Chabad Returns to Costa Rica’s Tamarindo Beach Town
Rabbi Yaakov and Naomi Rubinstein have reopened Chabad of Tamarindo, restoring a permanent Jewish presence in the Costa Rican surf town home to more than 100 Jewish families. • Full Story
Jewish life in Tamarindo, the Costa Rican beach town that draws nearly a quarter of the country’s tourists, once again has a permanent address: Rabbi Yaakov and Naomi Rubinstein have reopened the local Chabad House, two years after circumstances took them back to Eretz Yisroel.
The Rubinsteins first opened Chabad of Tamarindo in 2023, building a Hebrew school, a kosher catering operation and events that drew hundreds. When Naomi‘s mother passed away, the family returned to Eretz Yisroel to support her father, who serves in a high-operations army unit, and her younger siblings. They came back to Costa Rica in September.
By the Rubinsteins’ count, more than 100 Jewish families – Israelis, Americans, Canadians and Europeans – live in Tamarindo and the surrounding towns year-round. Until now, Jewish life amounted to WhatsApp groups and rabbis flying in for Yomim Tovim.
The return was felt immediately: crowds came through over the High Holidays, a large sukkah went up for Sukkot, and in October the community gathered to mark the October 7th anniversary.
Chabad currently operates from a rented house while the search is on for a permanent building large enough for the whole community to gather at once.
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