✨ Introduction
Welcome to the official website of the Chabad House of Ecuador.
Here you can easily contact us for any needs, learn about our projects, and access the services we offer.
We are a space of spirituality, education, and guidance for anyone who wishes to approach the light of the Torah, whether as a Jew or as part of the Righteous Among the Nations, the Bnei Noach.
Mission
In 2004, Rabbi Tomer and his wife Rivka Rotem arrived in Ecuador as emissaries of the Rebbe, King Mashiach, who enlightens our generation just as Moses did in his time. They had the clear educational mission of sharing a high-level Jewish education with local Jews and promoting the observance of Judaism for the entire population as Bnei Noach. They are dedicated to this life's mission and committed to making the world a better place with divine help, according to the Torah and the Mitzvot. They are certain that these actions will bring about the complete and eternal Redemption very soon.
Vision
Despite the objective challenges faced by past generations in Ecuador and the isolation, a basic kosher food and service system was established that facilitates continued compliance.
Educating and deepening without tiring all those interested will surely make the difference from halfway around the world to completely illuminating it.
A spiritual path with purpose, based on the 7 Universal Commandments.
👉 Go to the Community
Bnei Noach Community
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Access our activities, services, and special events.
👉 See the schedule
Reservations and Programs
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Questions
Yes, but with clarity about their role and limits.
In the Bnei Noach Community we teach the difference between “celebrating” Shabbat and “keeping” Shabbat, which are not the same thing.
Can a Ben Noach participate in Shabbat at the Chabad House?
No.
According to the Talmud, “A Gentile who keeps Shabbat like a Jew is liable to punishment” (Sanhedrin 58b). This should not be understood as physical punishment today, but rather as a principle prohibiting assuming a spiritual role that is not appropriate, since God assigned different precepts for each identity.
For this reason, candidates for conversion to Judaism (guided by a rabbinical authority) usually observe all the details of Shabbat, except for one small one (such as lighting a match), precisely so as not to transgress this rule while they are not yet Jewish.
Is it permissible for a Ben Noach to keep Shabbat?
Many have had wonderful experiences in Jewish communities where they were warmly welcomed, even without confirming their Jewish ancestry. And while that intention is valuable, in small communities—like ours in Ecuador—where assimilation poses a significant challenge, it's not possible to replicate that model.
Here it is essential to take care of the clarity of identities:
For Jews, a non-Jew cannot be counted in forming a minyan (quorum).
For Bnei Noach, it is important to avoid creating false expectations or spiritual confusion.
What if a Ben Noach wants to have a Shabbat experience?
Yes, you are welcome.
But we propose that participation take place at specific times and activities for Bnei Noach, with their own identity, purpose, and divine order. Although we share the same faith in the One God and His Torah, the instructions are different.
Celebrating together in harmony is possible, as long as the sacred differences established by the Torah are respected.
So, can I go to the synagogue?
Find with us
The Spiritual Guide in Spanish
to study the Torah and get closer
to God in a Congregation.
I would like to have a physical Bnei Noach community in my town/neighborhood/city
It's actually the vision of the Bnei Noach community since the coronavirus era, when we had to open virtual classes via Zoom, YouTube, and social media.
A community isn't just a random group of people; it can come together with a little charisma anywhere. But it will quickly dissolve due to the lack of a unifying idea. Along with teaching, we are united around the Torah and God's laws.
From there, the skies are no limit, for each Ben Noah must lead in his own environment and illuminate it with his own example and inspiration.
As the community grows, each person will be able to find fellow believers in their area and hold a monthly physical meeting in homes, with a common foundation of ideology and identity.
Thus, the community is open to all Spanish speakers, facilitating and purifying the Spanish language and transmitting the authentic divine will.
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Visionaries and futurists
The Holy Torah teaches us not to be impressed by miracles that may come from witchcraft, but to adhere to the divine truth pronounced in the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.
Only the person who does not fail in any way in both can be inspired in such a way that it compels us to listen to him.
It is the first condition of the prophet or redeemer.
According to Kabbalah, we know of spiritual worlds and creatures that exist, and God does not allow us to see them because it could scare us to the point of madness to visualize them. For every good action, we create a good guardian angel, and for every bad action, we create a bad accusing angel.
So the most important divine gift we possess is free will, which puts us on the same level as the Creator.
It happens that one will have revelations, whether they are true or they mock heaven. Everything depends on one's merit and attachment, or one's shortcomings in the service of God.
Seeking futures is contrary to faith, which requires innocence with what is to come, without trying to alter nature.
Destiny must be changed, only through the right choice according to the laws of God.
Sometimes there are incredible callings and events, but that doesn't define the person, but rather their way of choosing over time, improving every day against their own nature.
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Free Torah
The Torah was given for free at Mount Sinai; it requires a much more costly, lifelong commitment to conflicting interests and values.
Many people believe that the Bnei Noach community is an academy or course to gain knowledge, a certificate, or a degree.
The community was created to be a necessary support group for carrying out God's laws with pride of unity, authentic spiritual identity, and belonging to the process of redemption in the current historical moment.
The information is shared generously on YouTube and social media, as the Rabbi commands, to spread the springs of Chassidism to the wider world, including the basic laws and messages of the Torah for everyone.
Building a community by literally opening its doors to everyone, we encountered sabotage attempts that forced us to demand a monetary commitment accessible to all levels.
This donation can be considered part of the tithe owed on profits and a true partnership with the patron of all things. It also represents a share in the 613 mitzvot of the people of Israel, facilitating those who did not receive a religious Jewish education.
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Could I participate in Shabbat at the Chabad House as Ben Noach?
Ben Noach is not commanded to keep Shabbat, we teach in the community the difference between celebrating Shabbat and keeping Shabbat in detail.
Furthermore, the Talmud says 'a gentile who kept Shabbat is liable to capital punishment,' and candidates for conversion practice all the observances except a lit match to break Shabbat.
In fact, many people have had a wonderful experience in Jewish communities that welcomed them warmly without verifying their ancestral Judaism, and they want to repeat it.
In a small Jewish community with serious assimilation problems, this is not feasible and creates a lot of confusion for both the Jews (who cannot be included in the minyan or have any relationships) and the Bnei Noach (who have false expectations), which is why activities must be handled largely separately.
Everyone is welcome at the synagogue, at different times and for different activities. Although they actually practice the same faith, divine orders are separate.
Reservations and Programs
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The Chabad House offers accommodation with kosher food and Orthodox synagogue services in Quito to Jews from all over the world. We normally offer three languages: Spanish, Hebrew, and English. In fact, each member counts as a minyan on Shabbat and holidays. The schedule is fixed throughout the world: 6:00 p.m. candle lighting, 7:00 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat.
In the morning at 8:30 a.m. an in-depth Hasidism class with the Rabbi. At 9:30 a.m. we begin prayer until lunchtime.
You'll need to register directly by contacting the Rabbi via WhatsApp and reserving a link in advance.
Restaurant service is also available with another link and two hours' notice, for dining at the Chabad House.
Tourist programs can be planned, as Ecuador has a unique biodiversity with many microclimates, from dry to humid tropical, sometimes a curve, and every 100 meters of altitude has a completely different atmosphere.
It would simply involve connecting the tour with reliable guides and transportation, plus Kosher catering. We've had wonderful experiences with travel agencies and hope to have more.