, who grew up as the
son of the Chabad couple who
have run the Chabad center
in Binghamton, New York, for
the past 40 years; and Yankel
Glukowsky, 22, an Israeli with
family roots in Metro Detroit
who spent the latter part of the
summer working at the Chabad
Center in Cusco, Peru.
“The Roving Rabbis project
was created by the Rebbe for
whom I was named, to give
rabbinical students a break
from their studies over the
summer, hit the road, and
bring Jewish connections and
mitzvot to Jews who may be
geographically disconnected
from larger Jewish centers,”
Slonim said in a recent
interview with the JN as he
traveled with Shemtov on
a two-hour ride between
Houghton and Marquette.
Earlier in the summer, Slonim’s
roving took him around
Arizona for three weeks.
He continued: “The people
we found, whether they were
Jewish or not, were thrilled
to see us and connect with
us. And for the Jewish people
we met, there was this thirst
to have such a connection
with rabbinical students and
with Judaism. Some had
questions for us that they
had been struggling with.
Some, unfortunately, had bad
experiences with the Jewish
community in the past and
they had been unaffiliated for
years.”
Slonim said that some whom
they encountered made the
mistake of calling themselves
“bad Jews” or “not good
enough Jews.”
“But when we spoke with
them, we saw the revival of
their neshamah, their inner
Jewish soul. This goes beyond
any external labels we put on
ourselves. And so no matter
Rabbis
Roving
The
OUR COMMUNITY
Three rabbis hit the road
in search of Jewish souls.
STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MENDEL SLONIM
Rabbi Yankel Glukowsky
(wearing black hat) and Rabbi
Yisroel Shemtov (on right)
Hanging with some young
people in Charlevoix.
20 | SEPTEMBER 28 • 2023
J
N