Rabbi Shlomi and Racheli Tabib, Chabad of TaiwanShalom and Ni Hao: Jewish Life in TaiwanBy: Chaya Chazan“You know, there’s this place in Hong Kong that could really use a Shliach. It’s called Kowloon,” a yeshiva friend of mine told me, after he visited the city.My wife and I, then just recently married, were intrigued, and we decided to check it out. We contacted Rabbi Avtzon, a long-time shliach in Hong Kong who happened to travel to Israel a short while later. After interviewing, he invited us to serve as the shluchim to the newly-opened Chabad
Rabbi Asher and Henya A”H Federman, Chabad of the U.S. Virgin IslandsHenya’s Everlasting Legacy Part IIBy: Chaya ChazanIn 2017, two Category 5 hurricanes devastated the island. We went without power for months, and it took a long time for the island to recover. Our first priority was to ensure our community’s safety, especially our elderly members. We helped them board up their windows, and tie down anything loose. We did the same to our house, and hunkered down for what promised to be the storm of the century.We learned our house’s roof had blow
Rabbi Asher and Henya A”H Federman, Chabad of the U.S. Virgin IslandsHenya’s Everlasting Legacy Part IBy: Chaya ChazanShlichus was a dream we’d shared from the very first moment we met. The day after our final sheva brachos, we opened our computer and Googled, “countries with a Jewish population and no Chabad house.” A few striking options came up, but Cuba caught our eye. We were excited to spread the Rebbe’s message to a “new” country, especially one we knew would challenge us in so many ways. We received special permission from the Bus
Rabbi Osher and Sarah Kravitsky, Chabad of Great Neck, New YorkTooting Our Shofars – You'll Have a Blast!By: Chaya ChazanAlthough my paternal grandfather was a shliach of the Frierdiker Rebbe, my father, the youngest in his family, was mostly raised by his mother, who imbued him with her bitterness about Hashem and Yiddishkeit. My parents divorced on my bar mitzvah, and the day would’ve proceeded completely unmarked if not for my uncle, who brought me to 770, where I received an aliyah in front of the Rebbe.As a young man, my days and nigh
Rabbi Eliyahu and Batsheva Kaminetzky, Chabad of Taos, New MexicoTaos Trails & Jewish TalesBy: Chaya ChazanIn typical Chabad fashion, my wife, from New York, and myself, from Melbourne, had a relative on shlichus in New Mexico, who assured us there was a sizable Jewish population in Taos, a desert town in northern New Mexico. He invited us to participate in the yearly Shabbaton he ran there to help introduce us to the community.We were lucky to meet Ted Gold, who later became a founding member of Chabad of Taos. When his mother passed, shluchim in Al
Rabbi Motti and Zlata Lewin, Chabad of Normandy, France D-Day: Davening on the Beaches of NormandyThe decision to move on shlichus wasn’t a difficult one. Since we’re both children of shluchim, the decision felt very natural. I knew Normandy had a Jewish presence because my brother is a shliach nearby, and would often be called regarding kosher food, funerals, and minyanim. We expected a vibrant Jewish presence, especially when we visited and saw the beautifully upkept shul in the center of town. When we walked inside, however, we were disappoi
Rabbi Daniel and Chaya Ira Stoller, Chabad Russian Center of Ashkelon, IsraelThe Rebbe’s ChallengeBy: Chaya ChazanWhen we first received an offer to be shluchim, I was deep into earning my masters in mechanical engineering. We regretfully turned it down, but Rabbi Itche Wagner wouldn’t take no for an answer. Israel was inundated with Russian-speaking immigrants, and little had been done for them until then. Rabbi Wagner was determined to change that. He kept pressuring us, but I couldn’t fathom handling two such high pressure roles.Around that time
Rabbi Moshe and Yocheved Raskin, Chabad of Kampala, UgandaResurrection after the Raid: Yiddishkeit in UgandaI grew up in a shluchim family. My siblings are scattered around the world, serving a variety of communities. The Rebbe’s mission to light up all four corners of the globe was instilled in us from a young age. My wife experienced a similar upbringing. When we met, we bonded over this shared dream. We’d talk for hours about building our own Chabad house. We envisioned starting a community from scratch and serving a part of the world that ha
Rabbi Yossi and Ilana Bassman, Bader Hillel High, Milwaukee, WisconsinA Match Made in Heaven; A High School Made on EarthBy: Chaya ChazanImagine a school that caters to a full spectrum of students, from the country’s best Jewish day schools to students straight out of public school, providing for all a Torah-true education that rivals that of the most illustrious Jewish high schools. It sounds like a dream - and also, a logistical nightmare - but at Bader Hillel High, that’s just a normal Tuesday.I’ve always dreamed of becoming a shliach. When Rabb
Rabbi Moshe and Chana Thaler, Chabad of Berdichev, UkraineRebuilding From DestructionI’d been to Zhitomir on Merkos Shlichus - a program where bochurim are sent to help shluchim during the summer months. I also worked under Rabbi Plotkin in Berdichev for half a year or so. After we got married, a shlichus opportunity in Ukraine came up, and we were happy to take it.In many ways, the Berdichev of today is very like the Berdichev of the shtetl. The city has always been a bastion of Chassidus, and was the hometown of such renowned tzaddikim as Reb Levi Yi
Rabbi Tuvia and Chaya Teldon, Lubavitch of Long Island, New YorkIn For the Long HaulBy: Chaya ChazanNeither of us grew up in a religious home, but we were both fired up to join the Rebbe’s shlichus brigade! I was plucked from Kansas and brought to the newly formed Yeshivas Tiferes Bachurim in Morristown in 1972. My wife, Chaya, who grew up in Detroit, attended Beis Rivka in the 60’s before Machon Chana existed, and we both received a strong education. We knew we wanted to join the Rebbe’s army.—-----------On Yud Shevat, 1977, one day before our w
