The semi-annual International Home Furnishings Market is a big deal in the furniture industry. Hosted in High Point, N.C., a city that has been called the “Furniture Capital of the World,” the sprawling market spans several city blocks of showrooms and is the place to be for professionals in the furniture and home decorating industries. The four-day event, which concludes today, covers 11.5 million square feet of show space and attracts more than 75,000 attendees from 100 countries.
Since 2012, Rabbi Yosef and Hindy Plotkin of Chabad-Lubavitch of Greensboro, about a half-hour away, have been catering to the needs of Jewish attendees by operating a pop-up Chabad center amid the hustle and bustle of the convention. During the fair, as many as 100 Jews of all backgrounds gather daily for fresh kosher meals and prayer services, while many others stop by to put on tefillin, schmooze or hear a quick Torah thought before heading to their next meeting.
This year, one of the young men at the forefront of Chabad of Greensboro’s annual efforts to provide services to Jewish vendors and visitors at the High Point Furniture Market never imagined he’d be there, wrapping tefillin with strangers. His name is Ethan Zauderer.
It all began in the dark and troubling days after the Oct. 7th attack in Israel. Zauderer was on fall break from High Point University, where he was studying strategic communication, and was walking down the street in Manhattan.
Suddenly, he was approached by a young man about his age, who asked him if he was Jewish. Zauderer responded in the affirmative, and then the young man proceeded to ask if he wanted to wrap tefillin.
With his Judaism at the forefront of his mind, and having reflected on what it meant to be Jewish during a time when violence and terror against his people was being celebrated around the world, Zauderer agreed.
The two young men started chatting, and Zauderer learned that his new friend, Yosef Krasnianski, was a member of the team at Chabad of the Upper East Side. The two stayed in touch, and when Zauderer came back to New York for winter break, they met up at the Chabad Center for regular Torah study sessions.
As Zauderer studied Jewish texts he’d never been exposed to, he was inspired to learn more and incorporate what he’d learn into his life on campus—a challenge since High Point University does not have an on-campus Chabad center.
That spring, he joined Krasnianski for a Shabbat in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Immersed in an all-embracing Jewish atmosphere, he knew he wanted more. Right then and there he committed to keep Shabbat.
But to do so, he understood, he needed to take a deep dive into Jewish learning. He enrolled in a two-week intensive program at Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim in Morristown, N.J., where he studied Torah from early morning to late at night.
The exception to the rigorous study schedule was Fridays, when the students traditionally fan out to surrounding communities to share Jewish teachings and practice with whomever they meet.
The first Jew he met had not put on tefillin for 40 years but was glad to do so with Zauderer and his friends. Himself the beneficiary of one such “random” encounter just months earlier, Zauderer was now giving back.
By the end of the Morristown program, Zauderer was fully kosher. How would he maintain his observance in High Point, which did not have a kosher meal program?
He began by figuring out how to pack kosher meat in insulated bags for his relatively frequent flights between New York and North Carolina. He also learned to eat simply and make whatever he had last just a bit longer.
Support came in the form of a college roommate, who was likewise coming closer to Jewish observance. Things developed to the point that the college was providing kosher meals twice a week, and the two young men made sure to take advantage.
In December 2024, things changed for the better when Zauderer contacted Rabbi Yosef and Hindy Plotkin, the directors of Chabad of Greensboro, which is about a half-hour away.
The couple opened their home to Zauderer, hosting him for every Shabbat for the rest of his time in school.
Zauderer soon became an integral part of the Chabad of Greensboro team, joining the Plotkin family in sharing Jewish observance, awareness, and joy with others.
Having graduated this spring, he is set to return to yeshivah and further his Jewish studies. But first he needed to return to High Point for some important business.
And not even two years after he was first approached by a man on the street with an opportunity to perform a mitzvah, he’s passing the kindness on to others.
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