bonus digital content
Photos by Jacob Kessler andf Ariel Kadosh
A small town in Peru has become a hotspot for vacationing Israelis in search of spirituality.

“So I came to the Sacred Valley to try San Pedro
but I stayed because there is a community of
people working on themselves spiritually,” he added.

“There’s a lot of magic here.”
Shvat, who comes from a family of rabbis, settled in
Pisac and opened a restaurant to serve as a gathering
place for Jewish travelers. He organizes Shabbat
dinners occasionally frequented by non-Jewish
locals. Rabbi Ariel Kadosh, the 25-year-old leader of
Chabad Pisac and a former student at Chabad
Cusco, had originally wanted to open up a branch of
Chabad in Morocco with his wife, Talia.

“At first, I had never heard of Pisac,” Kadosh said.

“But after arriving here, we realized that people
come to Pisac for spiritual experiences … so I think
it’s a really good place for a Chabad.”
Kadosh disagrees with those who try to connect
with spirituality through psychedelic substances,
but he does welcome the opportunity to speak with
travelers about God and other spiritual topics after
they have a psychedelic journey.

He told a story of a spiritual seeker who wrote to
the Lubavitcher Rebbe asking about the permissibil-
ity of using LSD as a means to connect with God. In
response, the Rebbe said that the “Jewish way” is to
attain spiritual heights through struggle.

“For me, specifically, I don’t think it’s right,” Kadosh
said about the use of psychedelics. “The Rebbe says
it is not our way.”
Despite the town’s peaceful facade, not every-
one is happy with the influx of Israelis. Some locals
expressed frustration with the young Israeli travelers,
who they claim try to haggle excessively when buying
things. Aminadav pointed to another phenomenon.

“On the corner of the street, I put a sign in Hebrew
for my restaurant,” says Aminadav. “And someone
put a sticker of the Palestinian flag with the words
‘Israel, killer state.’”
Although the Schneerson stickers outnumber the
ones with the Palestinian flag, the latter can also be
found throughout the town.

Then last week, reports of a violent attack inside
the Chabad house circulated on social media. In
a post in a community Facebook group, someone
accused a Chabad student of attacking a woman and
threatening her with a blade. Comments on this post
ranged from disbelief to statements such as: “Isn’t
that what they do in Palestine every day?”
The Chabad leaders claimed that a drunken local
couple entered the building at 2 a.m. and started to
make antisemitic comments, adding that the student
was simply defending himself. Local police said that
neither side had reported the incident in the end.

The new Chabad leaders aren't deterred by the
recent tensions. Kadosh said that he plans on teach-
ing Kabbalah classes on the roof of the new Chabad
building and also wants to host nigun sessions,
which involve chanting spiritual Chasidic melodies.

After working with Israelis for more than 30 years,
Sergio Quispe Maita can understand “70 to 80%
of Hebrew.” He began learning the language while
working as a cook at an Israeli restaurant in Cusco
called Nargila. He now he converses in Hebrew at his
own Israeli restaurant in Pisac called Nafis.

Maita’s restaurant is attached to Colores Hostel,
one of the most popular hostels in Pisac for young
Israelis — to the extent that some in town have even
labeled it the “Israeli hostel.” So the local restaura-
teur has daily opportunities to practice his Hebrew.

“Thank God, I speak the language, so I understand
them,” he said. “And I know that with time, Pisac will
be filled with many more Israelis because it is a small
town and is very attractive to people looking to enjoy
the quiet.” ■
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 17