The Eternal Lamp

When Rabbi Kachlon took up his post as the JDC-supported chief rabbi of Bulgaria in the early days of the post-Communist "changes," he found a community nostalgic for its Sephardic religious traditions. Together with the JDC, he has been able to bring those memories to life, launching a community-wide brit milah program and opening a kosher kitchen in the Jewish community center in the capital, Sofia.

Rabbi Kachlon experienced a most poignant moment during a visit to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest Jewish community. There he met an elderly Jewish woman who made her way each morning, despite physical difficulties, to the small synagogue where she would light the ner tamid, the eternal lamp.

The rabbi asked her, "What brings you here each morning?" She replied, "I do this for the continuity of the Jewish people. This lamp, with the help of Joint, ensures the future of our small but strong community here in Bulgaria."