In Booming Downtown Miami, Young Jews Find a Home

by Karen Schwartz – Chabad.org

Rachel Bicky had jotted down a “girls night out” on her calendar on a recent Thursday night. Her plan: to join other women in Miami for a “Mega Challah Bake” workshop at a Chabad center in the downtown neighborhood of Brickell, where she would learn to properly mix, knead, shape and bake her very own challah while enjoying dips, salads and bread, and learning about the significance of the mitzvah.

The 25-year-old moved to Miami three years ago from Boston and now considers herself a regular at the Rok Family Shul-Chabad Downtown Jewish Center. She goes for services and Shabbat meals on Friday nights, Saturday mornings, and for Jewish holidays and special events. During Sukkot, for example, she attended a cocktail hour for young professionals held in the rooftop sukkah, some 70 feet in the air.

“They bring in a lot of people from outside the Brickell community, so it’s nice to see new faces along with familiar ones,” she says, adding that Chabad is an active resource there. The nearly three-year-old, state-of-the-art facility, which takes up almost an entire city block and stands among a flurry of new construction, is a convenient and cosmopolitan place to gather.

Nearly 200 men and women attended the Sukkot gathering, reports Rabbi Chaim Lipskar, director of the Rok Family Shul-Chabad Downtown Jewish Center and who runs the young Jewish professionals group, known as YJP Miami, with his wife, Deenie—one of many events over the High Holiday season. Rabbi Eli and Rochi Lipskar also serve the Chabad House. Sukkot was an especially important time for everyone to be together, he says, as urbanites often don’t have the space to put up a sukkah of their own.

More activities are in the works for the weeks and months ahead. “The YJP Miami Hospitality Summit” takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 9, bringing together hospitality industry executives and young professional participants, and a Shabbat dinner event is scheduled two days later, on Nov. 11.

As far as the recent holidays are concerned, the rabbi notes: “I hope people came away understanding the mitzvah of the unity of the Jewish people, and that Judaism is not just about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; there’s much more than that. We want to show them the importance that Judaism is not just a three-day-a-year holiday, that it’s not just about services and fasting, but that it’s about celebrating together, being together, all year long.”

Kosher Brisket? They’ve Got It!

Brickell is booming, practically overflowing during the day with those who work in city businesses and high-rise offices, and at night, young people fill restaurants, clubs and entertainment venues. One of Miami’s fastest-growing neighborhoods, it’s dense, but also very walkable. Young Jews live within walking distance of the shul, and on Shabbat and holidays can be seen headed towards the building from different directions. Lipskar says approximately 15,000 residential units are going up within a two-mile radius of the Chabad center, putting them smack-dab in the middle of everything. Immediately next door, construction of the SLS Lux, a 57-story tower with 450 condominiums and 84 condo hotel units, is underway.

Florida’s tallest building, the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower, is in Brickell, as is a bustling financial district. The residential Brickell Key—an upscale island of hotels, housing and shops—is just a walking bridge away from the shul.

Bicky, who works in fundraising for a Jewish day school, says that the recently established Brickell Kosher Deli, which serves lunch fare like wraps, salads and sandwiches, located on the Chabad’s second floor, adds another layer of excitement. Accessible to so many in the area, it’s also a bit of a novelty, she says: “There’s nowhere else in Brickell you can go for kosher brisket, that’s for sure.”

Having a Jewish life is important to her, she stresses, adding that she’s glad the shul is so vibrant and full of youthful energy, as well as has families and some older worshippers. “It’s just overall a positive experience, and I think it also appeals to people on a spectrum of different observance levels.”

‘Everything Is Top-Notch’

Michael Rothenberg, 34, affirms that he and his fiancée, Tiffany Leah Hezghia, feel right at home at Chabad. The held festivities there the first Shabbat after they got engaged. “Even though her parents are in Long Island and mine are in Rochester, N.Y., after the engagement we still felt like we had a family celebration,” he says. “It’s a really great community to be a part of.”

An attorney, he lives nearby and makes a point of attending Chabad-run events, particularly those geared for men, such as a recent barbecue dinner and whisky-tasting.

Rothenberg enjoyed spending time in the rooftop sukkah and says he looks forward to whatever Chabad has planned next, all the way through Chanukah. “I don’t know what the exact events are. I just know I’m going,” he says. “They’ll be great; the food will be great. Everything there is really top-notch. It makes all of it that much more fun.”

He has made friends in the community, and looks forward to going to weekly Shabbat-morning services and lunch afterwards. It’s a mix of new and old faces as the broader Brickell area continues to expand, he says. “Like every other Chabad I’ve been to, it’s a very welcoming experience.”

Bicky, meanwhile, says she’s excited to watch Chabad continue to grow. “It’s great to see that each year, more and more people are coming around during the High Holidays and Sukkot. Hopefully, it will be a first step for them and others to participate in Jewish events year-round.”