It may be the end of the Earth, and there may only be 2,000 other human beings living in minus-20-degree temperatures. But a small flame of Judaism will flicker in Antarctica over the next six months. David Wakil, a 39-year-old Australian pilot from Sydney, will depart for the South Pole this week, leaving behind his family and friends – but not his religion.
Mr Wakil will carry a chanukiah, siddur, tefillin, mezuzah and a charity box with him as he flies scientists studying global warming around the snow-capped continent.
The one other item Rabbi Levi Wolff, a US-born Lubavitcher from Sydney’s Central Synagogue, gave him to take along was a US dollar bill given to him by the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
(Source: The JC)
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12 Responses
Does an igloo require a mezuzah?
All well and good, but he will have a fun time working out the zmanei tefillah, Shabbos, and Yom Tov in the land of the midnight sun. (:-)
brrrr…. it’s gotta be cold down there!!!
Can a zochor penguin be mishtatef in a minyan?
How about taking a Sefer?
#4: No. He has a jacket, but no hat. (:-)
How about it, Mormat??
The guy is obviously not frum, yet instead of a compliment on what may be a bigger kidush HaShem we will ever have a chance of making, you find something to criticize him about?????
Wow this is mamach the geshmake hack!!!
Not only does YW report that a shmoeiger is traveling to the Antartica but he took along a Rebbishe Dollar:) Go YW and go Lubavitch!!! Gut voch.
“Mr Wakil will carry a chanukiah”. And what about a purimiah?
I wonder which tzedakah organization will be receiving the proceeds from that pushkiah….any guesses?
B’Ezrat HaShem he will open the siddur, don the tefillin, put a few coins in the pushke, hang the mezuzah on his door and light the menorah. who knows maybe a trip to absolute golus will return him to higher levels of ruchnius
Why does this “Kiddish Hashem” bring to mind Ilan Ramon’s kiddish Hashem, while being mechallel shabbios bifarhesia? It interesting that a sefer Torah that survived Auschwitz couldn’t survive chilul Shabbos bifarhesia. An whose brilliant idea was it, to send a sefer Torah somewhere where it wasn’t going to be used, except for advertising for the Zionist state museum in Yad Vashem. This was kavod hatorah?