Rabbi Yitzchok and Nechama Dina Minkowicz, Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida“Chabad Shows Up!”By: Chaya ChazanWe both knew we wanted to go on shlichus. We were offered many positions in many cities, but we wanted to pioneer and open a Chabad house in unchartered territory. We asked Rabbi Korf, the head shliach of Florida, if there was anywhere in Florida without shluchim in the area. After considering, he remembered a doctor in Southwest Florida who’d once requested a resident rabbi.We went to meet the doctor, and explored the area. Fort Myers
Rabbi Shmuel and Batya Vishedsky, Chabad of Kobe, JapanA Life Saving DeliveryThere is nothing scarier than the unknown, and there were a lot of unknowns when we first started looking for shlichus. We knew there was a small, negligible almost, Jewish population, and Japan was an extremely expensive country to live in. Baruch Hashem, we were convinced to try it out. We came for Purim, and hosted a small party. There was a small Orthodox community, and many more interested Jews than we thought. The community asked me to stay as their salaried rav, and agree
Rabbi Yosef and Rivka Gruzman, Chabad of Aachen, GermanyThe Gimmel Tammuz I Didn’t Spend in New YorkBy: Chaya ChazanMy parents moved to Vienna, Austria on shlichus just a few months before I was born, so I am a shliach from birth! Vienna has a small, but strong, Jewish community, whose roots can be traced back hundreds of years. Aachen, Germany is a little different. It is a barren wasteland, Yiddishkeit-wise, so we found ourselves building from scratch when we first moved.We spent a couple of years in Dusseldorf, Germany, assisting the Barkahns with t
Rabbi Dovid and Elisa Goldstein, Chabad of West Houston and Chabad Outreach of Houston, TexasTefillin on Death RowBy: Chaya ChazanBoth of our families became frum through Chabad when we were kids, but by the time my wife and I met and got married, we were both solidly dedicated to a life on shlichus. We researched various options. When Houston came up, it seemed like the perfect placement.In the last 28 years, we’ve expanded the Living Legacy Hands-on Program, which gives children a glimpse into the world of making tefillin, Sifrei Torah, mezuzas, shof
Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel, Chabad at the University of Illinois and Champaign, ILFrom Darkness into LightBy: Chaya ChazanI grew up in Crown Heights, where we were exposed to sichos and farbrengens from a very young age. With two parents in education, and a legacy of great-grandparents who were killed al kiddush Hashem, my path in life was clearly defined for me. Hearing these stories throughout my childhood deeply affected me, and taught me what it means to serve Hashem with sincerity.Every one of my aunts and uncles, from both sides of the family,
Rabbi Chesky and Chani Tenenbaum, JUSA-Chabad, Baltimore, MarylandThe Rabbi in UniformAfter 9/11, my uncle, Colonel Jacob Goldstein, was Chief National Guard Chaplain at Ground Zero. I went to visit him a few weeks later and saw the devastation first-hand. Smoke was still curling up from the scattered debris. At that moment, I gained immense respect for the brave men and women in uniform, and was inspired to become a chaplain.Although I have many relatives on shlichus, and my uncle is a famous chaplain, my journey to the Jewish Uniformed Service Associat
Rabbi Gadi and Avigayil Louzoun, Chabad of Foshan, ChinaMade in ChinaBy: Chaya ChazanFor us, shlichus was a way of expressing our gratitude to the Rebbe for everything his shluchim gave to us. Neither of us was born in a Chabad family, but I remember shluchim coming to my gan classroom and blowing the shofar, visiting my Tzahal army base with menorahs and donuts, and being there for us with a pair of tefillin or Shabbos candles anywhere we traveled, no matter how remote. By the time my wife and I met, we’d both been deeply impacted by Chabad and knew o
Rabbi Yossi and Malke Marrus, Chabad of Boerne, TexasShlichus in the Sun, Rain, and Freezing ColdBy: Chaya ChazanIt was a freezing day in Brooklyn in 1996, and the wind blew through the cracks of the yeshiva dining room at 1414 President Street as we huddled over hot bowls of soup. I was just envisioning myself in a nice, sunny climate, when a bochur came in and asked, “Anyone here have a decent voice and wants to help out a shliach?”I immediately jumped up. “Me! Where are we going? It’s gotta be warmer than here!”A few days later, I found myse
Rabbi Shimy and Devorah Leah Heidingsfeld, Chabad of Moorpark, CaliforniaI Can’t Believe We Live on a RanchBy: Chaya ChazanFrom the start, we were dedicated to moving on shlichus. We moved to California almost immediately after our marriage to get right in the thick of things and begin any way we could, even before we’d found our official “territory.” We knew that Moorpark, a growing city about an hour out of Los Angeles, would be a good place to open our own Chabad house. We were also familiar with the area, since Devorah Leah had worked for shl
Rabbi Eli and Dabrushy Pink, Lubavitch Centre of Leeds, EnglandA Bracha for Children in G-d’s Own CountryAs native Brits, we settled in London while searching for shlichus opportunities. As a bochur, I’d had some experience working for shluchim in Ukraine, so for a while, moving there permanently was a very viable option. For various reasons, it didn’t work out. Instead, the Shlichus Placement Bureau, a branch of the Shluchim Office, offered us a place in Leeds, UK, working with Head Shliach Rabbi Angyalfi, Rabbi Cohen, and their families. Another
Rabbi Nechemia and Baila Raizel Schusterman, Chabad of Peabody, MassachusettsDoing What Needs to be DoneBy: Chaya ChazanMy wife and I both grew up on shlichus, so opening our own Chabad house was a no-brainer. We’ll soon be celebrating our 20th anniversary in this quiet, suburban, north Massachusetts town.The Jewish communities of Massachusetts trace back to colonial times, and vestiges of vibrant Jewish life can still be seen in the form of now-defunct synagogues. There are five houses of worship in Peabody - a testament to Jewish gr
