One day we might discover that Citi Field was erected to host the Asifa, MetLife Stadium was built in honor of the Siyum haShas … and the Internet was developed to enable Jews from all corners of the world to connect to Torah. That’s the vision of Reb Dovid Engel, a young Gerrer chassid who travels the world — by air and by cyberspace — to inspire doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and just about any committed Jew to become a rabbi.
I notice my interviewee before he notices me and it’s immediately obvious what makes him stand out.
He’s walking alongTeaneck’sQueen Anne Street— as central to this neighborhood as13th Avenueis toBoroPark or Rechov Malchei Yisrael is toJerusalem— headed to the coffee shop where we’ve arranged to meet. The scene on the thoroughfare resembles that of its better-known counterparts: businessmen on cell phones mothers smiling into strollers a few senior citizens sitting leisurely outdoors spectators to the midday bustle.
Really he should stand out. His high Gerrer hat and peyos trousers tucked into socks and the “walk”— the rapid swinging pace that speaks of the focus and alacrity unique to his Chassidus — should draw attention here in this hub of Modern Orthodoxy.
But he doesn’t. And then it becomes clear why he’s so well-suited to his work — it’s this ability to seamlessly connect and fit in with all sorts of Jews in all sorts of locations and cultures. Not a chassid inTeaneck just a good Jew among good Jews.
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