CHRISTIANA LILLY
June 11, 2010
When the congregants walk into the temple, they gaze at the chandeliers hanging from the elevated ceilings, the new marble flooring and the fresh blue paint on the walls. With music playing in the background, they talk and enjoy appetizers and a drink in front of a portrait paying homage to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Within minutes, the foyer is filled with people standing shoulder to shoulder.
When Rabbi Mendy Posner and his wife, Chanie, walk into the temple, they are greeted by congregants with hugs, handshakes and proclamations of "Mazel Tov!" It has been a long time coming, but the family of Chabad Lubavitch of Plantation finally has its own, freestanding temple to call home.
"In this economy, people think it's a nice dream, but no one believed we could pull it off," the rabbi said.
To celebrate the grand opening of the temple, located at 10165 Cleary Blvd., a gala was thrown with about 500 people in attendance, Posner estimated. The social hall was opened up to accommodate the guests in a reception with food, music and memories. A slideshow presentation of past holidays and events was projected onto the wall.
Hugo and Hilda Bamberger, who have been coming to the temple since it opened, attended the gala and said they were blown away by the new building.
"When you pass the outside, you want to go inside. That's what sums it up," Hugo Bamberger said. "It's a wonderful building and we needed it; we were always squeezing."
His wife described her reaction to seeing it for the first time as being "dumbstruck."
Shelley Drujak has been coming to the temple for six years, ever since she was looking to make a change in her religious life. She originally attended a conservative church, and after attending a service at the Chabad, she never left. Drujak said it was the warmth, spirituality and acceptance of the people that drew her to stay. With the new building, she said it was a gift to the community.
"Every nail that went in was because of the rabbi's dream," she said. "He dreamed of it and he made it happen."
The temple is 12,000 square feet, larger than the 800 square feet of the original one that Posner founded in 1993. The groundbreaking was in August 2008, and the rabbi worked closely with an architect to design the building. The new synagogue has children's classrooms, a men's mikvah pool, library, offices for the rabbis, a kitchen and a social hall.
"We feel that we'll be able to offer so much more to the community," Posner said.
At the front of the temple sanctuary stands the Torah ark, which the rabbi hopes to grow in size as well. He wants it to be 36 by 16 feet with the 12 tribes of Israel. But for now, he is worrying about putting the finishing touches on the temple.
Ivor Bamberger, the master of ceremonies for the gala, said the temple is a place for growth in one's Judaism, and the size of the temple shows a need from the growing orthodox community.
"If you build it, people will come," Bamberger told the congregants.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Showing posts with label new chabad center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new chabad center. Show all posts
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, August 03, 2009
Chabad on the Plaza now up and running
He calls his new endeavor Chabad on the Plaza, which is where he and his family live. But Rabbi Yitzchak Itkin has found office space in the Crossroads district.
The rabbi has rented a desk in Shaul Jolles’ OfficePort KC building, 203 W. 19th St. He and his wife, Chanah, and their son, Meir, arrived in Kansas City several months ago to establish the fourth outpost of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in the greater Kansas City area. The others are the original Chabad House, the Torah Learning Center in Overland Park and Chabad at the University of Kansas.Written by Marcia Horn, Community Editor Friday, 31 July 2009 12:00
Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, program director of Chabad KC, said he had been hoping to establish a downtown presence for the past five years. Rabbi Itkin said OfficePort KC is the perfect location.
“We knew we wanted to be in an area that was between the Plaza and downtown, accessible for everybody,” he said. “… OfficePort (is) a great collaboration of all different people coming together to find a place to work together … and there’s enough space to hold classes.”
OfficePort KC is the latest redevelopment project in the Crossroads district of real estate broker Shaul Jolles, who is a native of Israel. Jolles rents small office spaces to people on a month-to-month basis.
“It makes it more interesting and spirited, it’s a much more public atmosphere because you’re not confined to a regular desk and regular office,” Rabbi Itkin said. “It’s a come-as-you-go and work-as-you-go kind of thing.”
Self-sustaining
Rabbi and Mrs. Itkin get no subsidy from the central Chabad-Lubavitch movement, so they must sustain themselves by raising donations. But Rabbi Itkin isn’t worried. He believes it is only a matter of time before Chabad on the Plaza becomes a highly successful enterprise.
“I don’t think it will be as long as we anticipated until people will actually realize what we’re doing,” he said. “One of the areas where we’re looking to focus now is young people just coming out of college and now working in the mid- to downtown area. We’re looking to open up opportunities for them.”
Rabbi Itkin said he has discovered there is already an identifiable Jewish population in the Crossroads area, so he and Chanah are exploring the idea of holding classes or other events aimed specifically at them.
Then there is the Jewish Learning Institute, of which Rabbi Itkin hopes to be a part. JLI offers professionally designed classes, which are taught by Chabad rabbis all over the country. Each class is taught simultaneously at Chabad centers nationwide, so you can catch the same class in many different cities.
Rabbi Itkin said he might bring Chabad of KC’s Men’s Summer Yeshiva, which takes place Aug. 3-25 (See related story), downtown, as well. It consists of four visiting rabbinical students, supervised by Rabbi Shmuely Wineberg of Chabad House KC, who offer to meet with students to study at whatever venue is most convenient — a student’s home, office, a kosher restaurant or Chabad House Center.
It’s a bit early to discuss his still-developing plans to hold High Holy Day programs and services in the Plaza area, Rabbi Itkin said.
Some people have heard about Chabad on the Plaza through its new Web site, plazachabad.com. But Rabbi Itkin said word of mouth is still the best means of communication.
“That’s been our success since the first day we came here,” Rabbi Itkin said. “Someone sees something good, they tell their friends about it, and that’s how it’s been working. So we appreciate the good feedback … and that’s the way I think we’re going to survive.”
Men’s Summer Yeshiva returns to KC The local Chabad House has participated in the program for many years. It consists of a group of visiting rabbinic students who offer classes to anyone who wants one (or more) on the Jewish topic of the participant’s choice. Possible subjects include Kabballah and mysticism, Talmud, prophets, Jewish law and customs, Temple history, Torah commentary with Rashi, Maimonides and more. Students can study the texts in depth or use them as a jumping-off point for a discussion. Chabad’s Summer 2009 Yeshiva runs Aug. 3-25. Participants choose the topic, time and place they wish to study. Sessions can be set up at one’s office, home or at Chabad. It’s free of charge, although donations are welcomed. Register online at www.chabadkc.org or call (913) 649-4852. For more information, send e-mail toyeshiva@chabadkc.org .
The Chabad Men’s Summer Yeshiva is an annual program designed to stimulate the study of classic texts by Jewish men and boys.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Come to Chabad — near the pub
A £250,000 Chabad centre has opened in Manchester’s Whitefield area. A one-year refurbishment has transformed the former off-licence into a facility housing a Jewish resource library, Judaica store, lounge and a multimedia lecture hall.
However, director Rabbi Shmuli Jaffe says the centre’s greatest asset is its location. “It is opposite the Parkfield Inn pub, which is full of Jews on Thursday evenings, and its street corner is where the kids are on motzei Shabbos, being the only stretch of Jewish shops in the neighbourhood.”
Funding has come from local individuals and some small lottery grants. Rabbi Jaffe hopes the building will become a mini-community centre.
“We officially opened on Lag b’Omer with a community barbecue for 400 people.
“The idea is to cater for the 90 per cent of the community who only go to shul twice a year, according to a survey.” Chabad was offering “a place where people can drop in”.
Mother and baby sessions, adult education and kosher takeaway nights are some of the activities planned.
However, director Rabbi Shmuli Jaffe says the centre’s greatest asset is its location. “It is opposite the Parkfield Inn pub, which is full of Jews on Thursday evenings, and its street corner is where the kids are on motzei Shabbos, being the only stretch of Jewish shops in the neighbourhood.”
Funding has come from local individuals and some small lottery grants. Rabbi Jaffe hopes the building will become a mini-community centre.
“We officially opened on Lag b’Omer with a community barbecue for 400 people.
“The idea is to cater for the 90 per cent of the community who only go to shul twice a year, according to a survey.” Chabad was offering “a place where people can drop in”.
Mother and baby sessions, adult education and kosher takeaway nights are some of the activities planned.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Chabad center brings together Jews in Doral
When Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky established the Chabad Jewish Center of Doral, he only knew one Jew in Doral and hosted services in private homes.
Three years later, the congregation has grown to about 40 active members and occupies a two-floor space in a shopping center at 9725 NW 41st St.
Brashevitzky said that does not include several hundred Jews who are mostly of South American descent he has met -- who live or work in Doral -- but don't attend services.
''And there are Jews who live here that I don't know yet,'' said Brashevitzky, formerly a pulpit rabbi at Shalom Congregation at the Casablanca Hotel in Miami Beach.
Doral has a number of Catholic and Lutheran churches within city limits, but the Chabad Center is the only place of worship for the city's Jewish families.
Because Doral is home to a large South American population, most of the center's Jews, Brashevitzky said, hail from countries such as Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, places where Jews are a religious minority -- though a distinct one.
Most Jews arrived in South America after fleeing anti-Semitic forces in Germany, eastern Europe and Russia.
A significant portion of the South American population also consists of Sephardic Jews, who are descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Jorge Ghitis, a Colombian Jew who attends services at Chabad Center of Doral, said his Jewish parents met in Colombia after his mother fled Germany and father fled Romania.
Although he practiced his Jewish faith growing up, Ghitis said he had abandoned it until Brashevitzky called him one day about three years ago and asked to meet.
''Before meeting the rabbi, my spiritual base was very low,'' said Ghitis, who stopped practicing after his Bar Mitzvah.
Now Ghitis spends much of his spare time at the Chabad center and doesn't miss Shabbat morning services at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
''I have achieved a balance between the material, mental and spiritual,'' Ghitis said. ``All Jews have a spark that unites us inside of them. They just need to be reminded.''
Ghitis moved to Doral about 15 years ago because it was a convenient location for his wife, who worked at Miami International Airport. Ghitis now works near the airport, too, as a Miami-Dade police officer.
''I find people who moved to Doral and didn't put the Jewish faith at the top of their list,'' said Brashevitzky, noting that the closest synagogues are in Kendall.
Brashevitzky said that is the vision behind the Chabad movement, which aims to provide outreach services and activities through community centers, synagogues and schools to Jews in communities that lack a significant Jewish population.
''Our goal is to make sure Jews don't go a year without having contact with the faith,'' he said.
Chabad Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism with about 4,000 centers in more than 50 countries. According to www.Chabad.org, there are more than 60 Chabad centers in Florida. Most are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Brashevitzky said the Chabad movement is not about building a temple and increasing membership but awakening the dormant faith in some Jewish people.
''It's nice to have a big center, but the idea is to reach each and every individual,'' he said. ``The idea is to rekindle that spark of Judaism faith. That sense of belonging.''
Brashevitzky, who is planting seeds to someday build a synagogue, likens himself to a farmer overseeing barren soil with hope the land will produce beautiful crops.
''Doral keeps growing and there's a growth -- though a slow one -- of the Jewish population here,'' he said.
Three years later, the congregation has grown to about 40 active members and occupies a two-floor space in a shopping center at 9725 NW 41st St.
Brashevitzky said that does not include several hundred Jews who are mostly of South American descent he has met -- who live or work in Doral -- but don't attend services.
''And there are Jews who live here that I don't know yet,'' said Brashevitzky, formerly a pulpit rabbi at Shalom Congregation at the Casablanca Hotel in Miami Beach.
Doral has a number of Catholic and Lutheran churches within city limits, but the Chabad Center is the only place of worship for the city's Jewish families.
Because Doral is home to a large South American population, most of the center's Jews, Brashevitzky said, hail from countries such as Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia, places where Jews are a religious minority -- though a distinct one.
Most Jews arrived in South America after fleeing anti-Semitic forces in Germany, eastern Europe and Russia.
A significant portion of the South American population also consists of Sephardic Jews, who are descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal.
Jorge Ghitis, a Colombian Jew who attends services at Chabad Center of Doral, said his Jewish parents met in Colombia after his mother fled Germany and father fled Romania.
Although he practiced his Jewish faith growing up, Ghitis said he had abandoned it until Brashevitzky called him one day about three years ago and asked to meet.
''Before meeting the rabbi, my spiritual base was very low,'' said Ghitis, who stopped practicing after his Bar Mitzvah.
Now Ghitis spends much of his spare time at the Chabad center and doesn't miss Shabbat morning services at 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
''I have achieved a balance between the material, mental and spiritual,'' Ghitis said. ``All Jews have a spark that unites us inside of them. They just need to be reminded.''
Ghitis moved to Doral about 15 years ago because it was a convenient location for his wife, who worked at Miami International Airport. Ghitis now works near the airport, too, as a Miami-Dade police officer.
''I find people who moved to Doral and didn't put the Jewish faith at the top of their list,'' said Brashevitzky, noting that the closest synagogues are in Kendall.
Brashevitzky said that is the vision behind the Chabad movement, which aims to provide outreach services and activities through community centers, synagogues and schools to Jews in communities that lack a significant Jewish population.
''Our goal is to make sure Jews don't go a year without having contact with the faith,'' he said.
Chabad Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism with about 4,000 centers in more than 50 countries. According to www.Chabad.org, there are more than 60 Chabad centers in Florida. Most are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Brashevitzky said the Chabad movement is not about building a temple and increasing membership but awakening the dormant faith in some Jewish people.
''It's nice to have a big center, but the idea is to reach each and every individual,'' he said. ``The idea is to rekindle that spark of Judaism faith. That sense of belonging.''