Rabbi Mendy and Devorah Lea Levy, Chabad of Buenos Aires, ArgentinaExploring for Jews in ArgentinaOur journey began with a small Chabad house and a big hope to help Argentinian Jews grow closer to Yiddishkeit. After a while, my parents opened a Jewish learning center and ran it successfully for ten years. In 2018, they opened a Chabad house as well! Today, we work under my father, Rabbi Avraham Levy, and, together with other shluchim, we work to build and enrich the Jewish community in Belgrano, a Buenos Aires neighborhood with a Jewish population of ove
Rabbi Refoel and Chani Silver, Chabad of CuraçaoThere’s No Such Thing As a Small JewBy: Chaya ChazanFor most, the term “Caribbean Island” triggers thoughts of relaxation, vacation, and lazing around on sunny, sandy beaches. For us, while Curaçao does boast some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, it also connotes home, shlichus, and a remarkable resurgence of Yiddishkeit. The island’s most popular tourist attraction is Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, built in 1732 by Sephardic Jews. In the 1920s, Ashkenazi Jews also began migrating to
Rabbi Yisroel and Leah Wilhelm, Chabad of the University of Colorado, Boulder, COBe Bold as a Boulder ShliachBy: Chaya ChazanShlichus was a dream we both shared. A newly formed organization, Chabad on Campus, was supporting shluchim on college campuses and creating a global, cooperative community. Dealing with inquisitive, impressionable, and idealistic young adults appealed to both of us, so we began searching for campus shlichus options. Rabbi Scheiner, the head shliach of Boulder, Colorado, hired us as full-time shluchim for Colorado University.I’d
Rabbi Shmuel and Sara Malka Weiss, Chabad of the Western Wall, YerushalayimHeinachta Tefillin Hayom?By: Chaya ChazanOur shlichus is very unique. We don’t have a Chabad house; instead, all our activities are done outdoors. Our last expansion was a couple new folding chairs. After our initial meeting, we never see most of our “community” ever again. We’re just yards away from the holiest site in the world - the Kotel Hamaaravi, the last remaining wall of the Beis Hamikdash.Thousands of visitors come to the Kotel every day, to daven and connect with
Rabbi Shalom and Chana Bakshi, Chabad of Woodbridge, OntarioLoaves of LoveBy: Chaya ChazanShlichus was a part of the equation from the very beginning. When we first moved to Toronto, it was as a part-time assistant to local shluchim and a teacher in the cheder. After a few years, we moved to Woodbridge, a small suburb of Toronto, to open our own full-time Chabad house.The area is mostly Italian, with less than 1% of the population being Jewish. When we initially started looking for Jews, we found ten Jewish families and two Jewish owned businesses. Later
Rabbi Hesh and Chavi Epstein, Chabad of South CarolinaFulfilling Our Marching OrdersBy: Chaya ChazanAt every farbrengen we attended, the Rebbe spoke about changing and preparing the world for the coming of Moshiach. The Rebbe encouraged and empowered each chassid to be an agent of change - to go on shlichus and elevate our little corner of the world.Attending these farbrengens week after week inspired us to fulfill the Rebbe’s vision. It was a foregone conclusion - something my wife and I both agreed was non-negotiable as soon as we met. We just knew,
Rabbi Benny and Sharonne Zippel, Chabad of UtahA Life-Changing Birthday GiftBy: Chaya ChazanA month before the Rebbe’s 90th birthday, Merkoz, the branch of Chabad Lubavitch responsible for sending shluchim all over the world, decided to give the Rebbe an especially meaningful gift: an official shliach to the state of Utah. Utah had been previously visited by Merkoz shluchim, bochurim who spend a couple of weeks in the summer assisting shluchim and visiting Jews in rural areas, and had met a few people.When we were asked to join the shluchim family, I i
Rabbi Royi and Sharon Tor, Chabad of Emek HaMaayanot, IsraelPrayer and Camaraderie on the KibbutzI grew up in a verdant wasteland. The kibbutz where I was born was full of greenery and growth. Spiritually, however, it was dry and barren. Not a single member of any of the thirty-odd kibbutzim in central Israel ever stepped foot in a shul. My first exposure to Judaism as a religion, rather than a culture, was in the army. From there, my curiosity grew, and in my search for more, I wound up at Chabad.My wife had a similar upbringing and journey to Yiddishke
Rabbi Dovber and Fraidy Orgad, Chabad of Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaThe Rav of KlausenburgBy: Chaya ChazanIt all happened pretty quickly. We were busy working local jobs in Kfar Chabad, but we decided we wanted to do something more impactful; something more than just working 9-5 for a paycheck. We searched through shluchim websites, where we found a posting in Romania. We applied for the position. A month later, we met with Rabbi and Mrs. Deitsch, the shluchim in Bucharest. Two months after that, we were on a plane to Romania.Romania is a country steeped in Jew
Rabbi Avraham and Chanie Friedman, Chabad of Coral Springs, FLThe Power of the MeshaleachBy: Chaya ChazanAs a bochur, I had the zechus to be part of the second group of shluchim the Rebbe sent to South Africa. We spent 2 years there, assisting the head shliach, Rabbi Lipsker, and other local shluchim with their work in the community. Not only did that experience earn me life-long friends, but it also gave me the familiarity and inspiration to continue on shlichus after I got married.My brother-in-law, Rabbi Yossi Denburg, had moved to southern Florida on
Rabbi Yona and Ester Liba Brodkin, Chabad of Nof HagalilBringing Torah and Tefillin to Ukrainian and Russian RefugeesMy wife and I didn’t actually start as shluchim. My wife’s family came back to Judaism through Chabad and the Rebbe, my family started their journey back to Hashem while still in the Soviet Union. My father became a shochet and started helping families get kosher meat in addition to his work as an engineer. Eventually, in 1983, my family made aliyah, followed shortly by my wife’s family in 1996.Now we live in Nof Hagalil with our 8 c
