By Daniel ColemanAssistant Director of Career AdvisingShevet Glaubach Center
Living on YU’s doorstep, we are fortunate to host many international students at our home for Shabbat and Chagim. These students sometimes feel like “strangers in a strange land” living without their families a long way from home, just like I did when I was an international student at YU over 20 years ago. They have much to teach us, and our family enjoys the frequent opportunities to learn about Jewish life around the globe.
Daniel Coleman and his son, Lev
Recently, I became the stranger (once again) on a father-son trip to El Salvador where we visited the small Jewish community and went beyond our usual comfort zones by climbing volcanoes, rock climbing, spelunking and learning how to surf at one of Central America’s most popular surf spots.
We grow up in great privilege in the United States with a wealth of religious and educational resources and health care infrastructure. Not so in a country like El Salvador, where over-the-counter medications are hard to get and expensive, and opportunities for a college education, let alone a Yeshiva University education, are extremely limited.
With this in mind, my seven-year-old son, Lev, and I enlisted friends and community members to raise funds for us to bring 200 pounds of basic medical supplies and toothbrushes with us. We also collected a few used phones, and with the help of Talia Leitner and the Stern College for Women Student Council, we were able to buy several Chromebooks. With no rabbis in the country, the primary way the community learns Torah (and other subjects) is online via electronic devices.
A trip highlight was being able to share Torah and meals with the small Sephardic community in the capital over Shabbos. A community member drives most months to Guatemala (a 10-hour round trip!) to buy the meat, wine and grape juice that graced our table and stomachs. (They don’t have to go far for guavas, coconuts or avocados, though, as these grow in the Shul’s yard!)
Given that no one lives within walking distance, everyone stays on bunk beds in dormlike rooms at the Shul each Shabbat. Even more fascinating was our trip to their flourishing sister community in the beautiful countryside about half an hour outside San Salvador. Most adults sell wares in the market or are engaged in manual labor (e.g., construction), and they had literally built the simple tin-roofed Shul and mikvah with their own hands.
I’m hoping to go back, this time with more Chromebooks, siddurim with Spanish translation, mezuzahs and several pairs of tefillin. Currently, these are shared among several community members. Next time, I’d love to stay a little longer (or perhaps make a stop along the way to visit the communities in neighboring Nicaragua or Guatemala), teach a little more, and bring with my whole family and/or students that are interested in joining me on the road less traveled.
Daniel Coleman and his son, Lev
Given that no one lives within walking distance, everyone stays on bunk beds in dormlike rooms at the Shul each Shabbat. Even more fascinating was our trip to their flourishing sister community in the beautiful countryside about half an hour outside San Salvador. Most adults sell wares in the market or are engaged in manual labor (e.g., construction), and they had literally built the simple tin-roofed Shul and mikvah with their own hands.
I’m hoping to go back, this time with more Chromebooks, siddurim with Spanish translation, mezuzahs and several pairs of tefillin. Currently, these are shared among several community members. Next time, I’d love to stay a little longer (or perhaps make a stop along the way to visit the communities in neighboring Nicaragua or Guatemala), teach a little more, and bring with my whole family and/or students that are interested in joining me on the road less traveled.