Brashevitzky, who is planting seeds to someday build a synagogue, likens himself to a farmer overseeing barren soil with hope the land will produce beautiful crops.
''Doral keeps growing and there's a growth -- though a slow one -- of the Jewish population here,'' he said.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Rabbi explains ancient custom at opening of Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco
Rabbi Yossi Eber and his wife, Dina, with Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco hosted their official grand opening and mezuza affixing ceremony this week.
A mezuza is a small, sacred parchment inscribed by hand with two Hebrew prayers. The tradition of hanging a mezuza (Hebrew for "doorpost") has its roots in the Bible. The last plague visited upon the Egyptians was the death of the firstborn; God told the Jews to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
About 60 people attended the ceremony Tuesday as Eber affixed the mezuza to Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco, at 9945 Trinity Blvd., Suite 5.
As a free service, Eber visits people's homes and offices in Trinity, Holiday, New Port Richey and surrounding areas to help them properly affix their mezuzas. There should be one on the front door, as well as any other doorways in the home or office, he said.
On another level, the mezuza provides protection and good spiritual energy and keeps the bad energy out, Eber said.
Every time you go out or come in, it's customary to touch the mezuza and kiss your hand. On the outside of the case are the Hebrew letters Shin, Dalet, Yud, an acronym meaning "The Guardian of the doors of Israel."
There is some misconception about mezuzas, even among Jewish people. The case can't be empty or contain a photo copy of the prayers, which is how most local synagogue gift shops and Web sites sell them. An original piece of mezuza parchment can cost between $30 and $150 or more.
"The important part is not the case, it's the original piece of parchment written by a scribe," Eber said.
Otherwise, "it's like a body without a soul."
A mezuza is a small, sacred parchment inscribed by hand with two Hebrew prayers. The tradition of hanging a mezuza (Hebrew for "doorpost") has its roots in the Bible. The last plague visited upon the Egyptians was the death of the firstborn; God told the Jews to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
About 60 people attended the ceremony Tuesday as Eber affixed the mezuza to Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco, at 9945 Trinity Blvd., Suite 5.
As a free service, Eber visits people's homes and offices in Trinity, Holiday, New Port Richey and surrounding areas to help them properly affix their mezuzas. There should be one on the front door, as well as any other doorways in the home or office, he said.
On another level, the mezuza provides protection and good spiritual energy and keeps the bad energy out, Eber said.
Every time you go out or come in, it's customary to touch the mezuza and kiss your hand. On the outside of the case are the Hebrew letters Shin, Dalet, Yud, an acronym meaning "The Guardian of the doors of Israel."
There is some misconception about mezuzas, even among Jewish people. The case can't be empty or contain a photo copy of the prayers, which is how most local synagogue gift shops and Web sites sell them. An original piece of mezuza parchment can cost between $30 and $150 or more.
"The important part is not the case, it's the original piece of parchment written by a scribe," Eber said.
Otherwise, "it's like a body without a soul."
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Jewish Community Center sees silver lining in ranch
Aspen City Council is set to decide an application on Monday that would see the Jewish Resource Center Chabad of Aspen make its new home at the Silver Lining Ranch in east Aspen.
The application would add a 700-square-foot accessory dwelling unit residence, improve driveway and circulation access and add 10 parking spaces to the property at the end of Ute Avenue, which from 1999 through 2007 served as a getaway for children with cancer and other serious illness.
The existing 15,000-square-foot building would not be changed, save for the relocation of some interior walls to convert some of the downstairs space into preschool classrooms that would serve between 35 and 45 children each day.
In 2006, Aspen Chabad had received land-use approval, and had began the permit process, to build a new Jewish community center on Main Street. The 35,000-square-foot facility would have taken over the block where the L’Auberge D’Aspen rental cabins now sit.
Rabbi Mendel Mintz said he changed course when the ranch became available, because its gorgeous, wide-open setting seemed more fitting for a spiritual institution where a children’s day care center would be a major component. The congregation, one of two major Jewish organizations in Aspen, serves about 100 local families, Mintz said.
“Look at this,” Mintz said, motioning to the dramatic Independence Pass view. “Why should we be on Main Street?”
Not everyone thinks the relocation is a great idea, as the city has been fielding letters from neighbors, some of whom live across the Roaring Fork River in the Stillwater subdivision, who oppose the change in use plan.
One letter from an across-the-river homeowner states the homeowner’s belief that the Jewish community center would bring a high-intensity use to the ranch and would degrade the natural setting. Others who live along Ute Avenue have voiced concerns about traffic impacts the center would add to the street.
Mintz said he sees the traffic concerns as legitimate, and that Monday’s presentation to the council will include details on how the center will use vans and carpooling to reduce traffic to the center, which will have just 20 parking spaces. As far as neighbors across the river who are complaining, the rabbi said he was perplexed as to how some homeowners, the closest of whom is 700 feet away, could be troubled by the thought of more children running around the ranch’s 6-acre property.
The application would add a 700-square-foot accessory dwelling unit residence, improve driveway and circulation access and add 10 parking spaces to the property at the end of Ute Avenue, which from 1999 through 2007 served as a getaway for children with cancer and other serious illness.
The existing 15,000-square-foot building would not be changed, save for the relocation of some interior walls to convert some of the downstairs space into preschool classrooms that would serve between 35 and 45 children each day.
In 2006, Aspen Chabad had received land-use approval, and had began the permit process, to build a new Jewish community center on Main Street. The 35,000-square-foot facility would have taken over the block where the L’Auberge D’Aspen rental cabins now sit.
Rabbi Mendel Mintz said he changed course when the ranch became available, because its gorgeous, wide-open setting seemed more fitting for a spiritual institution where a children’s day care center would be a major component. The congregation, one of two major Jewish organizations in Aspen, serves about 100 local families, Mintz said.
“Look at this,” Mintz said, motioning to the dramatic Independence Pass view. “Why should we be on Main Street?”
Not everyone thinks the relocation is a great idea, as the city has been fielding letters from neighbors, some of whom live across the Roaring Fork River in the Stillwater subdivision, who oppose the change in use plan.
One letter from an across-the-river homeowner states the homeowner’s belief that the Jewish community center would bring a high-intensity use to the ranch and would degrade the natural setting. Others who live along Ute Avenue have voiced concerns about traffic impacts the center would add to the street.
Mintz said he sees the traffic concerns as legitimate, and that Monday’s presentation to the council will include details on how the center will use vans and carpooling to reduce traffic to the center, which will have just 20 parking spaces. As far as neighbors across the river who are complaining, the rabbi said he was perplexed as to how some homeowners, the closest of whom is 700 feet away, could be troubled by the thought of more children running around the ranch’s 6-acre property.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Chabad to offer new Orthodox services
The Jewish organization Chabad will begin holding Orthodox services at the University this Saturday, following their dedication of a new Torah last Sunday afternoon.
Though the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) offers a variety of services, the Chabad services will target a different audience, Chabad Rabbi Eitan Webb said in response to concerns of Orthodox students within the CJL that the new services will promote competition between the groups. Webb explained that the Chabad services will aim to provide students who are currently not very involved in Jewish life with an opportunity to learn more about how Orthodox services work.
“Over the years, we’ve been asked [by students] for a group … where they can learn how the services work,” Webb said, adding that Chabad’s new Torah provided the extra motivation and opportunity to start it.
The Torah scroll was given to Chabad by the Sandra Brand Torah Project, which refurbishes old Torahs and donates them to colleges for young people to learn and reconnect with their Jewish heritage.
“The gift was one to which you can’t say no, and when you receive a Torah, you must try your best to provide services, and since we don’t have to start another one, we thought a learner’s minyan [Jewish prayer service] would be the best idea,” Chabad on Campus student president Ethan Ludmir ’11 said.
Though the Yavneh House of Princeton, the CJL Orthodox student group, was initially worried that the new service would drive students away from the CJL services, these concerns have since been dispelled, Yavneh president Zahava Stadler ’11 said.
“I’ve spoken to Rabbi Webb and the student board president of Chabad and showed initial concern, but it is my understanding that they have an explicitly educational purpose,” Stadler said.
Hilana Lewkowitz-Shpuntoff ’10, co-chair of the Chabad Torah committee, said she does not foresee the new service detracting from ones already offered by the CJL.
“The purpose of the service is not designed to have any competition with the CJL,” she said. “The target audience is people who want to learn more, regardless of where they stand.”
Chabad on Campus contacted CJL representatives as soon as it received word of the Torah donation and was mindful of the CJL services when planning the new one, Stadler said.
“I didn’t have to make any agreements or stipulations because their plans were already addressing any concern I would have,” she explained.
The considerations included offering monthly services on Saturdays, which would not interfere with Yavneh’s Friday night services, and targeting students not currently involved in Jewish life.
Chabad’s efforts to not encroach on CJL service attendance have alleviated initial concerns of several CJL representatives about Chabad’s decision to offer the services, Webb said.
“I think they’ve been supportive. They understand that the goal is to create further Jewish learning at the University,” Webb said. “Anything to help the student body is a positive force, and everyone is willing to work and try to achieve that.”
Members of both Chabad and the CJL said they hope that once students learn more about the workings of the Orthodox services through Chabad services, they will feel more comfortable attending the more conventional services offered at the CJL.
“It is certainly possible that once people gain more understanding of how the Orthodox services work, they will want to attend [CJL services],” Stadler said.
Lewkowitz-Shpuntoff echoed those sentiments, saying there was “no conflict” between the Chabad services and those offered by the CJL. “If anything, [attendance at the CJL] will increase because people will feel more confident attending the services,” she said.
Though the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) offers a variety of services, the Chabad services will target a different audience, Chabad Rabbi Eitan Webb said in response to concerns of Orthodox students within the CJL that the new services will promote competition between the groups. Webb explained that the Chabad services will aim to provide students who are currently not very involved in Jewish life with an opportunity to learn more about how Orthodox services work.
“Over the years, we’ve been asked [by students] for a group … where they can learn how the services work,” Webb said, adding that Chabad’s new Torah provided the extra motivation and opportunity to start it.
The Torah scroll was given to Chabad by the Sandra Brand Torah Project, which refurbishes old Torahs and donates them to colleges for young people to learn and reconnect with their Jewish heritage.
“The gift was one to which you can’t say no, and when you receive a Torah, you must try your best to provide services, and since we don’t have to start another one, we thought a learner’s minyan [Jewish prayer service] would be the best idea,” Chabad on Campus student president Ethan Ludmir ’11 said.
Though the Yavneh House of Princeton, the CJL Orthodox student group, was initially worried that the new service would drive students away from the CJL services, these concerns have since been dispelled, Yavneh president Zahava Stadler ’11 said.
“I’ve spoken to Rabbi Webb and the student board president of Chabad and showed initial concern, but it is my understanding that they have an explicitly educational purpose,” Stadler said.
Hilana Lewkowitz-Shpuntoff ’10, co-chair of the Chabad Torah committee, said she does not foresee the new service detracting from ones already offered by the CJL.
“The purpose of the service is not designed to have any competition with the CJL,” she said. “The target audience is people who want to learn more, regardless of where they stand.”
Chabad on Campus contacted CJL representatives as soon as it received word of the Torah donation and was mindful of the CJL services when planning the new one, Stadler said.
“I didn’t have to make any agreements or stipulations because their plans were already addressing any concern I would have,” she explained.
The considerations included offering monthly services on Saturdays, which would not interfere with Yavneh’s Friday night services, and targeting students not currently involved in Jewish life.
Chabad’s efforts to not encroach on CJL service attendance have alleviated initial concerns of several CJL representatives about Chabad’s decision to offer the services, Webb said.
“I think they’ve been supportive. They understand that the goal is to create further Jewish learning at the University,” Webb said. “Anything to help the student body is a positive force, and everyone is willing to work and try to achieve that.”
Members of both Chabad and the CJL said they hope that once students learn more about the workings of the Orthodox services through Chabad services, they will feel more comfortable attending the more conventional services offered at the CJL.
“It is certainly possible that once people gain more understanding of how the Orthodox services work, they will want to attend [CJL services],” Stadler said.
Lewkowitz-Shpuntoff echoed those sentiments, saying there was “no conflict” between the Chabad services and those offered by the CJL. “If anything, [attendance at the CJL] will increase because people will feel more confident attending the services,” she said.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Shomrei Habrith reborn as Chabad Center
By Carol Balinski
Religion Editor
2/7/2009
- Faced with dwindling membership and financial challenges, Congregation Shomrei Habrith, Berks County's only Orthodox Jewish synagogue, has been transformed into Chabad Lubavitch of Berks County.
Chabad Lubavitch is a Jewish outreach organization that is known worldwide. The Brooklyn-based movement sends emissaries to Jewish communities large and small around the world as a means of strengthening Jewish identity
Rabbi Yosef Lipsker, who has been the congregation's rabbi since 1997, will stay on as Chabad rabbi.
Lipsker said Shomrei Habrith's declining membership made the synagogue's continued operation at 2310 Hampden Blvd. no longer viable. The congregation voted unanimously in November to make the change.
In describing what the change means, Lipsker said Shomrei Habrith was membership based, while Chabad Lubavitch has an open-door policy. No dues will be collected, as was the policy under Shomrei Habrith, but donations will be welcomed and there will be some fundraising. Lipsker hopes to reach out to attract people from all walks of Jewish life and those who want to learn more about Jewish tradition.
"I think people (in the congregation) are happy," Lipsker said. "They felt it was a blessing."
The Chabad Center will continue to offer services Friday nights at 5:30 and Saturday mornings at 9:30. Lipsker said the Chabad services use a prayer book that is slightly different than the Orthodox congregation had been using.
