Young Israelis in Pai

Teddy Weinberger and wife Sarah, in Pai, Thailand.

There is a rite of passage in Israeli culture known as the post-army trip. Each year, thousands of Israelis in their early 20s embark on a trip abroad. For it to “qualify,” the trip needs to be at least several months in duration, with the more dedicated trekkers devoting a year or even two to the endeavor. There are certain preferred countries for the post-army trip and certain preferred itineraries within those countries. Thus, it can happen that you find yourself in a small town in some remote part of the globe – and every other tourist is a young Israeli. This was what happened to Sarah and me in Pai, Thailand.

Pai is a small farming village in Northern Thailand. Though it is picturesque, sitting as it does at the foot of a low mountain range and on the Pai River, it is not clear why this picturesque Thai village shot to Israeli trekker stardom. What is clear is, prices in Pai, like elsewhere in Thailand, are incredibly cheap. For the cost-conscious Israeli youngster, a hostel will set them back only a few bucks a night (Sarah and I went for bed-and-breakfast in a small vacation “village” for $52 a night). And they can eat Pad Thai with tofu for as little as $1.50.  

It was strange walking Pai’s streets and being surrounded by spoken Hebrew. The phenomenon is not lost on the local population. One waiter told us: “It’s good that they can come here to decompress after the army.”

A sure sign you are somewhere significant in the post-army trek world is the presence of a Chabad House, and of course Pai has one. Rabbi Mendy and Chani Zayac (and their three small children) preside over Pai Beit Chabad. If you are a responsible person, in advance of your Shabbat at a Chabad House, you are supposed to sign up for meals (recommended donation per person per meal in Pai: 50 shekels, about $13.50). Chabad, however, will not turn anyone away, nor will they make you feel bad for not preregistering. They are strictly Orthodox, though, and if you are a person who wants to light candles at Beit Chabad, you need to arrive at the stated candle-lighting time. 

After a lively but very modestly attended Kabbalat Shabbat service in Pai, there came the big event: The Friday night meal. More than 200 mainly secular, young Israelis gathered for a traditional Shabbat meal. Rav Mendy led the crowd in singing popular religious songs, and he had everyone get on their feet for a rousing, movement-coordinated rendition of “All the World is a Narrow Bridge.”

At around 8 p.m., about an hour after the opening song of “Shalom Aleichem,” dessert was served and the rabbi, abashedly, told everyone that due to the large demand that there was going to be a second meal-shift. Rav Mendy was thus requesting us to kindly vacate our places after the soon-to-be-recited Grace After Meals so the staff (all Thai) could set up for the second shift. The next day, I asked the rabbi about this, and he said the second shift was even larger than the first and, all told, they had served 500 people Friday night.

Some of the young Israelis present Friday night had been discharged from combat units. We spoke with a 23-year-old from an elite unit that had sustained numerous casualties. We also spoke with a young woman from Netiv Ha’asarah, one of the towns terrorized on Oct. 7 and whose inhabitants are still living in temporary housing. This certainly was in the background Friday night at Pai Chabad House, but in the foreground was a lively Shabbat meal with singing, words of Torah (from the talented Rav Mendy) and decent food. There were, I assume, many hundreds of twenty-something Israelis in Pai who were not at Beit Chabad, but there on Friday night, it sure warmed my Jewish Zionist heart to feel young Israelis connecting over a Shabbat meal.

Copyright 2025, Teddy Weinberger 
https://jhvonline.com/young-israelis-in-pai-thailand-p34457-441.htm