Rabbi Mendy and Shterna Kaminker, Chabad of Hackensack, NJHackensack ICU - Inspiring Community & UnityHackensack is one of the oldest communities in Bergen County - over one hundred years old. Unfortunately, over time, many of its core members passed away or moved, and the synagogue was in imminent danger of being sold to a church. The community asked Rabbi Simon, the head shliach of Bergen County, to step in, hoping a Chabad presence could revitalize the Yiddishkeit of Hackensack. Rabbi Simon asked us if we’d be interested in moving there, and, o
Rabbi Zvi and Chayale Hershcovich, Chabad of Stavropol, Russia/Notre-Dame-de-Gr?ce, CanadaHashem Runs the WorldBy: Chaya ChazanAs a bochur and a newly married couple, I’d been to Russia and Ukraine on multiple occasions. I was a head counselor at a Ukrainian kids’ camp, and led Pesach sedarim in Russia. I felt drawn there. These simple people’s neshamos shone so brightly.It took some convincing, but my wife finally agreed to move on shlichus to Russia. We met with Rabbi Lazar, Russia’s head shliach, and, after some discussion, settled on Stavropo
Rabbi Shalom and Sara Paltiel, Chabad of Port Washington, NYOne Pen Stroke Changed My LifeBy: Chaya ChazanWhile looking into various options for shlichus, we were seriously interested in one specific place. We spent a couple of weeks there - and loved it. As per the Rebbe’s instructions, we spoke to three friends who were experienced in this topic, and they all agreed it would be a good match. We were ready to sign a contract!We wrote to the Rebbe, detailing the shlichus, and mentioned we’d asked yedidim mevinim (friends who are experts in a specific
Rabbi Sholom Ber and Devorah Leah Dubov, Chabad of Orlando, FloridaShliach Oseh ShliachBy: Chaya ChazanThe state of Florida boasts close to 300 shluchim, 12 of them in Orlando alone. We were the twelfth shluchim to the state and the first in central Florida. We were also the first couple to benefit from the Rebbe’s campaign of “Shliach oseh shliach.”We’d been approached by a Floridian shliach, who invited us to spend a day to see if Orlando would be the right fit for us. After our initial visit, we wrote to the Rebbe, asking for a bracha and appr
Rabbi Zalman and Raizy Mendelsohn, Chabad of Wyoming Cracking the Tough NutsBy: Chaya ChazanWyoming has been on Merkos bochurim’s visiting list since 1956. I was sent there myself as a bochur. Perusing notes from bochurim who’d been there before me, one comment caught my eye: Jackson Hole is a tough nut to crack. I knew right away I’d be spending lots of quality time there. I spent a week in the town, determined to “crack the nut.” I met a lot of friendly people and felt I was making real progress.The community in Casper invited me and my
Rabbi Mendel and Rochel Druk, Chabad of Cancun, MexicoTourism and TefillinCancun is known as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Its international airport receives upwards of 25 million visitors each year. You may be surprised to learn that Cancun only just celebrated its 50th birthday; before being founded in 1970, it was nothing more than an uninhabited little island.So, when Rabbi Kotlarsky, of Merkos, informed us that residents of Cancun had requested programming and services from Chabad, we weren’t familiar with its geographica
Rabbi Shmuli and Esther Malka Schlanger, Chabad of Bakersfield, CAThe Shlichus That Chose UsBakersfield was founded by Thomas Baker, who famously allowed anyone traveling through California to let their animals graze in his fields. Our city’s foundation is chessed and hachnosas orchim.We’d never even heard about Bakersfield until two weeks before we were asked to move here. We were driven and motivated; Tenacity got us our shlichus.That tenacity came in handy as we rushed to raise seed money to start our shlichus. It was exhausting, knocking on door
Rabbi Levi and Sara Cunin, Chabad of Malibu, CAShlichus on a Different FrequencyI was a young man when the Lubavitch world was rocked by the Rebbe’s passing on Gimmel Tammuz, 1994. I was in California after returning from Russia, where I spent a half year helping my father in Moscow. It was a very emotional time, and we were all confused about what came next.My father had been the head shliach of California since 1965, and was zoche to have many interactions and personal correspondence with the Rebbe. In an emotional moment on the Friday after Gimmel T
Rabbi Yonah Dov and Sarah Korn, Chabad House Bowery, New York, NYBring Joy to Yidden - Every Day!Our path to shlichus was one-of-a-kind. We didn’t grow up in shlichus-minded homes, and we had no connections. All we knew of Yiddishkeit were our own experiences becoming frum through the Chabad rabbis in our respective hometowns.At that stage in my life, I was lucky to receive clear answers every time I opened the Igros Kodesh. So when I was faced with a new dilemma, I didn’t hesitate to write another letter, asking for guidance.My father and I had made
Rabbi Zalman and Nechama Tiechtel, Chabad at KU and Northeast Kansas, Lawrence, KS Keeping Judaism Alive in the Heart of America Lawrence, Kansas is located at the epicenter of the USA and is the home of the University of Kansas with Jewish students hailing from all across the country Both of us grew up with a Shlichus mindset and knew that was what we wanted to do. When we met the Shliach of Kansas City, he mentioned that Kansas University had a growing Jewish population where there was much potential for impactful growth It sounded promising, but b
Rabbi Yossi and Tzalcha Amar, Chabad of Seine and Marne, FranceThe Power of Learning TorahSeine and Marne is an area 50 kilometers out of Paris, and is roughly 100 times the size of the metropolis. There are over 400 small towns and villages sprawled over the whole area, with a couple of Jewish families in each. When we first arrived, we knew no one, and there were no Jewish organizations to contact for information either.Over the past twenty years, we’ve, baruch Hashem, built a strong community, complete with a shul and a gorgeous mikvah. Since our ar
