Sooooo, what brought you to Greece?

This is one question we have been asked many many times… Why do a French girl and an Israeli boy with their little daughter move from New York to Athens?

The answer is quite simple. Both me and Mendel did not want to live in a big organized community where most if not all Jewish needs are met. Inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, we wanted to find a smaller community where we could make a difference, and add something in terms of Judaism.

The Rebbe founded an institution called Merkoz Leinyone Chinuch, to centralize all the demands and offers of “Shlichut” (assignments). In over 50 years of operation, thousands of young couples have been sent to literally all corners of the world!

We had a few offers, some in the United States, some in Russia (where Mendel spent a year and half as a student), some in Europe… One of the proposals was Greece.

In December 2000, we traveled to check out the place. We left a snowstorm in NY and arrived to a striking blue sky and sunshine… Wearing a jacket was optional. There were even some people (granted, not many) swimming on the beach of Paleo Faliro (south Athens). This was definitely a VERY positive first impression :). It was Chanuka time, and we met people from the community, were invited to their homes to light the Chanukiya, and got a general positive feeling. They were encouraging us to come, saying that there is a lot we can do here, and that our presence would enhance the community…

It still took a while to make the decision, then pack our stuff, organize a container, find an apartment and… here we are!!!

More on what we do here in another post :)