"Whatever we have, we give 100 percent," says Binyomin Edery, the 33-year-old chief rabbi at Chabad House in Tokyo. "Our bank account is at zero! If we have one, we give two; if we have two, we give four. That's what we do."
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Hasidic branch of Judaism that stems from cabala ("The original cabala, not the fashionable Madonna one," jokes the rabbi). Founded in Belarus in the late 18th century, it is now based in Brooklyn and has established more than 3,000 bases in 75 countries around the world, which officially serve to prepare their host city for the coming of the Messiah, whose manifestation Hasidic Jews believe will restore peace on earth.
In practice, these Chabad Houses provide community support and religious services for Jewish expats and travelers, as well as a place for locals to learn about Judaism and the Torah. Chabad-Lubavitch stresses an inclusive approach to religion, earning its seventh and last leader, the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a Congressional Gold Medal.