Arizona Community Awaits State-of-the-Art ‘Home’

For 15 years now, Chabad of the East Valley—in arid Arizona, one of the fastest-growing states in America—has been searching for a permanent home.

They have based operations in such varied locations as a rented apartment, hotel rooms, boardrooms, the living room of a house, a local storefront, and the nearby Jewish Community Center and synagogue. None of these, however, has offered the continuity and sense of “hominess” that community members have been seeking for so long.

“People just feel more comfortable in a permanent building, a real community center,” said Faiga Mazer, who serves as Chabad’s adult-education coordinator, which offers Rohr Jewish Learning Institute classes, as well as women’s programming. “Many more people will feel open to participating now that there will be a building, and the programs will really be able to expand.

The Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life will comprise a nearly 16,000-square-foot facility complete with a state-of-the-art sanctuary, six classrooms, a library, gift shop, commercial kitchen, playground, child-care center, offices, and an even a tower to provide natural light over the synagogue’s ark. A grand opening for the center—based in Chandler, southeast of Phoenix in the middle of the state—is scheduled for Aug. 18.

“Our Jewish community has been growing steadily over the last few years,” said Rabbi Mendy Deitsch, co-director of Chabad of East Valley with his wife, Shterna. “The new center will get even more people involved because they can feel comfortable and express their joy and connection to Judaism there.”

A grand opening for the center—based in Chandler, southeast of Phoenix—is scheduled for Aug. 18.

Howard Speier, who enjoys holiday programming at Chabad and has been involved in the educational aspects of the new building, is looking forward to the sense of community the center will be able to provide.

“The new building will truly serve our family, friends and community through growth, change and religious studies,” said Speier, a college professor who helped fund the project, which cost roughly $5.3 million. On a more personal level, he added, “being involved in this has increased my closeness to G‑d.”

What began with six families when Deitsch first moved to Arizona in 1997 has since grown to 120 families. This is why, coupled with expected residential growth, the new sanctuary/social hall was designed to seat up to 450 people.

The Hebrew school, which is Chabad’s central focus, has also experienced tremendous progress since its beginnings. Four children were enrolled the first year. Now, some 70 children participate, and more than 100 are expected in the new building’s classes. No longer will students take notes from a whiteboard leaning against a kitchen wall; their classrooms will be generously equipped with learning materials standard in schools everywhere.

According to Mazer, another important benefit of the building is that it gives community members more options to participate in Jewish life, as multiple programs will be able to take place at the same time.

“We’ve been involved with Chabad since they moved here 15 years ago—our daughter was in their first Hebrew-school class—so this building is very special for our family,” said Mazer, whose daughter has served as Chabad’s youth director for the past two years. “We’ve been working toward this goal for so many years. It’s just so beautiful that it’s finally happening, and all of our programs can be in one place.”

For Deitsch, who purchased the 2.5 acres of land in 2003 and broke ground on it two years later, the building represents a completion of his vision for this particular community.

“Excitement has really built up,” said Deitsch. “People are already feeling more committed and connected—our daily minyan has quickly grown, even though we haven’t moved into the building yet. We can’t wait for all of the exciting things ahead.”