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Photos: At Paharganj Chabad House, a rabbi brings Israel to Delhi

At the Chabad House in the narrow by-lanes of Paharganj in Delhi, Jewish travellers and Israeli visitors to the city find a home away from home, and a friend, guide and counsel in the form of its rabbi Akiva Soundry.

Updated on: Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM IST

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Rabbi Akiva Soundry (R), with his family at the Chabad House in Paharganj, Delhi. Sporting a black coat, trousers, white shirt, a hat and flowing black beard, Akiva Soundry may be an eccentric foreigner to many, but for the thousands of Israelis visiting Delhi, Akiva — the Rabbi at Chabad House in Paharganj —is a friend, a religious leader and a local guide. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

Rabbi Akiva Soundry (R), with his family at the Chabad House in Paharganj, Delhi. Sporting a black coat, trousers, white shirt, a hat and flowing black beard, Akiva Soundry may be an eccentric foreigner to many, but for the thousands of Israelis visiting Delhi, Akiva — the Rabbi at Chabad House in Paharganj —is a friend, a religious leader and a local guide. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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Akiva (C) and his wife Chaya (L) host programmes, activities and religious services for Israeli tourists and business travellers to Delhi. “They come here not just to seek my guidance on religious matters but also on finding hotels, dealing with situations like lost passports, and for kosher food. For them it is a home away from home,” he says, of the Chabad House located in a narrow lane in Paharganj. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

Akiva (C) and his wife Chaya (L) host programmes, activities and religious services for Israeli tourists and business travellers to Delhi. “They come here not just to seek my guidance on religious matters but also on finding hotels, dealing with situations like lost passports, and for kosher food. For them it is a home away from home,” he says, of the Chabad House located in a narrow lane in Paharganj. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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A Hasidic Jewish person reads from a Hebrew text. Chabad House is part of the Jewish community network headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. There are about 5,000 such centres, including 20 in India, advancing the orthodox Hasidic cause, a mystical Jewish movement founded in Poland in the 18th century in reaction to the rigid academicism of rabbinical Judaism. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

A Hasidic Jewish person reads from a Hebrew text. Chabad House is part of the Jewish community network headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. There are about 5,000 such centres, including 20 in India, advancing the orthodox Hasidic cause, a mystical Jewish movement founded in Poland in the 18th century in reaction to the rigid academicism of rabbinical Judaism. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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A photo of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century hangs on a wall at the Chabad House. While most visitors here are Israeli tourists staying in Paharganj hotels, some of Delhi’s Jews also come at times. A majority of Israeli Jews in Delhi are diplomats, but a lot of young Israeli expats also work in multinational companies, he says. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

A photo of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century hangs on a wall at the Chabad House. While most visitors here are Israeli tourists staying in Paharganj hotels, some of Delhi’s Jews also come at times. A majority of Israeli Jews in Delhi are diplomats, but a lot of young Israeli expats also work in multinational companies, he says. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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Akiva’s wife Chaya seen at the Chabad House. Like her husband she too arrived in the summer of 2012 from Israel to a city that was overwhelming in its bustling traffic and extreme weather. But just as Akiva gave the city a few weeks in 2011, she gave Delhi a chance and found herself warming to it. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

Akiva’s wife Chaya seen at the Chabad House. Like her husband she too arrived in the summer of 2012 from Israel to a city that was overwhelming in its bustling traffic and extreme weather. But just as Akiva gave the city a few weeks in 2011, she gave Delhi a chance and found herself warming to it. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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Four young volunteers from Israel —two men and two women—also help the couple in running the community house. “Many visiting Israelis spend a lot of time talking to me about Judaism... Many of them are too busy to have such long discussions on Judaism back home,” says Akiva. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

Four young volunteers from Israel —two men and two women—also help the couple in running the community house. “Many visiting Israelis spend a lot of time talking to me about Judaism... Many of them are too busy to have such long discussions on Judaism back home,” says Akiva. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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One of Rabbi Akiva’s children plays at the Chabad House. Of India’s miniscule population of around 5,000 Jewish people 4,000 live in Mumbai. But Akiva is excited about the ‘growing friendship between India and Israel’. “India is a great country, where all religions have found acceptance. It has transformed me from an angry, impatient man into a calm, patient person,” he says. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

One of Rabbi Akiva’s children plays at the Chabad House. Of India’s miniscule population of around 5,000 Jewish people 4,000 live in Mumbai. But Akiva is excited about the ‘growing friendship between India and Israel’. “India is a great country, where all religions have found acceptance. It has transformed me from an angry, impatient man into a calm, patient person,” he says. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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Chaya and her children surrounded by shelves of texts on Judaism at the Chabad House. While the family initially had difficulty finding kosher food, a kitchen the Chabad House runs now extends its facilities to travellers. As they continue to attend to visitors and give lessons in Judaism, the only draws to Israel that remain are visits to family or the Jewish education that awaits their children in the future. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 15, 2018 12:40 PM

Chaya and her children surrounded by shelves of texts on Judaism at the Chabad House. While the family initially had difficulty finding kosher food, a kitchen the Chabad House runs now extends its facilities to travellers. As they continue to attend to visitors and give lessons in Judaism, the only draws to Israel that remain are visits to family or the Jewish education that awaits their children in the future. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo)

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