New Chabad Center Opens in Didsbury, United Kingdom
In Didsbury, a leafy neighborhood in South Manchester, Rabbi Mendel and Mushka Vilenkin are helping to build Jewish life for the local community.
While Manchester has long been home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the United Kingdom, the suburban neighborhood of Didsbury sits about half an hour from the city’s traditional Jewish hub, home to a smaller but growing number of Jewish residents.
Soon after arriving in the beginning of the year, the Vilenkins began meeting locals by delivering Passover matzah. “Every person we visited was so warm and excited that Chabad was there,” said Rabbi Vilenkin. “We ended up sitting and speaking for a while with everyone.”
After Passover, the Vilenkins launched weekly Torah classes, a Tefillin club, and Shabbat meals. On Chanukah, they hosted Didsbury’s first ever public Menorah lighting with the attendance of Manchester’s Lord Mayor, Carmine Grimshaw. Held just days after the Bondi terror attack, the event drew hundreds from across the neighborhood in a strong display of Jewish pride.
Since then, the Vilenkins have continued building connections across the neighborhood, bringing Jewish learning, celebration, and community to Didsbury’s residents.