Rabbi Chanoch and Mimi Kaplan, Chabad of Franklin Lakes, NJOur Own Little Corner of New JerseyWe started 23 years ago with nothing but a pipe dream and the determination to enhance the Yiddishkeit of Jews in Franklin Lakes and neighboring towns. Although we’re just a thirty-minute-drive away from numerous large and active frum communities, Franklin Lakes was an isolated, quiet corner of Bergen County with no authentic Yiddishkeit, the perfect place for Jewish people to blend into anonymity. Geographically, it was close, yet spiritually, it felt as dist
You Never Know When Or Where You’ll Meet Another JewWe made the “mistake” of first visiting Stockholm on a beautiful summer day. The weather was glorious, the scenery picturesque, and the people, friendly and cheerful. We were taken with stunning Stockholm and quickly made the decision to make it our new home.We started our shlichus a few months later in a city that was almost unrecognizable. The cold winter weather mangled the landscape, throwing a dark, gloomy cast over the city, and sent everyone scurrying for the cozy hibernation of their homes
Rabbi Chaim and Chayala Markovits, Chabad of Rural Georgia, USAIngathering One Jew at a TimeOur shlichus is unique, since we are full-time Merkos shluchim. Over the summer, bochurim are sent out in pairs to small communities all over the world. What bochurim have been doing for the better part of the century - knocking on doors and cold calling - is what we do every day. When we were first approached, we were wary about spending so much of our lives in an RV. We agreed, but were still very nervous. Before making such a big decision, we found i
The Real Stars of the Hollywood Hills - Rabbi Berki and Rochela Rodal, Chabad of Mt. Olympus Hollywood Hills West, CAIn 1970, the Rebbe sent my in-laws, Rabbi Naftoli and Fayge Estulin, to Los Angeles. Years before the Iron Curtain fell, well before anyone even dreamed of such a possibility, the Rebbe’s instructions guaranteed a supportive infrastructure for the first wave of Jewish Russian immigrants that flocked to California later that decade.Twenty-four years ago, my wife and I moved to Mt. Olympus, in the beautiful Hollywood Hills, to serve
Rabbi Mendy and Esther Hecht, Chabad of Auckland, New ZealandThe Almost Incomplete Arba MinimWe order lulavim and esrogim months before Tishrei. It takes ages to ship anything all the way to the end of the world, and importing plants to New Zealand is a long, complicated legal process. We always breathe a sigh of relief when the shipment comes in, and we can finally hold a kosher esrog, lulav, hadassim, and aravos in our hands. Two years ago, there was a shortage of avaros. The esrog, lulav, and hadassim came, but there were no aravos to complete th
Rabbi Avi and Mina Richler, Chabad of Mullica Hill, New JerseyMy husband and I were both excited to try and refill the gaping holes the Nazis and Communists ym”s left in our families. As soon as we descended from the high of newlywed life, we found it wouldn’t be quite as easy as we had planned.I was working for a fellow shliach at that time, and although I hadn’t been there long or developed a deep relationship with the shlucha, she gave us the opportunity to be her son’s kvatter at his bris, a known segula for having children of our own.We were
Rabbi Yitzi and Rochel Loewenthal, Chabad of Copenhagen, DenmarkWhy Is the Rebbe on My TV?While some stories remain unverified, the claim that Denmark and its people went to great lengths to protect their Jewish population during WWII is an immovable, inarguable fact. The Jewish community in Denmark is an old and respected one. Two prominent shluchim, Rabbi Chaikin and Rabbi Osdoba, were sent here as far back as the 60s. They received much guidance and personal instructions from the Rebbe.The Grays, a Chabad family living in Copenhagen in the 90s,
Although Shlichus did not motivate my initial visit to Hawaii, while there, I stumbled across the beginnings of a structured Jewish community. It was summertime; I’d met a local Jew, Jim Rosen, who happened to be close to Chabad in Anchorage, Alaska, and later, Honolulu. I asked him about their plans for the High Holidays, and he said the local community would meet up every so often to hold services, using a church as their venue. Running a minyan for the Yomim Nora'im was the furthest thing from my mind, but Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were approachi
Rabbi Yossi and Mariashi Groner, Chabad of Charlotte, North CarolinaShlichus Ripple EffectAs a bochur, I visited North and South Carolina a few times on Merkos shlichus, a shlichus for bochurim who travel to small cities during the summer. One time after I returned, Rabbi Chadakov, the Rebbe’s secretary, told me to stay in contact with the Jews I met since neither state had an official shliach yet. I continued visiting for yomim tovim and brought other bochurim with me.In 1980, when the Carolinas were ready for their own shliach, Rabbi Kotlarsky, on be
Both of us grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in the Rebbe’s neighborhood, where we could see the Rebbe often and easily attend farbrengens. But, on the downside, neither of us had any contacts in the shlichus world, so choosing a location to set up wasn’t so easy.We looked around and Spokane County, Washington caught our eye. It was a very small community and we knew we had our work cut out for us. Washington is one of the larger states, but at the time, there weren’t many shluchim. I spoke to the rabbi of the local Conservative shul. He told me