Lipsker said members of the congregation did not want to sell the building and decided to lease it to Chabad Lubavitch, with an option to buy it. The lease, finalized in December, stipulates that the organization provide funds for upkeep of the congregation's cemetery in Cumru Township.
Before coming to Reading, Lipsker worked for Chabad in Connecticut, England and Florida establishing youth clubs, adult education classes and running a boys high school.
He said some events will be held in sites away from the Chabad Center to reinforce the message of inclusiveness.
Lipsker said he views the Chabad Center's activities as a supplement to the work of other Jewish institutions in the area. He said he has good relationships with the Conservative and Reform rabbis in the community
"We (Chabad centers) are very traditional, but we're known as welcoming," he said.
Paul Safir, a longtime member who served on the board for Shomrei Habrith, said, "As long as the services are conducted the same way, it should remain the same as far as the religious end of it goes."
Regarding Chabad Lubavitch, Safir termed it a fine thing which does excellent work to help people.
Safir said the congregation lives on even though it no longer has its own building.
• Contact Religion Editor Carol Balinski at 610-371-5007 or cbalinski@readingeagle.com.
Religion Editor
2/7/2009
- Faced with dwindling membership and financial challenges, Congregation Shomrei Habrith, Berks County's only Orthodox Jewish synagogue, has been transformed into Chabad Lubavitch of Berks County.
Chabad Lubavitch is a Jewish outreach organization that is known worldwide. The Brooklyn-based movement sends emissaries to Jewish communities large and small around the world as a means of strengthening Jewish identity
Rabbi Yosef Lipsker, who has been the congregation's rabbi since 1997, will stay on as Chabad rabbi.
Lipsker said Shomrei Habrith's declining membership made the synagogue's continued operation at 2310 Hampden Blvd. no longer viable. The congregation voted unanimously in November to make the change.
In describing what the change means, Lipsker said Shomrei Habrith was membership based, while Chabad Lubavitch has an open-door policy. No dues will be collected, as was the policy under Shomrei Habrith, but donations will be welcomed and there will be some fundraising. Lipsker hopes to reach out to attract people from all walks of Jewish life and those who want to learn more about Jewish tradition.
"I think people (in the congregation) are happy," Lipsker said. "They felt it was a blessing."
The Chabad Center will continue to offer services Friday nights at 5:30 and Saturday mornings at 9:30. Lipsker said the Chabad services use a prayer book that is slightly different than the Orthodox congregation had been using.
Lipsker said members of the congregation did not want to sell the building and decided to lease it to Chabad Lubavitch, with an option to buy it. The lease, finalized in December, stipulates that the organization provide funds for upkeep of the congregation's cemetery in Cumru Township.
Before coming to Reading, Lipsker worked for Chabad in Connecticut, England and Florida establishing youth clubs, adult education classes and running a boys high school.
He said some events will be held in sites away from the Chabad Center to reinforce the message of inclusiveness.
Lipsker said he views the Chabad Center's activities as a supplement to the work of other Jewish institutions in the area. He said he has good relationships with the Conservative and Reform rabbis in the community
"We (Chabad centers) are very traditional, but we're known as welcoming," he said.
Paul Safir, a longtime member who served on the board for Shomrei Habrith, said, "As long as the services are conducted the same way, it should remain the same as far as the religious end of it goes."
Regarding Chabad Lubavitch, Safir termed it a fine thing which does excellent work to help people.
Safir said the congregation lives on even though it no longer has its own building.
• Contact Religion Editor Carol Balinski at 610-371-5007 or cbalinski@readingeagle.com.
Chabad Center welcome addition
The Chabad movement is a great addition to Berks County ("Shomrei Habrith reborn as Chabad Center," Reading Eagle, Feb. 7).
Having lived throughout the United States, I have had the great pleasure of meeting many Chabad emissaries. The one quality they all share is that they are selfless in their giving to accommodate a passing traveler or a member of the community.
Although it is an Orthodox Jewish movement, it accepts all without passing judgment. Rabbi Yosef Lipsker has been a welcomed part of this community since 1997 and has many supporters and fans. I am hopeful that the community helps in making the Chabad Center of Berks County flourish. I offer my support.
Alan Tootman
Alsace Township
Having lived throughout the United States, I have had the great pleasure of meeting many Chabad emissaries. The one quality they all share is that they are selfless in their giving to accommodate a passing traveler or a member of the community.
Although it is an Orthodox Jewish movement, it accepts all without passing judgment. Rabbi Yosef Lipsker has been a welcomed part of this community since 1997 and has many supporters and fans. I am hopeful that the community helps in making the Chabad Center of Berks County flourish. I offer my support.
Alan Tootman
Alsace Township
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Chabad campus receives San Diego's OK to expand
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. January 28, 2009
SAN DIEGO —
The San Diego City Council cleared the way yesterday for an expansion of the Chabad Educational Campus in Scripps Miramar Ranch.
Plans for the campus, at 10785 Pomerado Road, include a high school and college that will require new buildings, sports facilities and 280 housing units for students and faculty.
Chabad's permit allows an enrollment of up to 800 students.
More than 100 people appeared before the council to support the project; no one spoke in opposition. Academy officials worked with the local planning group for five years to come up with a plan that the community could accept.
2:00 a.m. January 28, 2009
SAN DIEGO —
The San Diego City Council cleared the way yesterday for an expansion of the Chabad Educational Campus in Scripps Miramar Ranch.
Plans for the campus, at 10785 Pomerado Road, include a high school and college that will require new buildings, sports facilities and 280 housing units for students and faculty.
Chabad's permit allows an enrollment of up to 800 students.
More than 100 people appeared before the council to support the project; no one spoke in opposition. Academy officials worked with the local planning group for five years to come up with a plan that the community could accept.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Rabbi opens Chabad house in Deerpark
DEERPARK — Rabbi Shaul Elkeslasi and his wife are not ashamed to proclaim their faith.
In fact, Elkeslasi says, it is a requirement of Chabad, a proselytizing branch of their Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish sect.
On Monday, the couple placed a sign outside their new home on Shin Hollow Road, declaring their residence a Chabad house — a place where the rabbi will reach out to Jews and non-Jews.
A bearded man with fiery eyes and a purple crown is pictured on the sign. This is Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was the seventh and last spiritual leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Schneerson died in 1994. Many in the Chabad movement believe he is the Messiah. In a visit to Brooklyn, Elkeslasi met Schneerson in the neighborhood of Crown Heights. That changed the direction of his life.
As part of the requirements of the faith, Elkeslasi has established a synagogue and Talmud school for his six boys (he has three daughters who will learn separately) in his home. In addition, he is building a ritual bath, or mikvah, next to the house.
This is not normal for this neighborhood of single-family homes.
Nevertheless, Elkeslasi and his wife, who, for modesty reasons does not want her first name to appear in the newspaper, are not different from their neighbors in their motivations for moving to the country from Brooklyn.
"This is how people were meant to live," Elkeslasi says of his new surroundings. His wife agrees and says it's lovely to be surrounded by nature.
The Lubavitchers are a Hasidic sect with strict observance, like the Satmars who inhabit the Village of Kiryas Joel, but unlike the Satmars they want to engage with the world, Elkeslasi says. The Chabad, says Mrs. Elkeslasi, are like Jewish missionaries.
The property is not under tax-exempt status at this time. Elkeslasi plans to ask for tax exemption, however.
Elkeslasi still works as a rabbi in New York City. The couple has been married for 17 years and met when Elkeslasi was a captain in the Israeli army.
The mikvah he is building at the side of his house is the only Lubavitcher mikvah between Deerpark and Brooklyn and is only for married women.
There are ritual baths for men, too, Elkeslasi says. Unlike the bath for women, they are not heated. He and his boys use a pond on their property, he said. Elkeslasi illustrates the water temperature with a shiver. "It's cold," he adds.
In fact, Elkeslasi says, it is a requirement of Chabad, a proselytizing branch of their Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish sect.
On Monday, the couple placed a sign outside their new home on Shin Hollow Road, declaring their residence a Chabad house — a place where the rabbi will reach out to Jews and non-Jews.
A bearded man with fiery eyes and a purple crown is pictured on the sign. This is Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was the seventh and last spiritual leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Schneerson died in 1994. Many in the Chabad movement believe he is the Messiah. In a visit to Brooklyn, Elkeslasi met Schneerson in the neighborhood of Crown Heights. That changed the direction of his life.
As part of the requirements of the faith, Elkeslasi has established a synagogue and Talmud school for his six boys (he has three daughters who will learn separately) in his home. In addition, he is building a ritual bath, or mikvah, next to the house.
This is not normal for this neighborhood of single-family homes.
Nevertheless, Elkeslasi and his wife, who, for modesty reasons does not want her first name to appear in the newspaper, are not different from their neighbors in their motivations for moving to the country from Brooklyn.
"This is how people were meant to live," Elkeslasi says of his new surroundings. His wife agrees and says it's lovely to be surrounded by nature.
The Lubavitchers are a Hasidic sect with strict observance, like the Satmars who inhabit the Village of Kiryas Joel, but unlike the Satmars they want to engage with the world, Elkeslasi says. The Chabad, says Mrs. Elkeslasi, are like Jewish missionaries.
The property is not under tax-exempt status at this time. Elkeslasi plans to ask for tax exemption, however.
Elkeslasi still works as a rabbi in New York City. The couple has been married for 17 years and met when Elkeslasi was a captain in the Israeli army.
The mikvah he is building at the side of his house is the only Lubavitcher mikvah between Deerpark and Brooklyn and is only for married women.
There are ritual baths for men, too, Elkeslasi says. Unlike the bath for women, they are not heated. He and his boys use a pond on their property, he said. Elkeslasi illustrates the water temperature with a shiver. "It's cold," he adds.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Chabad Richmond Hill opens new building
TORONTO — After 11 years in temporary quarters, Chabad Lubavitch of Richmond Hill is gearing up for an inaugural banquet Jan. 15 and an open house three days later, featuring food, crafts, music and dancing at its new 10,000-square-foot building.
Chabad Lubavitch of Richmond Hill’s new building, the Chabad Romano Centre, features windows in the shape of a menorah. [Frances Kraft photo]
The open house will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18.
The Chabad Romano Centre is located at 10,500 Bathurst St.on a 2.5-acre tract of land south of Teston Road.
Land developer Mario Romano, who is also contributing to the cost of the synagogue, donated the land to Chabad. In a 2006 article, Romano told The CJN that when he was growing up in Buenos Aires, most of his neighbourhood friends were Jewish, and that he wanted to “have respect for” the Jewish community in the area of the new centre.
The building’s sanctuary, featuring a dark-stained ark and windows forming the shape of a menorah, can seat “300 comfortably,” according to Rabbi Mendel Bernstein, spiritual leader of the congregation.
At 10,000 square feet, the $3 million building is more than triple the size of the 3,000-square-foot space Chabad occupied in rented premises diagonally across the road, at the northeast corner of Bathurst Street and Elgin Mills Road, for the past half-dozen years.
Rabbi Bernstein said that there is enough land to more than double the current size of the new synagogue, but that finances did not permit a larger building right now. “This is phase one,” he said.
“It’s absolutely a dream come true. A real shul is something we’ve looked forward to from the day we moved here,” said Rabbi Bernstein in an interview in a basement classroom of the the new centre Dec. 22, as construction continued upstairs.
Sitting in the as yet unfurnished classroom, its floor covered with fine dust from the ongoing work, the rabbi recalled that after he and his wife Toby first moved to Richmond Hill in 1997, their basement served as the synagogue for almost five years.
The congregation’s growth is also reflected by the hiring two years ago of Rabbi Shlomo Vorovitch as program and youth director.
Rabbi Bernstein said the new shul’s four classrooms would serve Chabad’s preschool students and “hopefully also [part of] the Hebrew school.”
Almost 250 children from senior kindergarten through Grade 7 attend Chabad’s Hebrew school in Richmond Hill. Classes are currently held in rented public school premises.
The new building had its ground-breaking on June 15. Its lease expired at the end of December.
In the rented premises, a large preschool classroom doubled as the sanctuary, which served about 100 worshippers on an average Shabbat morning.
“We had to fold away our small shul after every Shabbos,” said the rabbi. “Everything had to be on wheels.”
Chabad Richmond Hill also holds twice-daily services, mornings and evenings.
For further information about the synagogue or its opening events, go to www.chabadrc.org., or call 905-770-7700. Tickets for the banquet cost $150 per person; the daytime event is free.
Chabad Lubavitch of Richmond Hill’s new building, the Chabad Romano Centre, features windows in the shape of a menorah. [Frances Kraft photo]
The open house will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18.
The Chabad Romano Centre is located at 10,500 Bathurst St.on a 2.5-acre tract of land south of Teston Road.
Land developer Mario Romano, who is also contributing to the cost of the synagogue, donated the land to Chabad. In a 2006 article, Romano told The CJN that when he was growing up in Buenos Aires, most of his neighbourhood friends were Jewish, and that he wanted to “have respect for” the Jewish community in the area of the new centre.
The building’s sanctuary, featuring a dark-stained ark and windows forming the shape of a menorah, can seat “300 comfortably,” according to Rabbi Mendel Bernstein, spiritual leader of the congregation.
At 10,000 square feet, the $3 million building is more than triple the size of the 3,000-square-foot space Chabad occupied in rented premises diagonally across the road, at the northeast corner of Bathurst Street and Elgin Mills Road, for the past half-dozen years.
Rabbi Bernstein said that there is enough land to more than double the current size of the new synagogue, but that finances did not permit a larger building right now. “This is phase one,” he said.
