Chabad of San Francisco
From musicians to charm vendors, mimes to multi-lingual tourists, San Franciscans are accustomed to seeing almost anything on their streets. Yet the sight of a Chassidic rabbi on a motorcycle, long beard and yarmulke flying in the breeze, rarely fails to turn their heads. Often there’s someone else on the bike with him. Perhaps it’s a local businessman who needs a ride to morning prayers or it may be a Jewish child having the time of his life. The bike, a symbol of Rabbi Yosef Langer’s innovative outreach style, scampers around the Financial District, putting smiles on people’s faces and breaking down their stereotypes of Chassidic Jews.