After we got married in 1980, we moved to Australia for a two-year kollel. We were asked to stay a third year, but because we were thinking ahead, we asked for the freedom to look for shlichus opportunities throughout that year. This way, we could seamlessly transition from our kollel year to our shlichus life.With the agreement of the rosh kollel, we went to New York for Tishrei. Not only would we spend the Yomim Noraim with the Rebbe, it would also give us the opportunity to seek out viable shlichus options. I wrote a letter to the Rebbe, detailing our
Back when my now-husband and I were still just dating, I was the first one to bring up shlichus.“Wow!” He said, “It’s exactly like the Rebbe said - the women are the initiators, leading us to the geula! Of course I want to go on shlichus.”We were both really eager to get our plans in motion. While spending a few weeks in Eretz Yisrael after our wedding, we traveled the length and breadth of the country, looking for shlichus opportunities.We were up north, in the city of Kiryat Shemoneh; the shliach, Rabbi Tzipori, offered us an opportunity to w
Rabbi Yossi and Malkie Korik, Chabad of Roseville, CAOur first experience with Roseville, California was both daunting and exhilarating. Rabbi Cohen, the shliach in nearby Sacramento, knew of two Jews living in Roseville. One of them gave us barely more than a lukewarm reception, and the other, while he was glad to meet us, told us we would be crazy to open Chabad in Roseville. But, as we drove around the city and perused the aisles of the local supermarket, we were delighted to see that there was a well-stocked kosher aisle. While most contain nothing m
Rabbi Yosef and Esther Greenberg, Chabad of AlaskaWalking to shul when it’s around twenty-five below is no joke. Neither is breaking the ice around the mikvah’s filter after trudging through three-foot-tall snowdrifts. Welcome to Anchorage, Alaska, where that is our reality for months at a time.We were zoche to see the Rebbe on a few occasions after we moved to Alaska. On one of those visits, the Rebbe wished us that “the shlichus should be with hatzlacha rabba u’muflaga” - “tremendous success.” The Rebbe’s words carried depths of brachos
Rabbi Shea and Dina Harlig, Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada gets a bad rap as one of the most degenerate and provocative cities in America. People say that Lavan’s name - lamed, beis, nun - is an acronym for Las Vegas, Nevada. We disagree. We believe that Las Vegas is actually one of the holiest and most spiritually inspiring places in the world. Millions of fervent tefillos ascend from every slot machine, poker table, and casino with which the city is so liberally scattered.Jokes aside, Las Vegas was, for so long, so deeply rooted in tumah, that, f
St Lucia has a small population of about 180,000, and only a fraction of that is Jewish. Our community is a mix of permanent and part-time residents. Counting all the full-time locals, seasonal residents, and businesspeople, there are around two hundred Jews on the island. In our four years of shlichus so far, we’ve personally met over a hundred Jews and eagerly search every new face we see for Jewish features. There’s also a large number of tourists that flood our tropical island every winter. Through them, we reach thousands across the world.Our co
Rabbi Yossi and Chana Eta Turk, Chabad of Cordoba, ArgentinaIn 1989, Rabbi Zvi Grunblatt, the head shliach of Argentina, came into kollel looking for a shliach for Cordoba. I had already been to Caracas and Uruguay as a shliach and summer camp counselor, so I was pretty fluent in Spanish. Rabbi Grunblatt told me a bit about the history of the Cordoban community.Most Argentine Jews are originally from Ukraine and Russia. In the late 1800’s, Sir Moses Montefiore and Baron Hirsch, two wealthy and international philanthropists, tried to help their Jewish b
Rabbi Mendy and Shternie Deitsch, Chandler, ArizonaRabbi Mendy and Shternie Deitsch, Chandler, ArizonaTwenty-four years ago, after the traditional year of kollel, my wife and I were eagerly looking to go out on shlichus. We met with Rabbi Levertov, the head shliach of Arizona who told us about a beautiful area outside of Phoenix called the East Valley, which consists of a few small cities. There was no Jewish infrastructure at all and very little information about how many Jews even lived there. My wife and I were thrilled! Building a community from scra
Rabbi Shlomo and Mrs. Devorah Elkin, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OhioMy wife and I knew, early on, that we wanted to be shluchim on a college campus. Rabbi Alevsky, the head shliach of Cleveland, suggested Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, just an hour outside of the city. Our research made it sound perfect for us! Oberlin College is a historic institution, founded in 1833. Famous for its progressive views and social activism, it was the first college in America to accept black and female students. Those who attend are socially conscious youths seeking mea
The Rebbe’s revolutionary Mitzvah Tanks completely changed the landscape of Manhattan, and, by extension, the world. The first mitzvah tanks were rented moving vans that spent Fridays on the streets of Manhattan, asking passersby to stop in for a quick mitzvah. Eventually, these trucks evolved into RV motor homes, so people could put on tefillin in comfort and privacy.In 1988, following the passing of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, there was a push to have an all-day, full-time mitzvah tank driving through the streets of Manhattan. The Rebbe valued the “tan
Rabbi Yossi and Malki Rodal, Newcastle, AustraliaShlichus in Australia is unique. Apart from Sydney, Melbourne, and a few other big cities, the rest of the population is spread out over wide areas of wilderness. That’s why RARA - Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia was started. You are essentially the shliach for hundreds of cities over thousands of miles. Much of the shlichus is done virtually, but the highlight of our work would be the month-long road trips, where we visit one or two Jewish families in each area. These are done every few months, s