“It’s absolutely a dream come true. A real shul is something we’ve looked forward to from the day we moved here,” said Rabbi Bernstein in an interview in a basement classroom of the the new centre Dec. 22, as construction continued upstairs.
Sitting in the as yet unfurnished classroom, its floor covered with fine dust from the ongoing work, the rabbi recalled that after he and his wife Toby first moved to Richmond Hill in 1997, their basement served as the synagogue for almost five years.
The congregation’s growth is also reflected by the hiring two years ago of Rabbi Shlomo Vorovitch as program and youth director.
Rabbi Bernstein said the new shul’s four classrooms would serve Chabad’s preschool students and “hopefully also [part of] the Hebrew school.”
Almost 250 children from senior kindergarten through Grade 7 attend Chabad’s Hebrew school in Richmond Hill. Classes are currently held in rented public school premises.
The new building had its ground-breaking on June 15. Its lease expired at the end of December.
In the rented premises, a large preschool classroom doubled as the sanctuary, which served about 100 worshippers on an average Shabbat morning.
“We had to fold away our small shul after every Shabbos,” said the rabbi. “Everything had to be on wheels.”
Chabad Richmond Hill also holds twice-daily services, mornings and evenings.
For further information about the synagogue or its opening events, go to www.chabadrc.org., or call 905-770-7700. Tickets for the banquet cost $150 per person; the daytime event is free.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Hanukkah service dedicated to Mumbai victims
Hanukkah drew to a close yesterday and a final lighting of the menorah was held Sunday evening at Kukui Grove Shopping Center in commemoration of the lives lost at the Mumbai Chabad house 30 days ago.
“The terrorists came with guns, grenades and missiles, and the only thing we could come back with is to respond with kindness, love and light,” Rabbi Shmulik Schneerson said before lighting the giant island-style candelabra which stood before the mall’s center stage.
Alan and Claudia Jaffe of Long Island, N.Y., along with their family members, were a part of those who gathered Sunday to remember the lives tragically lost during the terrorist attacks in India.
When asked how they felt about the current crisis occurring in the Gaza Strip, Alan Jaffe said, “It’s troubling and we’re not quite sure what to make of it.”
The tragedy in Mumbai and the ongoing violence in Gaza are just recent examples of a long history of strife involving the Jewish people. The faith has often encountered attack, and the celebration of Hanukkah is one that honors the triumph of their religion over the Seleucids almost 2,500 years ago.
The tyrant emperor, Antiochus Epiphanes dramatically tried to suppress Jewish customs and a small band of Jewish rebels, the Maccabees, rose up against his mighty army and were victorious.
Following the rededication of the Jewish Holy Temple, the story goes that there was only enough oil to light the candle for one day, but, instead it miraculously burned for eight. Thus, the reason for celebrating eight days of Hanukkah.
“If you could put the meaning of Hanukkah into two words, it would mean ‘increasing light,’” Schneerson said. “The story happened many years ago but is just as relevant today.”
Rabbi Michoel Goldman, who organized the event, said the evening was special because it was not only the last night of Hanukkah, but it was a memorial service as well.
“When people open their eyes and their hearts, they will see we all deserve to live in peace,” said Ahmos Netanel of Anahola.
Four of the candles were dedicated in memory of his father, Yehosua Netanel.
Schneerson and Goldman are currently working on establishing a Chabad house on Kaua‘i.
“It’s a place where everybody can walk in and feel Jewish and connect to their roots no matter what their religious affiliations are, if any at all,” said Schneerson when describing what the purpose of a Chabad house is.
Schneerson, an insurance agent in Los Angeles, travels to Hawai‘i to help participate in Jewish festivities and is the seventh generation of Jews who established the concept of public menorah lighting and Chabad houses.
For more information, visit www.jewishkauai.org
“The terrorists came with guns, grenades and missiles, and the only thing we could come back with is to respond with kindness, love and light,” Rabbi Shmulik Schneerson said before lighting the giant island-style candelabra which stood before the mall’s center stage.
Alan and Claudia Jaffe of Long Island, N.Y., along with their family members, were a part of those who gathered Sunday to remember the lives tragically lost during the terrorist attacks in India.
When asked how they felt about the current crisis occurring in the Gaza Strip, Alan Jaffe said, “It’s troubling and we’re not quite sure what to make of it.”
The tragedy in Mumbai and the ongoing violence in Gaza are just recent examples of a long history of strife involving the Jewish people. The faith has often encountered attack, and the celebration of Hanukkah is one that honors the triumph of their religion over the Seleucids almost 2,500 years ago.
The tyrant emperor, Antiochus Epiphanes dramatically tried to suppress Jewish customs and a small band of Jewish rebels, the Maccabees, rose up against his mighty army and were victorious.
Following the rededication of the Jewish Holy Temple, the story goes that there was only enough oil to light the candle for one day, but, instead it miraculously burned for eight. Thus, the reason for celebrating eight days of Hanukkah.
“If you could put the meaning of Hanukkah into two words, it would mean ‘increasing light,’” Schneerson said. “The story happened many years ago but is just as relevant today.”
Rabbi Michoel Goldman, who organized the event, said the evening was special because it was not only the last night of Hanukkah, but it was a memorial service as well.
“When people open their eyes and their hearts, they will see we all deserve to live in peace,” said Ahmos Netanel of Anahola.
Four of the candles were dedicated in memory of his father, Yehosua Netanel.
Schneerson and Goldman are currently working on establishing a Chabad house on Kaua‘i.
“It’s a place where everybody can walk in and feel Jewish and connect to their roots no matter what their religious affiliations are, if any at all,” said Schneerson when describing what the purpose of a Chabad house is.
Schneerson, an insurance agent in Los Angeles, travels to Hawai‘i to help participate in Jewish festivities and is the seventh generation of Jews who established the concept of public menorah lighting and Chabad houses.
For more information, visit www.jewishkauai.org
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Chabad Jewish house to be ready in two weeks
BANGALORE: A Chabad Bangalore Jewish centre proposed to be set up by Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and Rivkah Holtzberg will cater to the cultural and spiritual needs of Jewish businessmen and technology professionals working in Bangalore. It'll also reach out to the larger community to spread the good word of selflessness.
Speaking to TOI over phone from California on Thursday morning, Mordechai Kirschenbaum, a childhood friend of Gavriel, said this centre, which will be ready in two weeks, will connect with members of the Jewish community living and visiting Bangalore to make them feel at home. "There aren't a whole lot of Jews in Bangalore. But some who are part of technology and call centre companies go there. We thought even if there are only a few, it's a good idea to set up the centre for them."
The underlying basis of the centre, Kirschenbaum said, was to inculcate selflessness in people. "Gavriel was selfless, reaching out to everyone in the community and ready to do anything for anyone. He and his family were an inspiration for everyone."
He added: "He has been a fantastic inspiration for me. We studied in the same school in New York. He decided to go to India. His death was the worst thing in my life. It is gut-wrenching. Hopefully, we'll filfil all his wishes when the new centre comes up in Bangalore. God willing, we'll do well."
A few members of the community have a temporary office on Brunton Road and have a blog to stay in touch. Some are meeting to pray for the departed souls on Friday evening with candle lighting, a gesture considered of high spiritual and philosophical value in Jewish culture.
Speaking to TOI over phone from California on Thursday morning, Mordechai Kirschenbaum, a childhood friend of Gavriel, said this centre, which will be ready in two weeks, will connect with members of the Jewish community living and visiting Bangalore to make them feel at home. "There aren't a whole lot of Jews in Bangalore. But some who are part of technology and call centre companies go there. We thought even if there are only a few, it's a good idea to set up the centre for them."
The underlying basis of the centre, Kirschenbaum said, was to inculcate selflessness in people. "Gavriel was selfless, reaching out to everyone in the community and ready to do anything for anyone. He and his family were an inspiration for everyone."
He added: "He has been a fantastic inspiration for me. We studied in the same school in New York. He decided to go to India. His death was the worst thing in my life. It is gut-wrenching. Hopefully, we'll filfil all his wishes when the new centre comes up in Bangalore. God willing, we'll do well."
A few members of the community have a temporary office on Brunton Road and have a blog to stay in touch. Some are meeting to pray for the departed souls on Friday evening with candle lighting, a gesture considered of high spiritual and philosophical value in Jewish culture.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Rebbe’s army soldiers on
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, the Chabad emissaries brutally murdered last week in Mumbai, ran the Jewish center they established in that Indian city on their own. But the young Israeli-American couple were part of a worldwide network of Chabad-Lubavitch shluchim -- more than 7,000 men and women who devote their lives to doing Jewish outreach in more than 73 countries.
The outreach effort has become the hallmark of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, set in motion 55 years ago by their late rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. In the 15 years since his death, “going on shlichus,” or becoming Chabad emissaries, has been a point of pride with young Lubavitchers -- the best and the brightest, they say, become the rebbe's emissaries.
Chabad has become so ubiquitous that Jewish travelers around the world, no matter how far they stray, have come to expect a Shabbat meal, a holiday celebration and a warm welcome from one of these Chasidic couples, no questions asked. All that's required is a knock on the door.
An online tribute to the Holtzbergs posted recently at http://www.chabad.org is filled with postings from American, British and Israeli travelers who passed through the Mumbai Chabad center the couple established in 2003.
People recall 29-year-old Gabi’s broad smile and 28-year-old Rivkah’s efforts to make every guest feel at home. Some write of playing with the couple’s 2-year-old son, Moshe, and wondering who will raise him now. One traveler called the Holtzbergs “a beacon of Judaism” in a world that often made him feel alone and alien.
Over the past decade, both during and after my research for “The Rebbe’s Army,” my 2003 book about Lubavitch shluchim, I have heard similar stories from countless American Jews. They talk of spending Shabbat with Chabad in Venice, Italy; Hong Kong; Anchorage, Alaska; Bangkok. They marvel at the fortitude and commitment of these young couples who leave comfortable lives in New York, London or Jerusalem to take up residence in Russia, Brazil, Zambia and, yes, India -- countries where they live to serve their fellow Jews, where they raise their children in a language and culture not their own.
Often I meet these Jews at fund-raisers for other Jewish organizations. As we munch on hors d’oeuvres and sip wine in fancy banquet halls from L.A. to Miami, those who relate these stories don’t seem to realize that the Chabad centers they have come to expect around the world don’t pop up by themselves, and certainly they don’t continue to function without the tireless work and endless fund-raising by the emissaries who run them.
At the Passover seder I spent in Bangkok in April 2001, the Chabad center on Khao San Road had been completed just hours before the dinner began; the rafters were still unpainted. Nearly 300 tickets at $15 a pop had been pre-sold to Israeli backpackers who filled the nearby guesthouses.
Some 700 young travelers tromped happily up the stairs to the seder, more than half brushing past the Lubavitch yeshiva students who were quietly collecting tickets and smiling at every arrival whether they had paid or not.
A free dinner! Of course, it’s Chabad. It’s always free. It’s always there.
During my visit with the Chabad emissaries in Salt Lake City, Utah, I listened as Sharonne Zippel spoke of the sadness she felt as she and her husband prepared to send their 11-year-old son off to Montreal for yeshiva, in accordance with Lubavitch custom. When the couple, as young marrieds, decided to spend their lives as shluchim, Sharonne told me, they hadn’t realized it meant dragging their future children into the same lifelong commitment.
Did Rivkah and Gavriel Holtzberg think about that when they decided to move to India? As her three children were born -- one died young, a second was in Israel with Rivkah’s parents last week -- did Rivkah look into their tiny, perfect faces and wonder whether they might have been happier growing up in Brooklyn or Israel? When the gunmen burst into the Mumbai Jewish center on Nov. 26, did Rivkah or Gabi waver in their resolve to see it through to the end?
The weekend before the attack, 3,000 Chabad emissaries gathered in New York for their annual convention. They danced, they networked, they took their famous roll call during the closing-night banquet, standing up country by country to celebrate the movement’s continued growth.
The number of Chabad institutions has doubled in the past decade from 745 to 1,326. According to a 2001 survey by the American Jewish Committee, one-tenth of the synagogues in the United States are Chabad congregations. The movement’s Web site receives 75,000 unique visitors every day.
The growth is qualitative, too. More sophisticated adult educational programs have been created and emissaries have become involved in a wider range of activities, from prisoner rehabilitation to new media development.
New emissary couples are taking up postings around the world in ever more remote locations. Chabad centers were established last year in South Korea, Serbia and northern Cyprus. Four new Lubavitch couples every week, on average, set out to somewhere around the globe, intent on spreading their rebbe’s message to do good, study hard and love one’s fellows.
The word from Lubavitch global headquarters in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., is that the Mumbai tragedy will not slow down the movement nor deter new emissaries from taking up their postings.
Next week, Rabbi David Slavin, 27, and his wife, Chani, 26, head to Yassi, Romania, a city with 7,000 Jewish families on the Ukrainian border.
Speaking by phone from their current home in Kiryat Malachi in Israel, David said the news from Mumbai has not affected their plans.
“We are not afraid at all,” he said. “We can’t understand why this happened to the Holtzbergs; it’s very hard, of course. But we are sure this is the right path for us.”
Like other emissaries, the Slavins will bring their children with them: 2-year-old Dovi and 2-month-old Chaya Mushka.
David, whose American-born parents were sent as Chabad emissaries to Israel by Schneerson, noted that Dovi and Chaya Mushka will be third-generation shluchim. That’s quite a responsibility to lay on the shoulders of two toddlers. But it’s the life they have chosen.
Sue Fishkoff writes about Jewish identity for JTA and is the author of the 2003 book "The Rebbe's Army."
