When passengers walk by the booths at Tel Aviv's HaMerkaz-Savidor train station, their attention is caught by the bearded Jew selling Jewish albums and books. Some even call him the Train Station Rebbe.
Shlomi Stern, AKA the Train Station Rebbe, emphasizes that the actual selling of merchandise is only his "side-job" here – it's mainly about connecting to the people and their souls.
"Here we talk to the Jews. I learned something important said by the Rebbe of Kotzk: There is no Jew who is simple – rather "simply a Jew" – and that's what we see here at the train station, I meet the whole wonderful nation of Israel, from all walks of life – observant, non-observant, happy, sad…"
Together with a the operator of another booth, who sells instruments, Stern plays music. "The operator of that booth is not observant, but that's irrelevant – the most important thing is that there is happiness," he says.
Shlomi himself was non-observant only ten years ago. In the 2000 recession Shlomi's business went bankrupt and he searched for consolation on the spiritual level. After experiencing the worlds of alternative medicine and meditation, Shlomi found himself listening to Jewish music by the late Rebbe Shlomo Carlebach at the New Age/Free Spirit Bombamela festival. Shlomi heard Rebbe Carlebach's tune for the first prayer of Shabbat – Lechu Neranena.
"I left, but the tune kept on coming back to me… and as you begin to search, G-d helps you. I went up to the Galilean city of Tzfat and prayed at a Rebbe Carlebach-style synagogue. I heard the tune, cried, got up, prayed… the spiritual experience I went through there is hard to explain…"