Rabbi Mordechai and Sorale Rodal of Norwood, Johannesburg, SAI had been to South Africa on shlichus as a bochur and even then, I noticed that South Africans are quite traditional. So many of them came to shul out of guilt or obligation, although they sat in the back and talked about sports. I wanted to open a shul for non-shul goers; an American style Chabad house. When I opened my shul, that became our motto: “the shul for non-shul goers.” We placed an emphasis on personal connections and explained the davening in simple English. We started in a ren
Rabbi Yossi & Chana Madvig - CHABAD OF OSWEGO New YorkNeither of us come from an Orthodox Jewish background. I was raised in a Conservative/Reform home and did not have much of an education. In fact, I went through a phase of interest in Christianity in college. I may have continued to follow along with that path had I not bumped into an anti-missionary group.When I told my parents that I was involved with Christianity, they urged me to at the very least speak with their (Conservative) rabbi in LA, who said that there was a different side to th
Rabbi Mendel and Esther Lifshitz & Family of Boise, IdahoOur shlichus is not an assembly-line shlichus; it is handmade. Every neshama is hand-crafted. We wouldn’t trade it for the world. We had the incredible opportunity to build up our community from the ground up.….We absolutely won the lottery. The Rebbe chose us to be the Shluchim in Boise, Idaho. There was no logical reason for us to end up here. My wife and I have no connection to Idaho. She was raised in South Africa, I’m from Cincinnati, and had never even been here as a (bochur to visi
Moving on shlichus to Bayview, a neighborhood in Toronto about half an hour’s drive from where I grew up, was not a difficult decision to make. Although I had various shlichus offers to places as exotic as the Caribbean, soon after my wedding, Rabbi Grossbaum pulled me into his office and told me, “You’re coming home. You know what this place needs, and there is plenty of work for you to do.”Bayview is an affluent area, primarily inhabited by established Canadian families with homes averaging $7 million. It’s a neighborhood with people set in i
Rabbi Oshy and Zeesy Deren Chabad of the West Coast - Blouberg, Cape Town, South AfricaAs people in almost every significant English speaking Jewish community in the world know, South African Jews are unique. Unlike in other places, the community here hasn’t assimilated at the levels that you see in most other places. Even the non-observant Jewish people hold a very strong sense of tradition and affiliation to Yiddishkeit and Torah. When we were first approached by Rabbi Mendel and Rebbetzin Avi Popack, who started Chabad in Cape Town,
On that cold winter night in 2006, we pulled up in front of our new home. There were no bells and whistles, no welcoming committee, and no friendly neighbors bearing platters of chocolate chip cookies. It was just dark, cold, and very late. We unpacked a few things, set up the beds, and tried to get some rest. But how can you sleep if your new house is freezing cold? After tossing and turning for most of the night in the cold, I went downstairs and sighed. There were piles of boxes everywhere, we didn’t know a soul in town, and… hey, what w
In the summer of 1985, having completed a two-year shlichus internship at Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad in Los Angeles, I was invited to assist Rabbi Moshe Bryski in expanding Chabad’s activities in the Conejo Valley, an area made up of small towns 30 miles northwest of L.A. A handful of families who were part of his shul in Westlake Village were slowly becoming shomer Shabbos and asked him to start a minyan in their neighborhood. In addition to serving as their rabbi, my responsibilities also included running a Hebrew School, teaching adult classes
Rabbi Chalom & Esti Loeub - Campus Shluchim to The University of British Columbia in Vancouver. As a bochur, I volunteered at the Chabad of Florida State University. It was the first time I experienced true connection. I knew I wanted to spend my life doing this and luckily my wife held a similar dream. We spent the beginning of our marriage looking at different cities and trying to find our place. I, a Montreal native, didn’t even consider Canada. But after some time of coming up empty, we heard of an opportunity at the University of Br
The Whole World is Made of Small Shtetlach! —The RebbeIn a Southern Colorado City, a Jew gets Shmurah Matzah. Down in a resort town, a Tanya is being printed. In the aisles of Trader Joe’s, someone connects to his Yiddishkeit. Welcome to the life of Rabbi Liberow, the Shliach to Colorado Springs. Colorado attracts many tourists because of its natural beauty and sprawling mountains. One key attraction is the Telluride Ski Resort, which is a six-hour drive from us. It attracts many Yidden from the East Coast, especially during the summer mont
Mendy and I were both born and raised in Crown Heights, but our families moved during our elementary school years. Eventually, we both made it back to Crown Heights for High School and Yeshiva. In 1994, the first Chai Elul after Gimmel Tammuz, we got married. A year later, we decided to move to Florida. I wanted to be closer to my family - plus, we thought shlichus there would be an amazing opportunity. At the time, all the big cities had shluchim, but the small towns didn’t. We were offered a shlichus in North Miami Beach, where I spe
The first time I came to Montana, I was still a bochur. It was the summer of 2004, and my friend Yitzchak Feldman (today a Shliach in Bend, Oregon) and I spent a month here visiting Jewish homes across the state. At the time, I never saw this becoming my permanent home. But still, the Jews I had met remained close to me and when Pesach rolled around I sent Shmura Matza to each of their homes. The feedback I received was amazing. When summer 2005 rolled around, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky asked me what my plans were and I told him I wasn’t sure.
