Rabbi Raffy and Chana Filler, Chabad at Ithaca College, Ithaca, New YorkIgniting Inspiration in IthacaBy: Chaya ChazanI had a traditional Chabad upbringing in the large Lubavitch community in Montreal. As a bochur, I was privileged to help shluchim in various parts of the world and gained firsthand familiarity of the mesiras nefesh shlichus demands.My wife was born on shlichus, growing up in Stony Brook, helping her parents teach university students about Judaism.We both added to our experience by, after our marriage, working with the Johnsons, at Chabad
Rabbi Dovid and Esther Aba, Chabad B’aliyah, Jerusalem, IsraelFinding My CallingBy: Chaya ChazanI was born in Nikolayev, Ukraine, to a family with little to no connection to Judaism. Other than a few, specific family members who knew some Yiddish and had some knowledge about the holidays, it really didn’t play much of a role in my life. The last religious person in my family was my great-great-grandmother. Nevertheless, everyone in my family maintained a strong sentimental connection to Judaism. That connection prompted a relative to get me into
Rabbi Avrohom and Shterna Simmonds, Chabad of Regina, CanadaMarching to Hashem’s BeatBy: Chaya ChazanMan plans, and G-d laughs. That’s what I reply whenever I’m asked how we landed in Regina, Saskatchewan. My wife and I both grew up with a shared dream of one day moving on shlichus. We pictured ourselves finding an opportunity in an existing Chabad house, working together with other Shluchim. Hashem had something else in mind. None of the options we investigated worked out, so we decided to widen our search to include cities that didn’t have shlu
Rabbi Ari and Mushkie Rubin, Chabad of North Queensland, Cairns, AustraliaRemembering the Forgotten JewsBy: Chaya ChazanWhen I was in yeshiva, I remember a shiur given by Rabbi Bogomilsky about how to conduct after death taharos in small communities with few resources.“You may think this will never apply to you,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. “But I’m sure many of you will end up on shlichus in remote locations, and even if you don’t, this is always good information to know.”Not me, I remember thinking. I’ll be living in Melbourne, where t
Rabbi Mendy and Mazal Sternbach, Chabad of Lagos, NigeriaNigerian Princes of TorahBy: Chaya Chazan —-----------------I grew up in the sheltered Jewish enclave of Crown Heights. Of course, as a Lubavitcher, I constantly heard about shlichus, but it felt too monumental for someone like me, who didn’t grow up with it. I confessed these feelings of inadequacy to my mashpia in yeshiva. He showed me a sicha where the Rebbe explains that every Jew can – and should – be a shliach. If you know Alef, teach Alef. It opened my mind to a world of possibi
Rabbi Moshe Zeev and Sima PizemRabbi Asher and Mushka Pizem Chabad of Sderot, IsraelRocket Rainfall: Chabad in SderotPart IIIBy: Chaya ChazanIn the aftermath of October 7th, most of Sderot’s 33,000 citizens evacuated. We stayed to continue our shlichus - not only for the few hundred that remained, but also for all the soldiers.In the unexpected invasion’s ensuing chaos, Tzahal was in disarray. Thousands of reserve soldiers were flooding in from across the country, and the army wasn’t prepared with proper provisions.For the first few days, unti
Rabbi Moshe Zeev and Sima PizemRabbi Asher and Mushka Pizem Chabad of Sderot, IsraelRocket Rainfall: Chabad in SderotPart IIBy: Chaya ChazanEvery shlichus is attended by a certain amount of mesiras nefesh, and for us, it’s a literal sacrifice. Although we’ve been physically spared any fatalities from the constant rocket barrage, we’ve suffered in other ways. One grandson is deeply traumatized, and after intense therapy, is just starting to come out of his shell. My brother and sister-in-law’s home was hit, and they lost almost all their worl
Rabbi Moshe Zeev and Sima PizemRabbi Mendel and Malki RizelRabbi Asher and Mushka Pizem Chabad of Sderot, IsraelRocket Rainfall: Chabad in SderotPart IBy: Chaya ChazanThe entire world is looking towards Israel now, as it prepares to fight a battle on three fronts. While multiple nations aim their weapons at our tiny strip of land, we’re as assured of victory as we were during the Six Day War, when the Rebbe insisted that Eretz Yisrael, Hashem’s special land from which He never removes His eyes, was the safest place on earth. As we will soon reci
Rabbi Avremi and Chaya Raskin, Chabad of Southern Vermont, Brattleboro, VTMaple Syrup Meets Mitzvah ManiaBy: Chaya ChazanShlichus is in my blood. My grandparents were some of the first shluchim sent out by the Rebbe. My father grew up on shlichus in Morocco, and after he married, my parents moved to Burlington, Vermont to begin their own shlichus. I was born and raised on shlichus. Even after leaving home for yeshiva, I was constantly surrounded by talk of shlichus, and felt inspired to continue my family’s legacy. My wife, although Brooklyn born-and-r
Rabbi Dov and Racheli Muchnik, Chabad of Oxnard, CaliforniaWaxing Philosophical in the Grocery StoreBy: Chaya ChazanMany people are familiar with my father, the famous Chabad artist, Michoel Muchnik. While I didn’t inherit his talent, the legacy of his passion for Yiddishkeit and Chassidus still shape my life to this day.Growing up in Crown Heights, I was zoche to see the Rebbe often. I sat on the floor by the Rebbe’s table at many farbrengens, and davened with the Rebbe’s minyan. The Hayom Yom describes the great impact seeing or hearing a tzaddik
