High Holidays

Rebbes and gedolim heading to vacation resorts is an age-old tradition, but what happens when these leaders – usually surrounded by crowds of followers, admirers and non-stop petitioners – seclude themselves for a much-deserved rest and a period of recouping their kochos? A spontaneous visit to some of these vacation spots proved two things: that no matter the surroundings, holy values and principles remain unchanged; and even when they’re on vacation, the leaders of Am Yisrael are never really off duty

No room for shame

In Llandudno with the Vizhnitzer Rebbe

Two and a half hours and nineteen stops after Manchester, as our train crossed the dividing line between Great Britain and Wales, the digital sign up front informed us that we were approaching the Welsh town of Llandudno (“Chlandidneh” in modern Vizhnitz pronunciation, close to the way the Welsh pronounce it), a seaside resort that holds the interest of thousands of Vizhnitzer chassidim every year during the summer.

I’d been told that many chassidim would be prepared to pay a hefty sum to experience the sort of Shabbos that lay in store for me — a Shabbos in the company of the Vizhnitzer Rebbe during his annual period of seclusion in this faraway Welsh hamlet.

Considering Llandudno’s location, with its beautiful scenery, clear air, and slow pace (no one here walks around with cell phones in their hands), free from distractions and interruptions that are daily fare in the hustle and bustle of Bnei Brak, it’s no wonder Rebbe Yisrael of Vizhnitz has chosen it for a summer getaway in order to recharge his batteries in advance of the intensity of Tishrei and the coming year.

Years ago, there was a small Jewish community here, and when it began to dwindle, Chabad bochurim from the Lubavitcher yeshivah in Manchester would boost the minyan for the Yamim Noraim. Eventually the minyan sponsor bought a building that he called the Chabad Retreat Center, which families from Manchester and London began to use for their own vacations. Other families rented houses or motel rooms nearby during the summer. The Horodenker Rebbe of Manchester then bought a house by the ocean, built his own mikveh, and brought a minyan along for his own summer breaks. He also sponsored a mother–baby convalescent home in the area. Llandudno found itself on the Vizhnitz map, when a young Vizhnitzer chassid from Manchester named Reb Yanky Adler purchased a large seaside mansion for the Rebbe’s vacations. Since then, Llandudno (Welsh for “Queen of the Welsh Resorts”) became the Vizhnitzer Rebbe’s vacation site of choice.