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By Six Votes, N.H. Gets First Orthodox Lawmaker

Twenty-three-year-old Chabadnik Jason Bedrick has recently made history as the first Orthodox Jew to be elected to the New Hampshire state legislature.

An interesting tidbit in the story is that Bedrick – who won a recount by a mere six votes – received crucial support from the Salem Women’s Club after he wrote to them explaining the religious basis for his habit of not shaking women’s hands.

New Hampshire is home to fewer than 10 Orthodox Jewish families and has a population that is about one percent Jewish, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. Bedrick is a gabbi at the Wellesley Weston Chabad, in Wellesley Hills, Mass.