Doing shlichus was always a given for me. My wife and I both come from Chabad backgrounds - my wife was born while her parents were on shlichus in Manchester, and I went to Yeshiva in Kfar Chabad, where I was very close to the Mashpia Reb Mendel Futerfas. He always encouraged shlichus, so we barely had to discuss it when we decided to take on this mitzva. I remember receiving a call from Rabbi Hershel Rader, who was the shliach in Solihull before me. “I need someone to replace me,” he said. “I’m spending more time driving my children
It's funny they say you can find Chabad anywhere that has coca-cola. This week Chabad managed to keep a presence with the famous soda removing its brand. I’m from Canada originally, and never had any connection to Russia growing up. When I look back at what brought me here, it’s almost amusing. I was in yeshiva in Israel, and my roommate was planning on spending his summer volunteering at a camp in Russia. At first, I had no interest in going - I already had my plans in place to spend my summer in California. But after much cajoling on my roomma
Being a shliach in Minnesota is all I know. This is home to me. My father’s been a shliach here for 60 years, and I, 28. I grew up here, serving the Jewish community alongside my father, and returned after marriage to continue the shlichus that started before birth.My first role was in chinuch as a teacher and principal of the Lubavitch Cheder. Spending my days teaching the joys of Torah to young minds was quite meaningful and allowed me to share Yiddishkeit with the community. I eventually passed the reins of the principal hood to my successor and bec
When someone moves to a city where the closest frum family is 180 miles away, they’ve got to have a good reason for it. For Rabbi Greenberg and his wife, they know exactly why they did it. Having both grown up on shlichus, they learned from a very young age that the greatest joy in life is giving to others. And that’s precisely why they parked themselves in Wichita, Kansas. It’s so far from frum Jewish life, but so close to Yidden - Jews who could use a caring friend and some warm, chicken soup.I grew up on shlichus in El Paso, Texas, and my wife g
I was trying to get comfortable in my plane seat, which is not an easy task for a woman eight months into her first pregnancy. I took stock of the events that led up to this cross-country trip, which would take my husband Choni and me to our new shlichus location in California. We were eagerly anticipating our new venture. Nervous? Well, yes, a bit - especially since we hadn’t given the moving company a delivery address for our belongings. No, it wasn’t that we weren’t prepared - simply put, we didn’t have an address yet. But we had three weeks t
Being a Shaliach runs in my blood! My father moved to Australia in 1979 to start Kollel Menachem. A few years later, he began helping the Tasmanian Jews with Yamim Noraim and eventually founded a makeshift Chabad there. So it was only natural to me that when I got married and started my own family, I would move to Tasmania and become the first full-time Rabbi living on the 200-mile long “island.” Today, my family and I have lived in Tasmania for about 11 years. We moved in 2011. While the island is (comparatively speaking) small, reaching
We’ve always known the importance of this shlichus. This move would take us and our three children somewhere with no school, no Mikvah, and 100 miles away from the nearest kosher store. The list of unknowns was immense, but we were prepared to take on the challenge. When we began reaching out to the students, our first idea was to invite them all for a Friday night meal. The timing wasn’t ideal. It was the dead of summer, and the campus would be populated by a mere fraction of its students; only those taking summer courses. In spite of th
As a shliach to the exclusive community of Golden Beach, Rabbi Chay Amar has more than enough wisdom to share. His shlichus was hardly smooth sailing, but his simcha and strong principles made him come out ahead. In this issue, Rabbi Amar shares financial advice, how to stay firm under pressure, and what wealthy people really want from you. When my wife and I first came to Miami, the Jewish presence there was very different from today. Just to give you an idea, there was only one Kosher pizza store and one kosher Chinese restaurant in the entire are
Years ago, my wife and I were set to go on shlichus to Sumy, Ukraine, a small city near the Russian border. When we arrived, my family stayed by the shluchim in Kharkov while I went to Sumy to search for an apartment. One night, I walked to my hotel room feeling very down. I had been there for two weeks already, but I had not yet found a suitable place for us to live. Was this all one big mistake?The town square was mostly deserted. Over and over again, I replayed the events of the past two weeks in my mind. Packing up our apartment in California and shi
Chances are that when you think Louisville, baseball bats or bourbon are the first things that come to mind. But for locals like me who were born and bred in the city bearing the name of France’s King Louis XVI, Louisville Kentucky means home.Surprisingly enough, Louisville’s Jewish community had three kosher slaughterhouses in 1900, but all of them closed down over the next few decades. Despite those realities, there were four congregations here, including an Orthodox shul, which was here when the Rebbe sent my parents on shlichus in 1985, as
Most shluchim you meet may have grown up in Chabad homes, but I did not. My father was a special yid, a man who referred to himself as “a Jew without labels,” and I attended Litvishe yeshivas throughout my formative years. My older brothers became Lubavitcher Chasidim, and attending the Rebbe’s farbrengens ultimately led me down a similar path - the energy in the room, the holiness in the air and the light that seemed to surround the Rebbe just drew me in. The concept of shlichus intrigued me, particularly campus shlichus which I i
Living in California, Chicago or New York I don’t think I ever imagined that one day my family and I would be busy traveling the country’s 19th largest state, bringing Torah to North Dakota’s 1,000 Jewish residents. But life is full of surprises and I have definitely encountered more than my fair share since I arrived in Fargo in 2010.The seeds for my life here were actually sown two years earlier. When Chabad shluchim Rabbi Gavriel and Rivky Holzberg were murdered in a horrific terror attack, I was studying accounting at the time, and
