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