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, the Chabad emissaries brutally murdered last week in Mumbai, ran the Jewish center they established in that Indian city on their own. But the young Israeli-American couple were part of a worldwide network of Chabad-Lubavitch shluchim -- more than 7,000 men and women who devote their lives to doing Jewish outreach in more than 73 countries.
The outreach effort has become the hallmark of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, set in motion 55 years ago by their late rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. In the 15 years since his death, “going on shlichus,” or becoming Chabad emissaries, has been a point of pride with young Lubavitchers -- the best and the brightest, they say, become the rebbe's emissaries.
Chabad has become so ubiquitous that Jewish travelers around the world, no matter how far they stray, have come to expect a Shabbat meal, a holiday celebration and a warm welcome from one of these Chasidic couples, no questions asked. All that's required is a knock on the door.
An online tribute to the Holtzbergs posted recently at http://www.chabad.org is filled with postings from American, British and Israeli travelers who passed through the Mumbai Chabad center the couple established in 2003.
People recall 29-year-old Gabi’s broad smile and 28-year-old Rivkah’s efforts to make every guest feel at home. Some write of playing with the couple’s 2-year-old son, Moshe, and wondering who will raise him now. One traveler called the Holtzbergs “a beacon of Judaism” in a world that often made him feel alone and alien.
Over the past decade, both during and after my research for “The Rebbe’s Army,” my 2003 book about Lubavitch shluchim, I have heard similar stories from countless American Jews. They talk of spending Shabbat with Chabad in Venice, Italy; Hong Kong; Anchorage, Alaska; Bangkok. They marvel at the fortitude and commitment of these young couples who leave comfortable lives in New York, London or Jerusalem to take up residence in Russia, Brazil, Zambia and, yes, India -- countries where they live to serve their fellow Jews, where they raise their children in a language and culture not their own.
Often I meet these Jews at fund-raisers for other Jewish organizations. As we munch on hors d’oeuvres and sip wine in fancy banquet halls from L.A. to Miami, those who relate these stories don’t seem to realize that the Chabad centers they have come to expect around the world don’t pop up by themselves, and certainly they don’t continue to function without the tireless work and endless fund-raising by the emissaries who run them.
At the Passover seder I spent in Bangkok in April 2001, the Chabad center on Khao San Road had been completed just hours before the dinner began; the rafters were still unpainted. Nearly 300 tickets at $15 a pop had been pre-sold to Israeli backpackers who filled the nearby guesthouses.
Some 700 young travelers tromped happily up the stairs to the seder, more than half brushing past the Lubavitch yeshiva students who were quietly collecting tickets and smiling at every arrival whether they had paid or not.
A free dinner! Of course, it’s Chabad. It’s always free. It’s always there.
During my visit with the Chabad emissaries in Salt Lake City, Utah, I listened as Sharonne Zippel spoke of the sadness she felt as she and her husband prepared to send their 11-year-old son off to Montreal for yeshiva, in accordance with Lubavitch custom. When the couple, as young marrieds, decided to spend their lives as shluchim, Sharonne told me, they hadn’t realized it meant dragging their future children into the same lifelong commitment.
Did Rivkah and Gavriel Holtzberg think about that when they decided to move to India? As her three children were born -- one died young, a second was in Israel with Rivkah’s parents last week -- did Rivkah look into their tiny, perfect faces and wonder whether they might have been happier growing up in Brooklyn or Israel? When the gunmen burst into the Mumbai Jewish center on Nov. 26, did Rivkah or Gabi waver in their resolve to see it through to the end?
The weekend before the attack, 3,000 Chabad emissaries gathered in New York for their annual convention. They danced, they networked, they took their famous roll call during the closing-night banquet, standing up country by country to celebrate the movement’s continued growth.
The number of Chabad institutions has doubled in the past decade from 745 to 1,326. According to a 2001 survey by the American Jewish Committee, one-tenth of the synagogues in the United States are Chabad congregations. The movement’s Web site receives 75,000 unique visitors every day.
The growth is qualitative, too. More sophisticated adult educational programs have been created and emissaries have become involved in a wider range of activities, from prisoner rehabilitation to new media development.
New emissary couples are taking up postings around the world in ever more remote locations. Chabad centers were established last year in South Korea, Serbia and northern Cyprus. Four new Lubavitch couples every week, on average, set out to somewhere around the globe, intent on spreading their rebbe’s message to do good, study hard and love one’s fellows.
The word from Lubavitch global headquarters in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., is that the Mumbai tragedy will not slow down the movement nor deter new emissaries from taking up their postings.
Next week, Rabbi David Slavin, 27, and his wife, Chani, 26, head to Yassi, Romania, a city with 7,000 Jewish families on the Ukrainian border.
Speaking by phone from their current home in Kiryat Malachi in Israel, David said the news from Mumbai has not affected their plans.
“We are not afraid at all,” he said. “We can’t understand why this happened to the Holtzbergs; it’s very hard, of course. But we are sure this is the right path for us.”
Like other emissaries, the Slavins will bring their children with them: 2-year-old Dovi and 2-month-old Chaya Mushka.
David, whose American-born parents were sent as Chabad emissaries to Israel by Schneerson, noted that Dovi and Chaya Mushka will be third-generation shluchim. That’s quite a responsibility to lay on the shoulders of two toddlers. But it’s the life they have chosen.
Sue Fishkoff writes about Jewish identity for JTA and is the author of the 2003 book "The Rebbe's Army."
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Analysis: Chabad's success depends on its accessibility
Nov. 30, 2008
Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST
The terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai underlines the vulnerability of Lubavitch shluchim - emissaries - to global Jihad.
From its very inception, as conceived by the last Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who began leading the Hassidic sect in 1951 and who eventually turned it into a global powerhouse, Chabad was a non-Zionist, pro-Israel ambassador of Judaism.
Chabad offered an extra-territorial Jewish alternative to the Zionist state. Unlike Zionism, it never rejected the exile. It never bound Jews to a specific territory.
Rather, Chabad set as its goal embracing the Jews of the Diaspora, strengthening their Jewish identity in the myriad places where they chose to live.
As Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Britain and the Commonwealth, put it in his book To Heal a Fractured World: "During the Holocaust Jews were hunted down in hate; the Rebbe had resolved to search them out in love."
And so Chabad set about searching out Jews wherever they might be.
There are Chabad Houses in far-flung locations such as the Congo and Vietnam. In all, there are about 4,000 husband and wife teams in at least 73 countries across the globe representing Judaism.
This amazing outreach campaign, first orchestrated by Schneerson and continued by his followers since his death in 1994, has made Chabad a more visible representative of the Jewish people than any other body, organization or entity - including the State of Israel.
With embassies in about 100 countries, Israel has representatives in more countries than Chabad. But the sheer number of Chabad Houses exceeds by far the number of Israeli embassies. And when a Jew plans a trip, he or she is more likely to go online and find out where the local Chabad House is than to locate the nearest Israeli embassy.
But this amazing global expansion, achieved in the last four decades, when Chabad under Schneerson began putting all of its significant energies into reaching out to Jews, has also made Chabad one of most vulnerable Jewish targets of global Jihad.
After all, what can be more visibly Jewish than a Chabad shaliach with a long beard, kippa and tzitzit. In fact, the very success of a Chabad shaliach depends on how accessible and visible he is.
As former Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh has pointed out, it was not coincidental that the "Deccan Mujahideen" terrorists targeted Mumbai's Chabad House.
Amazingly, while there have been numerous anti-Semitic incidents at Chabad Houses around the world over the years, the only fatal terrorist attack on a Chabad institution was in 1956 - when Kfar Chabad was infiltrated by Arab terrorists. Five students and a teacher were killed.
But after Mumbai, perhaps Chabad and the State of Israel need to rethink security arrangements at Chabad Houses in India and in other sensitive locations.
In Europe it's common to see local police and Israelis providing security to Jewish schools, synagogues and community centers.
Rabbi Menachem Brod, official Chabad spokesman in Israel, said Saturday night that beefing up security presented a dilemma.
"It's clear that we don't want our Chabad Houses to turn into barricaded forts," said Brod. "The whole idea of Chabad is that we are open and accessible to Jews traveling abroad. Besides, it is doubtful that security would have helped in this case. The hotels that were attacked had security."
Nevertheless, Brod conceded that the issue of security would be addressed by Chabad leadership. "But I want to make it clear that Chabad will continue to be active in India and other places across the world. We will not allow this unfortunate incident to deflect us from our goal of bringing every Jew closer to their roots, wherever they might be."
In coming weeks a Chabad couple will set up a brand new Chabad House in Bangalore, India. It was one of the many projects that the Holtzbergs left unfinished and which will be continued by the Chabad couple that will replace them in Mumbai.
Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST
The terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai underlines the vulnerability of Lubavitch shluchim - emissaries - to global Jihad.
From its very inception, as conceived by the last Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who began leading the Hassidic sect in 1951 and who eventually turned it into a global powerhouse, Chabad was a non-Zionist, pro-Israel ambassador of Judaism.
Chabad offered an extra-territorial Jewish alternative to the Zionist state. Unlike Zionism, it never rejected the exile. It never bound Jews to a specific territory.
Rather, Chabad set as its goal embracing the Jews of the Diaspora, strengthening their Jewish identity in the myriad places where they chose to live.
As Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Britain and the Commonwealth, put it in his book To Heal a Fractured World: "During the Holocaust Jews were hunted down in hate; the Rebbe had resolved to search them out in love."
And so Chabad set about searching out Jews wherever they might be.
There are Chabad Houses in far-flung locations such as the Congo and Vietnam. In all, there are about 4,000 husband and wife teams in at least 73 countries across the globe representing Judaism.
This amazing outreach campaign, first orchestrated by Schneerson and continued by his followers since his death in 1994, has made Chabad a more visible representative of the Jewish people than any other body, organization or entity - including the State of Israel.
With embassies in about 100 countries, Israel has representatives in more countries than Chabad. But the sheer number of Chabad Houses exceeds by far the number of Israeli embassies. And when a Jew plans a trip, he or she is more likely to go online and find out where the local Chabad House is than to locate the nearest Israeli embassy.
But this amazing global expansion, achieved in the last four decades, when Chabad under Schneerson began putting all of its significant energies into reaching out to Jews, has also made Chabad one of most vulnerable Jewish targets of global Jihad.
After all, what can be more visibly Jewish than a Chabad shaliach with a long beard, kippa and tzitzit. In fact, the very success of a Chabad shaliach depends on how accessible and visible he is.
As former Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh has pointed out, it was not coincidental that the "Deccan Mujahideen" terrorists targeted Mumbai's Chabad House.
Amazingly, while there have been numerous anti-Semitic incidents at Chabad Houses around the world over the years, the only fatal terrorist attack on a Chabad institution was in 1956 - when Kfar Chabad was infiltrated by Arab terrorists. Five students and a teacher were killed.
But after Mumbai, perhaps Chabad and the State of Israel need to rethink security arrangements at Chabad Houses in India and in other sensitive locations.
In Europe it's common to see local police and Israelis providing security to Jewish schools, synagogues and community centers.
Rabbi Menachem Brod, official Chabad spokesman in Israel, said Saturday night that beefing up security presented a dilemma.
"It's clear that we don't want our Chabad Houses to turn into barricaded forts," said Brod. "The whole idea of Chabad is that we are open and accessible to Jews traveling abroad. Besides, it is doubtful that security would have helped in this case. The hotels that were attacked had security."
Nevertheless, Brod conceded that the issue of security would be addressed by Chabad leadership. "But I want to make it clear that Chabad will continue to be active in India and other places across the world. We will not allow this unfortunate incident to deflect us from our goal of bringing every Jew closer to their roots, wherever they might be."
In coming weeks a Chabad couple will set up a brand new Chabad House in Bangalore, India. It was one of the many projects that the Holtzbergs left unfinished and which will be continued by the Chabad couple that will replace them in Mumbai.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Wyoming Rabbi Reaches Out, One Challah At A Time
Morning Edition
November 10, 2008
When Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn arrived in Jackson, Wyo., in May, the first thing he did was open the phone book in search of Jewish-sounding names.
"After making a few phone calls, I realized I wasn't getting anywhere,"
Mendelsohn says. "I was finding a lot of wonderful German people living
here in Jackson."
But no one was Jewish. Finding Jews in Wyoming — and bringing them the
traditions of their faith — is the young rabbi's mission, and he was
undeterred.
Mendelsohn created a Web site to reach out to Jews across the country, advertised his religious events in the Jackson newspaper and leveraged his most dramatic asset: his appearance.
"I am a walking advertisement for Judaism," he says.
With his black suit, black yarmulke and full black beard, he's straight out of
central casting — Warsaw rabbi, circa 1935. He cuts an anachronistic figure,
sitting in his backyard on a summer afternoon with the Grand Tetons slicing the horizon behind him. Mendelsohn, who is 26, and Raizy, his 21-year-old wife, are emissaries in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, an Orthodox branch in which young Orthodox Jews move to remote areas of the world armed with their faith and rituals.
What The Soul Wants
The Mendelsohns, who moved to the resort town from New York, say they
encountered material wealth but spiritual hunger.
"The soul also has very particular needs, and those needs are spiritual in
nature," the rabbi says. "The soul wants godliness. The soul wants holiness.
The soul wants Shabbos [Sabbath]. The soul wants Torah. The soul wants
doing kindness and goodness and mitzvahs [good deeds]. This is what the
soul wants. And so therefore, in order to be able to satisfy the person,
spiritually, the person has to satiate himself with these types of things."
