In Israel, a 1-800 number is so 20th century.

Instead, Israelis punch in a "*" and a four-digit code to book flights to Cyprus, sign up for English lessons, join a gym, consult astrologers. 

Now they are also dialing *3770 to connect with Chabad. A live operator takes their calls  sixteen hours a day, six days a week.

Rabbi Shmuelik Shmulevitz of Kfar Chabad is on the other end of the line when those calls come in—at a rate of hundreds a day.  The headquarters of "Moked Chabad," Chabad's call center, is the back corner of Kishurit call center, a sprawling first-floor suite in Bnei Brak across a body shop and down the street from wholesale fish and egg distributors. The 300 other call operators at Kirshurit take calls for lawyers, American Express travel, Mei Eden bottled water, and about 2,500 other companies.

"There are many Chabad representatives and programs in Israel, and the public is very interested in what they have to offer. The hot line helps us bring the two together," said Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, director of Chabad Youth Organization in Israel, the hotline's sponsor..

Hired by Kishurit to answer Chabad of Israel's calls, Rabbi Shmulevitz's desk, computer, headset and *3770 phone line may be the world's smallest Chabad center. It's open every day except Shabbat and holidays from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. 

Rabbi Shmulevitz was offered the job because "He understands people. He feels for them and has the sensitivity to help them," says Lubavitch Youth Organization project director Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kramer.

A light blinks on the phone board. Rabbi Shmulevitz slides his headset over his kipa and gets to work. 

Itai Yishi is on the line. He's traveling to Malta and wants to buy kosher food there. Can Chabad help?

Problem. Malta is one of the few countries without a resident Chabad representative. Rabbi Shmuelevitz begins his hunt.

It's for issues like this that when Chabad approached the call center they stipulated that their calls be answered by someone with a Chabad background. 

"People want more than information. They want a connection," said Rabbi Kramer. 

Growing up as the son of Tiberias's Chabad representatives, Rabbi Yosef and Ita Kramer, planted the idea for a Chabad hot line. When senior Rabbi Kramer was teaching or conducting programs, he wasn't available by phone. Even secretaries took breaks. Unanswered phones leave a caller seeking a connection frustrated. 

 Basing *3770 in Kishurit helps address this problem. Chabad centers have the calls they cannot answer patched through and answered live by *3770. The messages are relayed via email to the appropriate Chabad representative. 

Meny Chico, vice president of Kishurit, verifies that Chabad receives hundreds of calls per day. Volume fluctuates by season. "At times Chabad's call volume is in the top quarter of all companies receiving calls here," said Mr. Chico.

Before Passover the call volume was so intense with Israelis booking seats at Chabad Seders all around the world that a call center worker sitting two cubicles down from *3770 headquarters was moved to give Chabad of Israel a donation. 

Three more workstations in the *3770 corner are waiting to be filled by Chabad representatives. Until then overflow calls bounce to Kirshurit's other call handlers, who  access Chabad's database of phone numbers and instant message Rabbi Shmulevitz with tougher questions. 

"Chabad is unique in its desire to give service to the customers without expecting material return, just spiritual," said Mr. Chico.

This summer's most common calls are travel related. But calls can be unpredictable. An elderly woman, newly widowed, called for grief counseling. A couple in Holon wanted to kosher their home. One caller thought he dialed Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper at *3778, but once made aware of his error, he employed the Israeli gift for improvisation and asked Chabad where he could check his mezuzahs.

 The first question every caller is asked is: "Where are you calling from?"  Whenever possible *3770 passes along an email to the caller's closest Chabad rabbi. A one time call usually becomes the start of a more meaningful conversation.

"Chabad houses are the heart of what we do. Our job is to connect people to them," said Rabbi Kramer. 

Mr. Yishi hung on the line awaiting information about Malta. The absence of a full time Chabad representative on the tiny island did not deter Rabbi Shmulevitz. A friend of a friend had once emailed him information about Abraham Ohayon, a leading member of the Maltese Jewish community. So *3770's representative used his cell phone to call Mr. Ohayon who said give the kosher lowdown to the Yishi family. 

And with the flick of a button and a click of a mouse, the next call came in to Chabad's call center. Did Chabad know which Disney World hotels were closest to Chabad of Orlando?