Argentina and Uruguay are two friendly neighbors at the bottom of the world, with upside down seasons, but that doesn’t stop them from being on the top of the world, spiritually.
For the past 3 decades, Chabad of Argentina and Chabad of Uruguay have been teaming up each summer to provide vacationers in this exclusive Uruguayan resort city that attracts thousands from the region and beyond with important cultural events, drawing hundreds to their annual symposia that take place in the most prestigious venues.
This year, as in the past 2 years, the events were organized together with the Chabad of Argentina school network, Oholei Chinuch.
The topic this year, Balancing Family and Work, attracted close to 300 people to the new and prestigious OH! shopping mall, and was addressed by Rabbi Tzvi Grunblatt and Rabbi Eliezer Shemtov, directors of Chabad of Argentina and Uruguay, respectively.
The rabbis addressed the topic and entertained the crowd in their own trademark ways. The program concluded with refreshments and musical renditions by the talented Argentinian singer and Chazzan, Lionel Mizrahi.
Gabriel Pines, administrator of Oholei Chinuch, opened the evening by expressing how proud he was to celebrate the success of his school beyond the borders of Argentina and thus being able to let people know about their achievements.
“More than 40 graduates of our school presently serve as Shluchim in communities throughout the world,” he pointed out. “When you invest in Oholei Chinuch, you invest in the future of world Jewry.”
When asked how these annual cultural events began, Rabbi Shemtov replied: “Uruguay is the preferred vacation spot for Argentinian Jews. They love Uruguay and they love Rabbi Grunblatt. So, to have Rabbi Grunblatt come and do events together with us here was a real no-brainer. We make a good team.”
