Preparing for Rosh Hashanah: Inside Chabad's Vital Mission in Rome
Join Chabad emissary Rabbi Menachem Lazar in Rome as he prepares for Rosh Hashanah, balancing venue logistics, security, and global etrog shipments while spreading light.
The ancient alleys of Rome are teeming with tourists from every corner of the globe, but step inside the local Chabad center, and the pace instantly changes. The month of Elul is at its peak, and the piercing sound of the shofar echoing between the walls serves as a reminder that Rosh Hashanah and the High Holidays are just around the corner.
I joined Rabbi Menachem Lazar — Chabad emissary in the Italian capital and brother of Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar — for a busy, spiritual, and extraordinary day to understand firsthand what mission work in the heart of the Italian boot looks like during the most tense and emotional moments of the year.
A Race Against the Clock: Prayer Halls, Security, and 450 Citrons for Baku
"These weeks before Tishrei are always a race," Rabbi Lazar says with a calm smile that stands in total contrast to his packed schedule. One of the central challenges for Chabad in Rome is finding a venue large enough to accommodate the hundreds of people arriving for the holidays. While local community members mostly dine within their family circles, thousands of Israeli backpackers, business people, and foreign students find themselves in Rome without a roof over their heads for the holiday.
"On regular Shabbatot in the Jewish Ghetto, there are hundreds of diners in kosher restaurants, but for Rosh Hashanah, we must have a spacious hall," the rabbi explains. This year, following extensive efforts, a suitable venue was located, but the work is far from over: logistical coordination with venue management, adjusting kosher supervision, and a rigorous security tour alongside the Rome police and local security forces, who inspect every entrance, exit, and passageway to ensure the safety of the worshippers.
Amidst the conversation, the rabbi fields global phone calls. Jewish logistics do not stop at Italy's borders: a special shipment of 450 citrons (etrogim) is making its way from Italy to Baku in Azerbaijan, with some destined for the Jewish community in Iran, alongside additional shipments to Eastern Europe. "Italy is a source of premium etrogim, and the responsibility to distribute them reaches every corner of the Jewish world," he shares.
The Only Judaica Store in the Country
Rabbi Lazar's center, which has been operating for nine years in a sprawling residential building, has become a place of pilgrimage. The ground floor houses the only Judaica and bookstore of its kind in the country. "There is no other tefillin and mezuzah store in all of Italy," the rabbi says. "Even people from Milan order from us. If a Jew needs a mezuzah, a holy book, or a religious artifact — we are the address, and we ship across all of Italy."
Not only the ultra-Orthodox or observant enter the store, but tourists, locals, and even non-Jewish Italians interested in history and cultural roots. The rabbi believes that connecting different worlds requires no compromise, only mutual respect and spreading light.
«The UN is a house of darkness and lies, but in a dark room, it is enough to light one small candle to banish much of the darkness.»
Recalling a touching moment, he mentions the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the famous message he once delivered to Benjamin Netanyahu when he served as Israel's ambassador to the UN: "The UN is a house of darkness and lies, but in a dark room, it is enough to light one small candle to banish much of the darkness."
"This is the motto that guides us here in Rome," Rabbi Lazar explains. "Not to fight, not to flight, but to light. To act out of love, without judging anyone and without complaining. When we offer a Jew to put on tefillin or come to the holiday table, even if he refuses — we love him just the same. The heart is always open."
Moments Before the Shofar Blast
Hours pass, and the Roman sun begins to dip westward. The phones never stop ringing: a couple of students confirming a spot for the Rosh Hashanah dinner, a local food supplier coordinating the delivery of fish and kosher wine, and an emissary bringing additional packages of religious items for distribution.
Rabbi Lazar picks up the shofar, closes his eyes, and blows a clear blast. The simple, sharp sound of the shofar pierces the bustle of the Roman metropolis. In Rome, the city that witnessed the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people, there is something spine-chilling about seeing the spark of Judaism not only survive, but shine, welcome, and invite every Jew wherever they are to feel at home, just moments before the New Year.
