Published: 28 May 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
NOMI KALTMANN: For 20 years, Chabad of rural and regional Australia has been connecting with Jews in unexpected places—far from Melbourne and Sydney
IN THE 1970S, Melbourne businessman Sauli Spigler, then in his early 20s, rented a mobile home and travelled more than 9,000 km with a few of his friends over a four-week period across the Australian outback.
While this could have been a typical rite-of-passage trip by young people looking for adventure, Spigler had heeded a call from the Lubavitcher rebbe in New York City to seek out Jewish people living in isolated areas, with a mission to connect them with their faith.
The Australian outback, known for its red earth, unrelenting heat, and massive distances between tiny municipalities, is not exactly the place you would expect to find many Jewish people.
But with their RV operating as one of the first Australian Chabad Mitzvah Tanks—a Jewish home on wheels, stocked with Jewish supplies for the masses, including kosher foods, mezuzahs, tefillin, Shabbat candles, and books of Torah—Spigler and his friends were pleasantly surprised by what they found, even in remote areas.
“During this trip we encountered many Jewish people living in outback Australia and I really saw how many people were wanting to connect to their Judaism,” said Spigler. “Every house welcomed us with open arms, and we could really see the positive effects our visits had on people.”
FULL STORY: Outreach in the Outback (Tablet)
Photo: Rabbi Ari Rubin’s mobile succah in Cairns (Courtesy Rabbi Rubin)
