As the presidential convention season moves into high gear, Chabad-Lubavitch is setting up special centers and programs in Cleveland and Philadelphia to provide kosher food, daily prayer services and Torah-study classes for the tens of thousands of visitors from around the nation who will be in those cities this month for the Republican and Democratic national conventions.
Cleveland has already started bustling with crowds associated with the 2016 Republican National Convention, which is being held this week at the Quicken Loans Arena, not far from Chabad of Downtown Cleveland’s Jewish Center. The nearby Cleveland Convention Center will serve as a base for media and other related uses.
Rabbi Yossi Freedman, co-director of the center with his wife, Chaya, notes that Chabad is politically nonpartisan, and that they would be doing exactly the same if the Democrats were coming to town. But like any Chabad-Lubavitch emissary, he sees such a large event as an opportunity to get in touch with Jewish visitors, as well as meet more members of the local Jewish community.
“Cleveland is emerging as having a very happening downtown,” says Freedman. “There’s been a big rebirth of the city, and it’s an opportunity for us to engage with people and make Chabad of Downtown more prominent.”
Chabad leaders at 55 Public Square are planning to provide a welcome center for Jews coming into the city, including hosting two minyans daily during the convention, which takes place from July 17-21. Services will be offered at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m.
In Philadelphia, a number of different Chabad-Lubavitch centers are working together to prepare for the Democratic National Convention, which will take place from July 25- 28. Rabbi Yehuda Shemtov of Lubavitch of Bucks County, in suburban Philadelphia, noted that the centers are “being mobilized to be available and assist Jewish visitors and delegates with all their Jewish needs.”
That convention will be held at both the Wells Fargo Center, with some events at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, both in Center City.
In Cleveland, Freedman rented out a space—with the assistance of the Miami-based Optima Management Group—on the bottom floor of the center’s building that was formerly occupied by John Q’s Steakhouse. They will host a pop-up kosher restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as takeout featuring hot items and a cooler with salads, wraps, drinks and desserts, according to Larry Frank, president of Chef Dave’s Catering. Rabbinical students will be on hand reaching out to Jews and helping them to put on tefillin.
The rabbi is ready to accept all guests, in groups large and small. Many Jewish professionals also work in the downtown area within walking distance of the venues, and he expects a contingent of them to come for kosher meals and out of interest, knowing that the Chabad center will be so close to all the action.
In fact, Chabad caters to the need of the growing contingent of young people moving into Cleveland’s city center, which has added a more youthful nature to downtown.
“We are there to service [people’s] needs, regardless of their political backgrounds,” emphasizes Freedman. “This is an amazing opportunity to reach out to a lot of Jewish people who are coming to the convention.”
For updated information during the convention in Cleveland, visit their web page here. More information from Philadelphia will be made available as the Democratic convention approaches.
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