New Palm Beach Gardens Chabad Center Set to Open

Palm Beach Post

Nearly seven years after Rabbi Dovid Vigler and his wife, Chana, started Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens in their living room, the 200-family congregation is preparing to move to a permanent home off PGA Boulevard.

The move is needed, Vigler said, as the congregation has outgrown temporary facilities at Timber Trace Elementary School, Downtown at the Gardens and Loehmann’s Plaza.

“We’re busting at the seams,” Vigler said. “There’s no place to sit anywhere.”

Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens plans to spend about $500,000 to convert an abandoned fire station into a traditional synagogue and cultural center.

The fire station was closed about a decade ago when a new, larger station was built on Jog Road in Mirasol.

An official groundbreaking at the site was held Nov. 4, with more than 100 people attending. Many signed their names to a piece of plywood that will be installed in the synagogue’s lobby, Vigler said.

“Everyone is so excited,” he said. “The time has come to have our own place.”

Renovation work is expected to begin shortly and should be completed by January or February, Vigler said. Donations are needed.

“We have no external funding,” Vigler said. “All donations are local. Every dollar we raise is local, and every dollar we spend is local.”

Chabad-Lubavitch is a traditional form of Judaism that has about 3,000 centers worldwide. There are local centers in Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Stuart.

Vigler, 32, and Chana, 29, started Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens in 2006 in an effort to establish a traditional Jewish community in northern Palm Beach County.

“My wife and I both share a deep love of our people,” said Vigler, who hosts a Sunday morning live radio talk show called Schmooze Radio that can be heard locally on 960 AM and 95.9 FM. “We feel that our faith is very often misunderstood.

“Therefore, together we decided to establish a traditional Jewish community in a beautiful place like Palm Beach Gardens where we could welcome our fellow Jews to a place where they can rediscover their Jewish values.”

The 4,000-square foot Chabad center will feature a synagogue, Hebrew classes during worship, a program for special-needs children and cultural activities.

To donate or for information, call Vigler at (561) 215-0404 or visit www.jewishgardens.com.

One Comment

  • family member

    Its a must to give a HUGE Yasher Koach to Hillel dovid Krinsky and his wife Surie! for all the help and involvement they had, they don’t like to get huge applause but it IS appropriate.