So Mendelsohn imported yarmulkes. He brought in scrolls called mezuzahs
for the doors of Jewish homes and items for Jewish rituals. "Educational
resources, classes, lectures, holiday-observance celebrations, traditional
Friday nights and Shabbat meals — these are all things that became
available, all of a sudden, that weren't here before."
Wyoming seemed an underserved spiritual market. Mendelsohn quickly realized he needed to create a market for Judaism: It's fine to offer Jews a
skullcap or a Shabbat dinner, but unless there's a demand — unless they
want to embrace the faith that underlies these things — all his efforts would
be meaningless.
So the Mendelsohns are trying to revive a yearning for Jewish spirituality
and community — one challah at a time.
Modern Rabbinic Marketing
Friday mornings find Raizy Mendelsohn lovingly slipping five braided loaves
of bread into Ziploc bags.
"This is the way I package them since I don't have a professional machine,"
she says, placing a label on the top. It says: "Zalman and Raizy Mendelsohn
wish you a tasty and peaceful Shabbaz" and includes their name and P.O.
box number.
They call it "21st century rabbinic marketing."
After his wife packages the bread, Zalman Mendelsohn makes a surprise visit to the homes of Jews in Jackson, fresh challah in hand. On this particular day, he is off to see Reuben Tambor, one of the 500 or so Jews who live in Jackson year-round. Mendelsohn has dropped by before, and Tambor has always been nothing more than
cordial — until today.
When Mendelsohn arrives, Tambor and his two dogs greet him warmly.
"I have a number for you," Tambor says. "Somebody asked me if I knew a rabbi — can you believe it? — and I took down the name. Let me find it."
Mendelsohn is thrilled. "Wow, Reuben, thank you!" he says. It's unclear whether he's happier about Tambor's friendliness or a new lead on a Jew in town.
Tambor writes down the name and number and then happily takes the bread. The two men chat briefly, and before the rabbi wears out his welcome, he leaves for his next delivery.
In the car, Mendelsohn breaks out in a large grin.
"See! This is the way it works," he says. "This is how we network. We've been doing it for so many years — and it works!"
Eventually, Mendelsohn says, people usually come around.
"This is a lifelong campaign," he says. "It doesn't stop after I've found 50 Jews. It doesn't stop after I've found 100 Jews. It doesn't stop, it doesn't end. The campaign continues."
Chabad-Lubavitch
Mendelsohn signed on to the Chabad movement when he was very young.
"I always looked around, and I saw that the most passionate, loving, enthusiastic and caring people in my life were Chabad rebbes," or rabbis, he says. The Chabad-Lubavitch movement — a branch of Hasidism — began in Russia 250 years ago. It hews to an Orthodox Judaism — including fairly strict gender roles as well as keeping
kosher — and takes a scholarly and mystical view of the Torah.
Under the guidance of its most recent leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Chabad became a sort of Jewish Peace Corps, sending out young people as emissaries to revive the traditions that had often fallen by the wayside.
But Mendelsohn is quick to say that the goal is not to make Jews Orthodox; rather, it is to make Orthodox rituals and learning available to Jews.
"We don't expect them to become as we are. We don't expect them to start wearing a yarmulke, or for the women to wear a long skirt and dress as we do," he says. "We accept people as they are."
Meet Mendelsohn
It's gotten busy for the Mendelsohns since they arrived in Jackson.
"Every half-hour, we get a phone call or e-mail, nonstop. Every half-hour," Mendelsohn says.
Along with his challah outreach, his Web site and newspaper ads, Mendelsohn also recently organized a "meet the rabbi" open house at a Jackson hotel.
About 50 people attended the gathering — a fair showing in a city that has about 500 Jews. Over cookies and cake, Jackson resident Ken Begelman says the new rabbi has revived Jewish life in the state.
"There was never a rabbi here before, and he's also brought a sense of Yiddishkeit [devotion to Jewish tradition]to the community, which was really missing," Begelman says.
Wrong Impression?
Lisa Finkelstein, who serves on the board of the Jackson Hole Jewish Community, a group of mainly Reform Jews that began about 30 years ago, disagrees.
"The Chabad rabbi is not the rabbi of Jackson Hole," Finkelstein says.
Finkelstein, who did not attend the open house, says she doesn't like Mendelsohn's style.
"He contacts people on the phone, by e-mail, in the parking lots," she says. "And we don't necessarily do that."
Nor are most Jews in the area as conservative as the Mendelsohns. The rabbi always wears a yarmulke and declines to shake hands with women. His wife wears long skirts and spends much of her time cooking. (She also manages the Web site as well as helps in the planning and directing of all of their activities.)
Fellow board member Rachel Ravitz worries that the Mendelsohns may give people the wrong impression of Judaism.
"People in Wyoming might not necessarily know what a Jew is in the first place," Ravitz says, "and if they meet a Chabad rabbi, they might not realize he represents a certain sect of Judaism."
But the big problem, several people say privately, is competition. The new rabbi's outreach programs cost $11,000 to $12,000 a month. The Mendelsohns have received a small grant for startup costs, but they must raise all other funding on their own. The current Jewish community group fears that if people start attending Mendelsohn's congregation, their money will follow.
Raizy Mendelsohn says a little competition can be healthy.
"It's great, because the people are getting more," she says. "It's kind of like when you have one store and then another store opens up. The first store is all mad, but the people are all very happy because they get better bargains and better deals, and they get more variety."
Her observations echo the findings of sociologists, who say religions thrive in the United States precisely because they compete in the marketplace of ideas. And if success is measured in Shabbat dinners attended, the Mendelsohns are grabbing market share.
Shabbat Dinner
For Shabbat dinner at her home, Raizy Mendelsohn prepares five courses, including fish, chicken, dips, salad and
dessert.
She must finish the preparations before the sun sets and all work, including driving cars and using electricity,
must cease. She says she has no idea how many people will come to dinner — maybe a dozen, give or take five.
There is a lot of uncertainty when you start a religious enterprise.
"I remember our first week here," she says. "We had one woman come, and she sat there through the whole service. And later, I said to Zalman, 'You know, in a couple years, she'll be telling people, "When the rabbi started, I was the only one who came to services, and now look at how many people there are!" ' "
Soon 11 people — including two young men from Israel who heard about dinner from the Web site — are seated around the formal table overflowing with food and wine.
They begin to sing a prayer, clapping, the tempo picking up.
All the planning and marketing and technology is for this moment — bringing Jews back to Shabbat and back to their community, the rituals so long neglected.
S Myers (smyers7897) wrote:
It seems pretty clear that this is about money. If this were really about reaching out and helping people, the Mendelsohn's would have gone somewhere truly remote where Jewish families might be struggling. The 500 Jews who live in Jackson are all a part of the highest echelon in that community. This visit to Jackson will certainly help fund future endeavors for the Mendelsohn's. I hope they choose to use this money to assist those who really need it. The poor have faith too.
Monday, November 10, 2008 8:51:31 AM
Jessica Smith (Ruah) wrote:
SM, did you hear the story? Jewish people are struggling...with their faith. Man does not live by bread alone. It seems to me Lisa Finkelstein and the Jewish Community Group are upset that someone is becoming successful in bringing people back to their Jewish faith and culture, and it seems *they're* the ones worried about money. Also, Lisa's use of the word "sect" to refer to Rabbi is clearly not out of sociological precision, but of condescension. I respect NPR's journalistic integrity that they interviewed Lisa and they're group, but the piece really just shines a light on Rabbi Mendelsohn and his faithfulness and Ms. Finkelstein's bitter reformed outlook.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:04:28 AM
Ellyn Camp (Colliegirl) wrote:
I think that the reform synogogue should be more open to idividuals of their own faith. I live in a community in Florida that only has two reform synoguges and I do not like them. There should always be room for another synogogue for jews. I cannot believe that she actually said that she is worried about the money. Chabad in open to all jews no matter how religious you are. You are discriminating against jews. Why does everyone that is jewish have to go to your shul if there is something out there that offers a more comfortable environement for jews. Chabad does not force anything on any jew. They only bring awareness that there is something more if you want it. I thing that you should all unite just because you are jews.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:20:25 AM
Rose Novk (RLaR) wrote:
I'm writing from Jackson to tell you that this story was taped some months ago when congregants of the Jackson Hole Jewish Community were concerned that Zalman was advertising himself as the first and only Rabbi in Wyoming. Now things have settled down. I happen to like the Mendelsohns, but I could never be a part of his congregation for many reasons. Most important, women are not considered equal to men. The JHJC welcomes all Jews and all those who are interested in our faith.
We do not neglect the rituals or building community, having recently conducted two baby namings, two Brit Milots, High Holy Days, and Shabbats.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:23:04 AM
Eric Schmitt (studybuddy) wrote:
Its beautiful to see such a warm and friendly Rabbi and his wife do such nice work on behalf of such an age old tradition. Keep the spirit alive! Pastor Eric
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:32:59 AM
Ben Paisy (Ben_Paisy) wrote:
The selfless work that these Chabad couples do around the world is humbling. It’s tough moving out to Wyoming, but helping their brethren is what inspires them.
They inspire people with their unconditional love and deep reservoirs of knowledge.
Chabad/Lubavitch is the future of Judaism. They are growing globally by leaps and bounds while others are receding and for good reason.
(to say this is about money is laughable…)
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:51:30 AM
Steve Covey (steeev) wrote:
Rabbi Zalman and Raizy, keep up the good work. Its your grassroots mentality that will endear you ultimately to all the nay sayers. There is so much positive energy in your voices and tone, there is so much hope in your attitude and your motto of change is very potent.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:57:16 AM
Justin Forral (jfl) wrote:
The most reasonable story covering religion I've come across to date. Only in America, here one can see that religion regardless of faith is merely a business service offering to assuage customers from their fear of the unknown. Image all the marketing potential, 2 for 1 deals, guarantees of ascension, etc. It boggles both the mind and spirit, but will it pay? Only time will tell, if you were right in buying the service that is.
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:44:25 AM
Zalman T (Zalman) wrote:
By the Grace of G-d
Response to Rose Novk
First of all thank you for reporting that positive follow up it is so rear and very heart-warming.
Of course Chabad doesn’t consider women equal to men – they’re not. The Russians made that same mistake 70 years ago when they executed my great-grandfather, a Chabad Rabbi. They assumed that his work would end since his now-single wife and six small children would not have any significance in the Jewish world.
They were wrong.
My great-grandmother passed away 2 years ago with 535 direct decedents, a large number of them leading Jewish communities and programs around the globe.
Her husband may have led the services but she led the family and ultimately was the strength of not only her community but many communities around the world.
No, Chabad doesn’t consider women equal to men; we recognize that they are truly infinitely greater
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:48:40 AM
john glenn (lewis) wrote:
Jackson Hole (a place where the billionaires are pushing out the millionaires) isn’t representative of Wyoming, it’s people, and it’s culture… Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn’s focus in Jackson is a fixation on $$$$!
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:51:03 AM
Jim Shulruff (Maggidjim) wrote:
Thank G-d for Chabad! Many of Jewerys best and brightest call Chabad home. Money and outreach go together like money and living. To say this is only about money is lacking in any depth of analysis, because everything, and everyone, in our society needs money to survive and thrive! This includes me, you, Microsoft, and Chabad.
My comment is not about money, but more to say that Chabad is not the only legitemate entry point for Jews to return to active observance. Communities of Jews around the world are observing and practicing in countless ways, there is something for everyone. All one needs to do is step foot into any local synagogue to feel the life and love that is Judaism and the Jewish G-d. And just like the above Colliegirl comment, we should all unite just because we are Jews.
Monday, November 10, 2008 11:15:50 AM
November 10, 2008
When Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn arrived in Jackson, Wyo., in May, the first thing he did was open the phone book in search of Jewish-sounding names.
"After making a few phone calls, I realized I wasn't getting anywhere,"
Mendelsohn says. "I was finding a lot of wonderful German people living
here in Jackson."
But no one was Jewish. Finding Jews in Wyoming — and bringing them the
traditions of their faith — is the young rabbi's mission, and he was
undeterred.
Mendelsohn created a Web site to reach out to Jews across the country, advertised his religious events in the Jackson newspaper and leveraged his most dramatic asset: his appearance.
"I am a walking advertisement for Judaism," he says.
With his black suit, black yarmulke and full black beard, he's straight out of
central casting — Warsaw rabbi, circa 1935. He cuts an anachronistic figure,
sitting in his backyard on a summer afternoon with the Grand Tetons slicing the horizon behind him. Mendelsohn, who is 26, and Raizy, his 21-year-old wife, are emissaries in the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, an Orthodox branch in which young Orthodox Jews move to remote areas of the world armed with their faith and rituals.
What The Soul Wants
The Mendelsohns, who moved to the resort town from New York, say they
encountered material wealth but spiritual hunger.
"The soul also has very particular needs, and those needs are spiritual in
nature," the rabbi says. "The soul wants godliness. The soul wants holiness.
The soul wants Shabbos [Sabbath]. The soul wants Torah. The soul wants
doing kindness and goodness and mitzvahs [good deeds]. This is what the
soul wants. And so therefore, in order to be able to satisfy the person,
spiritually, the person has to satiate himself with these types of things."
So Mendelsohn imported yarmulkes. He brought in scrolls called mezuzahs
for the doors of Jewish homes and items for Jewish rituals. "Educational
resources, classes, lectures, holiday-observance celebrations, traditional
Friday nights and Shabbat meals — these are all things that became
available, all of a sudden, that weren't here before."
Wyoming seemed an underserved spiritual market. Mendelsohn quickly realized he needed to create a market for Judaism: It's fine to offer Jews a
skullcap or a Shabbat dinner, but unless there's a demand — unless they
want to embrace the faith that underlies these things — all his efforts would
be meaningless.
