At a young adults event and shiur at the Chabad of Paraguay in Asunción, every seat is taken. Although the observant Jewish population there is small, Chabad's program is wildly successful - many young adults become religious and move away to Argentina.

I visited Paraguay 4 years ago, in December of 2007.  I didn’t really have a plan.  I just realized I’d been to every other country in the Southern Cone and that was the one I was missing.  So on a whim I bought a plane ticket and off I flew!

The first thing I did when I landed in Paraguay was to call the local Chabad rabbi.  I didn’t have any hotel reservations – the only things I really had with me were some empanadas to eat, a few clothes, and my camera.  The Chabad shliach there was great! He told me on the phone the address for the Chabad, what roads to tell the taxi driver to take, and exactly how much it should cost.  When I arrived, he heaped kosher food on me – I guess I didn’t need those empanadas after all!

Later that evening, as we gathered in a local park for one of Chabad’s many community events, the rabbi asked me where I was staying. When I just shrugged and said I’d find something, he ran off and came back immediately, telling me I could stay with one of the local families.  This family was so warm, welcoming, and open that they let me stay with them for my entire trip to Paraguay – almost a week! – and even let me join them in their family celebrations and for all their meals.

When I visited Paraguay, there were only 3 families there that kept kosher, including the family I stayed with and the rabbi’s family.  There is a large community of Jews who are not religiously observant and Chabad events are very well-attended.  It’s difficult to keep kosher in Paraguay because there are too few people to make it worth it for shops to supply them.  Still, they have a shochet (butcher) come twice a year from Argentina and many other products are imported from Argentina.

The Jewish couple I stayed with in Asunción, Paraguay (to the right side of the photo) welcome me into their home as if I was family and even let me join in their family celebrations, including a family dinner with the parents! Not only was the entire Jewish community in Paraguay amazing and generous, but the Paraguayan people were all friendly and warm - even the taxi drivers!

Aside from doing lots of things with the Jewish community, I also saw some of the sights.  I walked around old Asunción, which has some beautiful historic buildings. I went shopping in the big, modern malls, where top quality clothes can be bought for very cheap.  I also went to a ranch, an estancia, where I went horseback riding most of the day and then relaxed for a few hours in a hammock while I drank fresh juice.  By the end of my stay, I had become so friendly with the owners that they refused to let me pay!

My experience in Paraguay was fantastic.  Not only was the Jewish community one of the nicest communities I’ve ever met, but all of the people in Paraguay seem to be really, really nice.  I even sat down one day and talked for a while with a homeless family who dig through garbage to find recycleables.  Even though they were poor, they were some of the nicest people I have ever met.  Paraguay might be a difficult country in which to keep kosher, but if you visit the Chabad, they will feed you well and be incredibly welcoming.  It’s definitely worth a visit!

Rabbi Ben with scouts in Indonesia

We were not sure if we were going to spend Shabbat in Maryland or in New Jersey. We were already in the DC area and decided a few more days of catching up with friends would be good.

The last time I was in Silver Spring was for the ‘97 National Boy Scout Jamboree. We were the Shomer Shabbat and kosher contingent. We made up two troops comprised of 35 scouts and 5 adults to each troop. As part of the Jamboree experience we spent Shabbat in Silver Spring. It amazed me how the community was able to organize Shabbat hospitality for the 80 of us.

This past Shabbat, using Shabbat.com, a great site that matches hosts and people looking to be hosted, we stayed at a wonderful family in the Kemp Mill area. It was great to be able to see some old scouting friends – some I hadn’t seen in over 10 years! I was Chazzan at the Kemp Mill Synagogue where I davened mussaf. As usual, all the old ladies came over to tell me how beautiful it was and I was happy to make them happy.

Tomorrow please G-d I’ll write about how we got to New Jersey using ride share.

Havdalah drumming in Baltimore with Derch Hateva crew

Last summer, we spent a month in living in the outdoors, hiking, biking, and riding camels across Israel. I was one of two counselors for a group of teenage boys. It was an awesome trip. Type “Derech Hateva” into the search box for more about this.

Anyway, Came to Baltimore for a few days because two of the Derech Hateva boys are here. We’re spending a few days together getting back to nature, with getting spiritual in the outdoors: hiking, tai chi, praying, and meditating.

Last night after havdalah we had an awesome jam session on the drums.

We are in Baltimore. It’s a very Jewish neighborhood where we are staying. Almost every house is Jewish. I like this because the streets were quiet Friday night and Saturday because not many people were driving.

Shabbat morning I heard Rabbi Dovid Katz speak. Now, normally I’ve got issues with Rabbis talking for 35 minutes during the service, but not with Rabbi Katz. He’s a well-known Rabbi, professor and historian and he had some good stuff to say.

Harvesting Vegetables in Virginia

Yesterday we picked vegetables: butternut squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and cantaloupe.

One of our friends in Richmond, Virginia has an area in the countryside where he grows vegetables.  ‘Farmer Ben,’ as I like to call him, and his wife Lisa grow far more than they could ever eat. During the spring, summer, and fall, they supply the surplus vegetables to people in the Jewish community. It is their form of charity.

“Why give money to charity for people to buy food,” says Farmer Ben, “When I can just give them food.”

There are some Jewish laws, halachot that pertain to farming that I’ll please G-d write about later in the week.

Rebbetzin Rachel and her friend Lisa, who hosted us for Shabbos

We spent Shabbat in Richmond, Virginia. This was my second time there. My first time in Richmond was around a year ago for Shabbat Selichot, the Shabbat before Rosh Hashana. I led the service than and over this past Shabbat.

I feel the community is very warm and welcoming.  There seems to be a good mix of all types of Jews, from the ultra orthodox black hat wearers to some who come to Synagogue in a pair of shorts and sandals.

There is no Rabbi there now, though I hear that a new Rabbi is coming in the next few weeks.

Especially enjoyable was lunch at a friend’s home where most of the vegetables in the salads came from their garden. The difference in taste between home-grown organic to what is bought in the local supermarket is a world apart.

I spoke during Seudah Shlishi because it was sponsored in our honor by our host family. I spoke about the Jewish people traveling and how they moved and camped according to the direction that G-d showed them . I reflected this back to my travels: how I try and travel with G-d’s direction.