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Zenger
Zenger
Dave Gordon

Accidental YouTube Sensation Rabbi Mendel Kaplan Has Led A Toronto Chabad For 25 Years

Chabad Zenger News Stephen Harper Toronto Judaism Thornhill Ontario Holocaust Jerusalem

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan still remembers the day in 2016 after morning prayers when congregants were talking about a woman, whose video of herself laughing while wearing a Chewbacca mask had gone viral on YouTube.

Kaplan, 52, the religious leader of the 25-year-old Chabad Flamingo in Thornhill, a suburban district in southern Ontario, Canada, figured that it was ridiculous for a clip of someone wearing a “Star Wars” accessory to garner so much attention.

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