So the Mendelsohns are trying to revive a yearning for Jewish spirituality
and community — one challah at a time.
Modern Rabbinic Marketing
Friday mornings find Raizy Mendelsohn lovingly slipping five braided loaves
of bread into Ziploc bags.
"This is the way I package them since I don't have a professional machine,"
she says, placing a label on the top. It says: "Zalman and Raizy Mendelsohn
wish you a tasty and peaceful Shabbaz" and includes their name and P.O.
box number.
They call it "21st century rabbinic marketing."
After his wife packages the bread, Zalman Mendelsohn makes a surprise visit to the homes of Jews in Jackson, fresh challah in hand. On this particular day, he is off to see Reuben Tambor, one of the 500 or so Jews who live in Jackson year-round. Mendelsohn has dropped by before, and Tambor has always been nothing more than
cordial — until today.
When Mendelsohn arrives, Tambor and his two dogs greet him warmly.
"I have a number for you," Tambor says. "Somebody asked me if I knew a rabbi — can you believe it? — and I took down the name. Let me find it."
Mendelsohn is thrilled. "Wow, Reuben, thank you!" he says. It's unclear whether he's happier about Tambor's friendliness or a new lead on a Jew in town.
Tambor writes down the name and number and then happily takes the bread. The two men chat briefly, and before the rabbi wears out his welcome, he leaves for his next delivery.
In the car, Mendelsohn breaks out in a large grin.
"See! This is the way it works," he says. "This is how we network. We've been doing it for so many years — and it works!"
Eventually, Mendelsohn says, people usually come around.
"This is a lifelong campaign," he says. "It doesn't stop after I've found 50 Jews. It doesn't stop after I've found 100 Jews. It doesn't stop, it doesn't end. The campaign continues."
Chabad-Lubavitch
Mendelsohn signed on to the Chabad movement when he was very young.
"I always looked around, and I saw that the most passionate, loving, enthusiastic and caring people in my life were Chabad rebbes," or rabbis, he says. The Chabad-Lubavitch movement — a branch of Hasidism — began in Russia 250 years ago. It hews to an Orthodox Judaism — including fairly strict gender roles as well as keeping
kosher — and takes a scholarly and mystical view of the Torah.
Under the guidance of its most recent leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Chabad became a sort of Jewish Peace Corps, sending out young people as emissaries to revive the traditions that had often fallen by the wayside.
But Mendelsohn is quick to say that the goal is not to make Jews Orthodox; rather, it is to make Orthodox rituals and learning available to Jews.
"We don't expect them to become as we are. We don't expect them to start wearing a yarmulke, or for the women to wear a long skirt and dress as we do," he says. "We accept people as they are."
Meet Mendelsohn
It's gotten busy for the Mendelsohns since they arrived in Jackson.
"Every half-hour, we get a phone call or e-mail, nonstop. Every half-hour," Mendelsohn says.
Along with his challah outreach, his Web site and newspaper ads, Mendelsohn also recently organized a "meet the rabbi" open house at a Jackson hotel.
About 50 people attended the gathering — a fair showing in a city that has about 500 Jews. Over cookies and cake, Jackson resident Ken Begelman says the new rabbi has revived Jewish life in the state.
"There was never a rabbi here before, and he's also brought a sense of Yiddishkeit [devotion to Jewish tradition]to the community, which was really missing," Begelman says.
Wrong Impression?
Lisa Finkelstein, who serves on the board of the Jackson Hole Jewish Community, a group of mainly Reform Jews that began about 30 years ago, disagrees.
"The Chabad rabbi is not the rabbi of Jackson Hole," Finkelstein says.
Finkelstein, who did not attend the open house, says she doesn't like Mendelsohn's style.
"He contacts people on the phone, by e-mail, in the parking lots," she says. "And we don't necessarily do that."
Nor are most Jews in the area as conservative as the Mendelsohns. The rabbi always wears a yarmulke and declines to shake hands with women. His wife wears long skirts and spends much of her time cooking. (She also manages the Web site as well as helps in the planning and directing of all of their activities.)
Fellow board member Rachel Ravitz worries that the Mendelsohns may give people the wrong impression of Judaism.
"People in Wyoming might not necessarily know what a Jew is in the first place," Ravitz says, "and if they meet a Chabad rabbi, they might not realize he represents a certain sect of Judaism."
But the big problem, several people say privately, is competition. The new rabbi's outreach programs cost $11,000 to $12,000 a month. The Mendelsohns have received a small grant for startup costs, but they must raise all other funding on their own. The current Jewish community group fears that if people start attending Mendelsohn's congregation, their money will follow.
Raizy Mendelsohn says a little competition can be healthy.
"It's great, because the people are getting more," she says. "It's kind of like when you have one store and then another store opens up. The first store is all mad, but the people are all very happy because they get better bargains and better deals, and they get more variety."
Her observations echo the findings of sociologists, who say religions thrive in the United States precisely because they compete in the marketplace of ideas. And if success is measured in Shabbat dinners attended, the Mendelsohns are grabbing market share.
Shabbat Dinner
For Shabbat dinner at her home, Raizy Mendelsohn prepares five courses, including fish, chicken, dips, salad and
dessert.
She must finish the preparations before the sun sets and all work, including driving cars and using electricity,
must cease. She says she has no idea how many people will come to dinner — maybe a dozen, give or take five.
There is a lot of uncertainty when you start a religious enterprise.
"I remember our first week here," she says. "We had one woman come, and she sat there through the whole service. And later, I said to Zalman, 'You know, in a couple years, she'll be telling people, "When the rabbi started, I was the only one who came to services, and now look at how many people there are!" ' "
Soon 11 people — including two young men from Israel who heard about dinner from the Web site — are seated around the formal table overflowing with food and wine.
They begin to sing a prayer, clapping, the tempo picking up.
All the planning and marketing and technology is for this moment — bringing Jews back to Shabbat and back to their community, the rituals so long neglected.
S Myers (smyers7897) wrote:
It seems pretty clear that this is about money. If this were really about reaching out and helping people, the Mendelsohn's would have gone somewhere truly remote where Jewish families might be struggling. The 500 Jews who live in Jackson are all a part of the highest echelon in that community. This visit to Jackson will certainly help fund future endeavors for the Mendelsohn's. I hope they choose to use this money to assist those who really need it. The poor have faith too.
Monday, November 10, 2008 8:51:31 AM
Jessica Smith (Ruah) wrote:
SM, did you hear the story? Jewish people are struggling...with their faith. Man does not live by bread alone. It seems to me Lisa Finkelstein and the Jewish Community Group are upset that someone is becoming successful in bringing people back to their Jewish faith and culture, and it seems *they're* the ones worried about money. Also, Lisa's use of the word "sect" to refer to Rabbi is clearly not out of sociological precision, but of condescension. I respect NPR's journalistic integrity that they interviewed Lisa and they're group, but the piece really just shines a light on Rabbi Mendelsohn and his faithfulness and Ms. Finkelstein's bitter reformed outlook.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:04:28 AM
Ellyn Camp (Colliegirl) wrote:
I think that the reform synogogue should be more open to idividuals of their own faith. I live in a community in Florida that only has two reform synoguges and I do not like them. There should always be room for another synogogue for jews. I cannot believe that she actually said that she is worried about the money. Chabad in open to all jews no matter how religious you are. You are discriminating against jews. Why does everyone that is jewish have to go to your shul if there is something out there that offers a more comfortable environement for jews. Chabad does not force anything on any jew. They only bring awareness that there is something more if you want it. I thing that you should all unite just because you are jews.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:20:25 AM
Rose Novk (RLaR) wrote:
I'm writing from Jackson to tell you that this story was taped some months ago when congregants of the Jackson Hole Jewish Community were concerned that Zalman was advertising himself as the first and only Rabbi in Wyoming. Now things have settled down. I happen to like the Mendelsohns, but I could never be a part of his congregation for many reasons. Most important, women are not considered equal to men. The JHJC welcomes all Jews and all those who are interested in our faith.
We do not neglect the rituals or building community, having recently conducted two baby namings, two Brit Milots, High Holy Days, and Shabbats.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:23:04 AM
Eric Schmitt (studybuddy) wrote:
Its beautiful to see such a warm and friendly Rabbi and his wife do such nice work on behalf of such an age old tradition. Keep the spirit alive! Pastor Eric
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:32:59 AM
Ben Paisy (Ben_Paisy) wrote:
The selfless work that these Chabad couples do around the world is humbling. It’s tough moving out to Wyoming, but helping their brethren is what inspires them.
They inspire people with their unconditional love and deep reservoirs of knowledge.
Chabad/Lubavitch is the future of Judaism. They are growing globally by leaps and bounds while others are receding and for good reason.
(to say this is about money is laughable…)
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:51:30 AM
Steve Covey (steeev) wrote:
Rabbi Zalman and Raizy, keep up the good work. Its your grassroots mentality that will endear you ultimately to all the nay sayers. There is so much positive energy in your voices and tone, there is so much hope in your attitude and your motto of change is very potent.
Monday, November 10, 2008 9:57:16 AM
Justin Forral (jfl) wrote:
The most reasonable story covering religion I've come across to date. Only in America, here one can see that religion regardless of faith is merely a business service offering to assuage customers from their fear of the unknown. Image all the marketing potential, 2 for 1 deals, guarantees of ascension, etc. It boggles both the mind and spirit, but will it pay? Only time will tell, if you were right in buying the service that is.
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:44:25 AM
Zalman T (Zalman) wrote:
By the Grace of G-d
Response to Rose Novk
First of all thank you for reporting that positive follow up it is so rear and very heart-warming.
Of course Chabad doesn’t consider women equal to men – they’re not. The Russians made that same mistake 70 years ago when they executed my great-grandfather, a Chabad Rabbi. They assumed that his work would end since his now-single wife and six small children would not have any significance in the Jewish world.
They were wrong.
My great-grandmother passed away 2 years ago with 535 direct decedents, a large number of them leading Jewish communities and programs around the globe.
Her husband may have led the services but she led the family and ultimately was the strength of not only her community but many communities around the world.
No, Chabad doesn’t consider women equal to men; we recognize that they are truly infinitely greater
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:48:40 AM
john glenn (lewis) wrote:
Jackson Hole (a place where the billionaires are pushing out the millionaires) isn’t representative of Wyoming, it’s people, and it’s culture… Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn’s focus in Jackson is a fixation on $$$$!
Monday, November 10, 2008 10:51:03 AM
Jim Shulruff (Maggidjim) wrote:
Thank G-d for Chabad! Many of Jewerys best and brightest call Chabad home. Money and outreach go together like money and living. To say this is only about money is lacking in any depth of analysis, because everything, and everyone, in our society needs money to survive and thrive! This includes me, you, Microsoft, and Chabad.
My comment is not about money, but more to say that Chabad is not the only legitemate entry point for Jews to return to active observance. Communities of Jews around the world are observing and practicing in countless ways, there is something for everyone. All one needs to do is step foot into any local synagogue to feel the life and love that is Judaism and the Jewish G-d. And just like the above Colliegirl comment, we should all unite just because we are Jews.
Monday, November 10, 2008 11:15:50 AM
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Chabad to establish presence in Frederick
An international Jewish organization is looking to establish a new presence in Frederick in order to reach out to local, unaffiliated Jews.
Boruch Labkowski, a New York-based rabbi, has started a local chapter of Chabad in Frederick and is also the group's director.
Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, movement and organization that is rooted in Hasidism, a religious movement in Judaism.
The word "Chabad" is an acronym for the Hebrew words for wisdom, comprehension and knowledge. Lubavitch is the name of a Russian town where the movement was based for more than 100 years.
According to Labkowski, the Jewish community in Frederick County is large and interested enough to support the Chabad of Frederick. The organization held its first event in September, when nearly 70 people fashioned rams' horns into shofars, used to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
"People are interested … and they're thirsty for more Judaism," Labkowski said earlier this month.
Labkowski said Chabad's purpose is to deepen Jews' understanding of their faith through an array of different events and programs from adult lectures and children's workshops to Kabbalah classes and holiday programs.
The group has yet to find a permanent meeting space in Frederick; Labkowski said he is planning to move to Frederick soon with his family.
Chabad of Frederick is open to Jews of all backgrounds, and specifically targets Jews who are unaffiliated with a local synagogue or congregation, he added. Chabad also has locations in Gaithersburg, Potomac, Germantown and Bethesda.
Boruch Labkowski, a New York-based rabbi, has started a local chapter of Chabad in Frederick and is also the group's director.
Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, movement and organization that is rooted in Hasidism, a religious movement in Judaism.
The word "Chabad" is an acronym for the Hebrew words for wisdom, comprehension and knowledge. Lubavitch is the name of a Russian town where the movement was based for more than 100 years.
According to Labkowski, the Jewish community in Frederick County is large and interested enough to support the Chabad of Frederick. The organization held its first event in September, when nearly 70 people fashioned rams' horns into shofars, used to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
"People are interested … and they're thirsty for more Judaism," Labkowski said earlier this month.
Labkowski said Chabad's purpose is to deepen Jews' understanding of their faith through an array of different events and programs from adult lectures and children's workshops to Kabbalah classes and holiday programs.
The group has yet to find a permanent meeting space in Frederick; Labkowski said he is planning to move to Frederick soon with his family.
