View this post on Instagram "New Yorkers Laurie Tobias-Cohen and her husband, Yosef Cohen, fondly recall a memorable vacation weekend in Bangor, Maine. Thanks to Chabad of Bangor, established three years ago by Rabbi Chaim and Esther Wilansky, they didn’t have to rush home for Shabbat during their week-long trip, which also took them to Acadia National Park and the seaside town of Bar Harbor …The Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries rent out a room and offer guests the opportunity to join them for Shabbat meals. So Tobias-Cohen and her husband spent Shabbat (and stayed on ?until Monday?) comfortably and well-fed…The weekend became a group affair. In addition to hosting the pair in a guest suite, the Wilanskys welcomed a family from Queens, N.Y., who needed a place to park their RV. They also invited friends of the Cohens, in town to attend a Jewish naming ceremony, for a meal, along with the family whose daughters had just been named….The Chabad couple moved to Bangor in 2015, establishing a way station—a B&B, of sorts—for travelers looking for kosher food, a place to stay and Shabbat plans tied to visits to Acadia... They also deliver kosher meals during the week to nearby hotels. The rabbi, who also leads Congregation Beth Abraham, an Orthodox synagogue in Bangor, is the son of longtime Chabad emissaries Rabbi Moshe and Chana Wilansky. The elder Wilanskys, who have 13 children, have directed Chabad Lubavitch of Maine in Portland since 1987. The younger Wilansky and his wife moved two hours north of Portland for the chance to be a resource for Jews who reside in central Maine and those passing through it. ‘It’s a small Jewish community, but every Jew is a gem,’ he says. ‘We look at each person individually; every person is a whole world.’ Local or tourist, he and his wife, who have three children under 3, work to ensure that Jewish needs are met. In addition to classes and Torah learning, they host ?Friday-night? dinners, make home visits and deliver freshly-baked challah to community members.” #chabad #chabadnews #jewishmaine #chabadhouse A post shared by Documenting Maine Jewry (@mainejewishhistory) on Apr 2, 2019 at 5:08am PDT
"New Yorkers Laurie Tobias-Cohen and her husband, Yosef Cohen, fondly recall a memorable vacation weekend in Bangor, Maine. Thanks to Chabad of Bangor, established three years ago by Rabbi Chaim and Esther Wilansky, they didn’t have to rush home for Shabbat during their week-long trip, which also took them to Acadia National Park and the seaside town of Bar Harbor …The Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries rent out a room and offer guests the opportunity to join them for Shabbat meals. So Tobias-Cohen and her husband spent Shabbat (and stayed on ?until Monday?) comfortably and well-fed…The weekend became a group affair. In addition to hosting the pair in a guest suite, the Wilanskys welcomed a family from Queens, N.Y., who needed a place to park their RV. They also invited friends of the Cohens, in town to attend a Jewish naming ceremony, for a meal, along with the family whose daughters had just been named….The Chabad couple moved to Bangor in 2015, establishing a way station—a B&B, of sorts—for travelers looking for kosher food, a place to stay and Shabbat plans tied to visits to Acadia... They also deliver kosher meals during the week to nearby hotels. The rabbi, who also leads Congregation Beth Abraham, an Orthodox synagogue in Bangor, is the son of longtime Chabad emissaries Rabbi Moshe and Chana Wilansky. The elder Wilanskys, who have 13 children, have directed Chabad Lubavitch of Maine in Portland since 1987. The younger Wilansky and his wife moved two hours north of Portland for the chance to be a resource for Jews who reside in central Maine and those passing through it. ‘It’s a small Jewish community, but every Jew is a gem,’ he says. ‘We look at each person individually; every person is a whole world.’ Local or tourist, he and his wife, who have three children under 3, work to ensure that Jewish needs are met. In addition to classes and Torah learning, they host ?Friday-night? dinners, make home visits and deliver freshly-baked challah to community members.” #chabad #chabadnews #jewishmaine #chabadhouse
A post shared by Documenting Maine Jewry (@mainejewishhistory) on Apr 2, 2019 at 5:08am PDT