Rabbi Sholom Ber and Nechama Dina Krinsky, Chabad of Lithuania, Vilna, LithuaniaThe Chassidishe LitvakBy: Chaya ChazanVilna is almost a magical word that conjures up visions of convivial bearded men arguing over a blatt Gemara as they rush to Shacharis, the sounds of Torah learning wafting through almost every window they pass. Unfortunately, the “Jerusalem of Lithuania” has lost much of its luster since those glorious, bygone days. The Nazis ym”s ravaged Vilna’s vibrant community, and the Soviets trampled whatever was left.In the early 90’s, a
Rabbi Alex and Chana Colin, YJP of Chabad of Towson, MarylandAn Open Heart for the Open-MindedBy: Chaya ChazanOnce upon a time, two shluchim were sent to Milan, Italy. Both families had daughters named Chana, who remained close friends their entire lives, even after moving on shlichus of their own. Both Chanas had daughters who also went on to set up Chabad houses of their own, both, incidentally, on college campuses. The Goldsteins began Chabad at Drexel University in Philadelphia, while the Rivkins started Chabad at Towson University and Goucher
Rabbi Shneur and Tova Kenig, Chabad of Ofakim, IsraelSoup for the SoulI was raised in Kfar Chabad, and it was the farbrengens in 770 that made me want to be a shliach. I was just a bochur, so I didn’t know exactly where or how; I just knew I wanted to go on shlichus.In this way, like every other, my wife is the perfect match for me. She grew up on shlichus in Ofakim, where her parents, Rabbi Yisrael and Sara Hershkowitz, run the main Chabad House. She wanted to join them and become part of their team. Although I wasn’t sure if Ofakim was in the north
Rabbi Dovid and Chanie Greene, Chabad of Rochester, MNThe Lost and Found NeshamaBy: Chaya ChazanI’m a born-and-raised Minnesotan. When Rabbi Moshe and Mindy Feller AH first moved to the twin cities in 1962, my parents became very close with them and learned about Chabad and the Rebbe through them.Rabbi Feller’s remarkable charisma and sincerity impacted me, even as a child. I attended the Torah Umesorah day school in Minneapolis, and I vividly remember Rabbi Feller addressing the student body every Friday before dismissal. I can hear his distinct voi
Rabbi Dov and Chani Bialo, Chabad at Reed College, Portland, ORThe MitzvahThon That Changed EverythingBy: Chaya ChazanThe taste I got of shlichus in my bochurhood only whet my appetite for more. After a personal turning point while on bachur shlichus, I then decided to include shlichus in my future. However, in my imagination, college didn’t figure in at all. But when the opportunity for a community/campus shlichus in Southeast Portland came up, my mashpia advised me to at least check it out. So we boarded a plane and flew across the country.We w
Rabbi Berel and Chana Dubinsky, Chabad of S. Teresa, Costa RicaFrom Paradise to PurposeBy: Chaya ChazanAs a bochur, I’d helped shluchim all over Asia, so moving somewhere exotic didn’t seem too crazy to me. When I asked my now-wife whether she’d be willing to go on shlichus to Vietnam, which I’d recently heard had an opening, she was open to it! In the first couple of years of our marriage, we looked into some interesting options. We even had tickets for an initial visit to a city in Africa in early 2020. Once Covid hit, our tickets were canceled
Rabbi Gavriel and Chava Sebag, Chabad of Toulouse, FranceTo Win in ToulouseBy: Chaya ChazanI was born and raised in Morocco, in a traditional Sefardi family. I was first introduced to Chabad and Chassidus by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Raskin, the Rebbe’s shliach to Casablanca, which had a tremendous impact on me. In 1981, the Rebbe opened a yeshiva in Morocco, and Chabad bochurim came from all over the world. I joined them, and when they returned to New York afterwards, I followed them to study in 770. I was barely settled before I was asked to become a shliach
Rabbi Pesach and Chanie Scheiner, Chabad of Boulder, ColoradoRadiating the Rebbe’s Mission in the RockiesBy: Chaya ChazanBy the time we moved on shlichus in 1991, most major metropolitan cities in the U.S. and Europe already had a designated shliach. We were looking to open our own Chabad house, so when a friend passed on a suggestion that didn’t work for him, we were delighted.We wrote to the Rebbe, and were given a bracha for “hatzlacha, in a way of adding and increasing.”While Boulder is known for its breathtaking beauty and halcyon hipster vi
Rabbi Yaakov and Chanie Zucker, Chabad of the Florida Keys, Key West, FLThe Key to a Jewish Heart, Part IIBy: Chaya ChazanI was making one of my daily walks along Duval Avenue, the epicenter of Key West’s tourism, visiting the Jewish owners of each shop with a tefillin bag tucked under my arm. When I visited Danny’s store, he pointed out a curly-haired young man working across the room.“He’s Jewish,” he said in a half whisper. “He’s 17 years old, and he’s never put on tefillin before!”Of course, I immediately approached Jacob and asked
Rabbi Yaakov and Chanie Zucker, Chabad of the Florida Keys, Key West, FLThe Key to a Jewish Heart, Part IBy: Chaya Chazan“You can try, but there aren’t many places left,” I was told when I tried finding somewhere to move on shlichus, shortly after my engagement in 1995.It was true. As hard as I looked, I couldn’t find too many options. There were already 600 shluchim in the Kinus photo! I couldn’t imagine how we could add any more to that already impressive number. —--------------------I was almost ready to give up the search for shlichu