Chabad of Frederick is open to Jews of all backgrounds, and specifically targets Jews who are unaffiliated with a local synagogue or congregation, he added. Chabad also has locations in Gaithersburg, Potomac, Germantown and Bethesda.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Jewish org provides new options
Chabad GW held inaugural event last week
by Ben Echitelle
Hatchet Staff Writer
Chabad GW, an organization dedicated to supporting orthodox Jewish life on campus, held its inaugural event last week, drawing more than 300 students to Kogan Plaza for a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Nationally, GW has the eighth largest percentage of Jewish students on a college campus, according to statistics gathered by Hillel. Chabad aims to reach out to these students.
"The dream is to create a home away from home that will always be available to students," said Rabbi Yudi Steiner, who co-directs Chabad GW along with his wife Rivky. "My wife and I provide a welcoming, nonjudgmental, relaxing place for Jews to come and feel appreciated where they feel that they have a brotherhood that they can kick back with."
Chabad, an international Jewish organization, established a chapter in D.C. 10 years ago. The group organizes holiday celebrations for Jewish students at GW, Georgetown and American, including the annual Sukkot event and the lighting of the national Hanukkah menorah.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad's D.C. representative, said an increase in student interest in Chabad over the past few years spurred the need for the organization to expand, but it took two years and countless interviews for him to find the right people for the job at GW.
"Chabad has had an ongoing presence on campus for over a decade, but with the arrival of Rabbi Steiner and Rivky, things are going to go to a whole new level with more visibility, consistency and quality," Shemtov said.
Last Friday's event was held inside a sukkah, a traditional temporary structure that represents God's protection of the Jewish people that has been in use since biblical times. Students shook the lulav - a bundle composed of the leaves from myrtle, willow and date palm trees - along with an etrog, the fruit from the citron tree. This tradition represents the concept of Jewish unity, Steiner said.
Holding with the theme of unity, the Jewish Students Association, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority co-sponsored the event.
Steiner said that in order to attract Jewish students for their programming, Chabad must work with all GW Jewish organizations.
"Traditionally we work with Hillel, but really we like to work with every Jewish organization on campus because we are an umbrella organization for the entire Jewish population at GW," said junior Josh Abrams, president of the Jewish Students Association.
Several students at the event, however, felt that there may be some unspoken tensions between Chabad and Hillel, since Hillel has an established presence on campus and Chabad is a newcomer.
"Now that Chabad is here there is a stigma that there is a conflict with Hillel," said Alex Sasson, a junior who has attended Chabad services in the past. "Chabad doesn't want to tramp on Hillel's turf."
Other students are eager for another avenue to learn about their Jewish faith.
"I'm involved in Hillel, but I'm interested in exploring all my Jewish options," said freshman Alex Wartman.
Steiner said the difference between Chabad and Hillel is a "matter of style."
Rob Fishman, executive director of Hillel at GW, agreed with Steiner.
"We use different methods to achieve the same goal: supporting Jewish students on campus," Fishman said. "There is enough room on this campus for us both, but at the same time, it is sensitive."
Chabad GW is currently located at the intersection of 22nd and N streets in the Steiners' apartment, but there are plans to move into a much larger facility on or near campus within the next year.
Current programs are limited to dinners and study groups with about 15 students at a time. In the last several weeks, however, Steiner said at least 100 students have attended some type of Jewish program at his apartment.
by Ben Echitelle
Hatchet Staff Writer
Chabad GW, an organization dedicated to supporting orthodox Jewish life on campus, held its inaugural event last week, drawing more than 300 students to Kogan Plaza for a celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Nationally, GW has the eighth largest percentage of Jewish students on a college campus, according to statistics gathered by Hillel. Chabad aims to reach out to these students.
"The dream is to create a home away from home that will always be available to students," said Rabbi Yudi Steiner, who co-directs Chabad GW along with his wife Rivky. "My wife and I provide a welcoming, nonjudgmental, relaxing place for Jews to come and feel appreciated where they feel that they have a brotherhood that they can kick back with."
Chabad, an international Jewish organization, established a chapter in D.C. 10 years ago. The group organizes holiday celebrations for Jewish students at GW, Georgetown and American, including the annual Sukkot event and the lighting of the national Hanukkah menorah.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Chabad's D.C. representative, said an increase in student interest in Chabad over the past few years spurred the need for the organization to expand, but it took two years and countless interviews for him to find the right people for the job at GW.
"Chabad has had an ongoing presence on campus for over a decade, but with the arrival of Rabbi Steiner and Rivky, things are going to go to a whole new level with more visibility, consistency and quality," Shemtov said.
Last Friday's event was held inside a sukkah, a traditional temporary structure that represents God's protection of the Jewish people that has been in use since biblical times. Students shook the lulav - a bundle composed of the leaves from myrtle, willow and date palm trees - along with an etrog, the fruit from the citron tree. This tradition represents the concept of Jewish unity, Steiner said.
Holding with the theme of unity, the Jewish Students Association, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority co-sponsored the event.
Steiner said that in order to attract Jewish students for their programming, Chabad must work with all GW Jewish organizations.
"Traditionally we work with Hillel, but really we like to work with every Jewish organization on campus because we are an umbrella organization for the entire Jewish population at GW," said junior Josh Abrams, president of the Jewish Students Association.
Several students at the event, however, felt that there may be some unspoken tensions between Chabad and Hillel, since Hillel has an established presence on campus and Chabad is a newcomer.
"Now that Chabad is here there is a stigma that there is a conflict with Hillel," said Alex Sasson, a junior who has attended Chabad services in the past. "Chabad doesn't want to tramp on Hillel's turf."
Other students are eager for another avenue to learn about their Jewish faith.
"I'm involved in Hillel, but I'm interested in exploring all my Jewish options," said freshman Alex Wartman.
Steiner said the difference between Chabad and Hillel is a "matter of style."
Rob Fishman, executive director of Hillel at GW, agreed with Steiner.
"We use different methods to achieve the same goal: supporting Jewish students on campus," Fishman said. "There is enough room on this campus for us both, but at the same time, it is sensitive."
Chabad GW is currently located at the intersection of 22nd and N streets in the Steiners' apartment, but there are plans to move into a much larger facility on or near campus within the next year.
Current programs are limited to dinners and study groups with about 15 students at a time. In the last several weeks, however, Steiner said at least 100 students have attended some type of Jewish program at his apartment.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Chabad Pushes Big Development in L.A.
Los Angeles — The ultra-Orthodox Chabad movement is famous for multitasking, with its religious services, schools and museums, but a new development in Los Angeles is taking Chabad in an unexpected direction: the commercial and residential real estate business.
Chabad of California is angling to build a massive, mixed-use development that would include a girl’s high school with its own dormitories, 32 residential condominiums, and seven retail shops, in the heart of the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood. The proposed complex — which is raising hackles amongst some neighborhood activists — would dwarf other existing buildings that line the pedestrian-friendly stretch of Pico Boulevard.
Hasidic sects are not new to the residential real estate business. The Satmars, for example, have long managed housing complexes in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. But Chabad has gotten into the act more recently.
The most glaring difference between the Satmar community — which has spread beyond the confines of Brooklyn and established itself in the Catskill village of Kiryas Joel — and Chabad is that Chabad is staking its claim within the urban confines.
“Unlike the Satmars, who want to escape the city,” said David Myers, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, “Chabad wants the menorah in the public square.”
Nomi Stolzenberg, a professor at University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, said that the Chabad proposal is part of a wider trend that has taken hold across the country. Religious groups, she said, have become far more aggressive in recent years when it comes to real estate development. Passage of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 gave religious organizations greater latitude to sue local zoning authorities if their permits were denied, she explained.
“A lot of religious groups have really been emboldened to pursue development plans that formerly they would have not been likely to get through the zoning process,” Stolzenberg said. “The basic reason for that is because of pretty significant changes in the law, but the changes in the law also reflect changes in the broader political culture with regard to attitudes about the relationship between church and state.”
Whether Chabad gets its permit has yet to be determined. A cadre of local residents is incensed by the sheer size of the proposed project, which well exceeds what the zoning laws permit. Chabad is seeking variances on building height and density and on parking capacity.
“They want to build this monolith, this huge structure that is out of character with the neighborhood,” said Lorrie Stone, a physician who has lived right behind the proposed building site for some 30 years. “They want three times the density than what’s allowed on this little plot of land.”
Benjamin Reznik, a lawyer who has long represented Chabad in its real estate dealings, said that because the area is zoned for retail, Chabad has no choice but to ask for variances in order to build a school.
“If you look at the Pico-Robertson area as a whole,” Reznik said, “where should institutions go?”
It appears to be the first time that Chabad — the Hasidic movement that sends emissaries across the globe — has conceived an entire communal village. While Chabad’s missionary reach has expanded outward, with outposts in such far-flung locales as Katmandu, observers note that this represents the first time that Chabad has established such a large, visible presence in the heart of L.A.’s symbolic Jewish center.
The proposed development, which would occupy the block between Westerly Drive and Crest Drive, would replace four buildings that currently sit on the property. Chabad is hoping to erect a building that is roughly 108,000 square feet and rising five stories high, which would include two levels of belowground parking and 9,000 square feet dedicated to retail shops. A girls’ high school, which now has about 100 students, would be nearly quadrupled — Chabad is seeking an occupancy permit for up to 400 — and a 150-bed dormitory would be added to house the students.
According to Chaim Cunin, CEO of Chabad of California, the 32 residential condominiums are being built with an eye toward affordable housing. Chabad hopes to use the units for various residents — teachers, school administrators, senior citizens and Holocaust survivors — who otherwise couldn’t afford the pricey Pico-Robertson neighborhood.
“This is being planned with our senior citizen community in mind, and our Holocaust survivor community in mind, that otherwise might be all alone in their homes or apartments,” Cunin said.
The Pico-Robertson area has seen explosive growth in recent years, as the Modern Orthodox community has expanded and retail shops and restaurants have proliferated to meet their needs. As a result of the neighborhood’s rapid growth, reasonably priced housing there has become a scarce commodity.
Chabad also owns the block directly west of the proposed development site. In 2003, the organization erected a large brick building modeled after the one in Brooklyn where the Chabad rebbe lived until his death.
Chabad of California is angling to build a massive, mixed-use development that would include a girl’s high school with its own dormitories, 32 residential condominiums, and seven retail shops, in the heart of the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood. The proposed complex — which is raising hackles amongst some neighborhood activists — would dwarf other existing buildings that line the pedestrian-friendly stretch of Pico Boulevard.
Hasidic sects are not new to the residential real estate business. The Satmars, for example, have long managed housing complexes in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. But Chabad has gotten into the act more recently.
The most glaring difference between the Satmar community — which has spread beyond the confines of Brooklyn and established itself in the Catskill village of Kiryas Joel — and Chabad is that Chabad is staking its claim within the urban confines.
“Unlike the Satmars, who want to escape the city,” said David Myers, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, “Chabad wants the menorah in the public square.”
Nomi Stolzenberg, a professor at University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, said that the Chabad proposal is part of a wider trend that has taken hold across the country. Religious groups, she said, have become far more aggressive in recent years when it comes to real estate development. Passage of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 gave religious organizations greater latitude to sue local zoning authorities if their permits were denied, she explained.
“A lot of religious groups have really been emboldened to pursue development plans that formerly they would have not been likely to get through the zoning process,” Stolzenberg said. “The basic reason for that is because of pretty significant changes in the law, but the changes in the law also reflect changes in the broader political culture with regard to attitudes about the relationship between church and state.”
Whether Chabad gets its permit has yet to be determined. A cadre of local residents is incensed by the sheer size of the proposed project, which well exceeds what the zoning laws permit. Chabad is seeking variances on building height and density and on parking capacity.
“They want to build this monolith, this huge structure that is out of character with the neighborhood,” said Lorrie Stone, a physician who has lived right behind the proposed building site for some 30 years. “They want three times the density than what’s allowed on this little plot of land.”
Benjamin Reznik, a lawyer who has long represented Chabad in its real estate dealings, said that because the area is zoned for retail, Chabad has no choice but to ask for variances in order to build a school.
“If you look at the Pico-Robertson area as a whole,” Reznik said, “where should institutions go?”
It appears to be the first time that Chabad — the Hasidic movement that sends emissaries across the globe — has conceived an entire communal village. While Chabad’s missionary reach has expanded outward, with outposts in such far-flung locales as Katmandu, observers note that this represents the first time that Chabad has established such a large, visible presence in the heart of L.A.’s symbolic Jewish center.
The proposed development, which would occupy the block between Westerly Drive and Crest Drive, would replace four buildings that currently sit on the property. Chabad is hoping to erect a building that is roughly 108,000 square feet and rising five stories high, which would include two levels of belowground parking and 9,000 square feet dedicated to retail shops. A girls’ high school, which now has about 100 students, would be nearly quadrupled — Chabad is seeking an occupancy permit for up to 400 — and a 150-bed dormitory would be added to house the students.
According to Chaim Cunin, CEO of Chabad of California, the 32 residential condominiums are being built with an eye toward affordable housing. Chabad hopes to use the units for various residents — teachers, school administrators, senior citizens and Holocaust survivors — who otherwise couldn’t afford the pricey Pico-Robertson neighborhood.
“This is being planned with our senior citizen community in mind, and our Holocaust survivor community in mind, that otherwise might be all alone in their homes or apartments,” Cunin said.
The Pico-Robertson area has seen explosive growth in recent years, as the Modern Orthodox community has expanded and retail shops and restaurants have proliferated to meet their needs. As a result of the neighborhood’s rapid growth, reasonably priced housing there has become a scarce commodity.
Chabad also owns the block directly west of the proposed development site. In 2003, the organization erected a large brick building modeled after the one in Brooklyn where the Chabad rebbe lived until his death.
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