You will be happy to hear that the Israeli athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics had mezuzahs on their doors in the Olympic Village. Rabbi Shimon Freundlich of Chabad-Beijing affixed the mezuzot (מְזוּזוֹת, mezuzahs) that week for the Israeli athletes and delegation.
It is a small detail, but a meaningful one. Even in the middle of the Olympic Village, surrounded by athletes and delegations from all over the world, the doorways of the Israeli team were marked with the mitzvah of mezuzah. A mezuzah is not just a symbol. The mitzvah depends on a kosher mezuzah scroll placed inside a mezuzah case and affixed to the doorway of a Jewish home or living space.
For anyone learning more about the mitzvah, our guides on what makes a kosher mezuzah, which side of the door the mezuzah goes on, and what blessing to say on the mezuzah explain the basics in more detail.
Rabbi Freundlich was also helping make sure kosher food would be available for the athletes and Jewish visitors. According to the original Lubavitch.com report, kosher meals were available through Dini’s Kosher Restaurant, located near the American Embassy in Beijing.
You can read the full original story from Lubavitch.com here: Mezuzahs and More for Jewish Delegates and Athletes at Beijing Olympics.
I wonder how the sweet and sour chicken was at Dini’s?
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