KU gets its own Chabad House

Lawrence, Kansas – New York philanthropist George Rohr aims to debunk the conventional wisdom that young Jews are bound to stray from Jewish practices during college.

That need not be true, Rohr believes, if on-campus opportunities for spiritual growth are provided. Moreover, Rohr is putting his money where his mouth is, and Kansas’ Jewish community will be the beneficiary.

The Rohr Family Foundation has provided a three-year supporting grant that allowed Rabbi Zalman Teichtel, his wife, Nechama, and their infant daughter, Mina, to move from Brooklyn to Lawrence a few weeks ago to open the new Chabad Jewish Center at KU and the Capital District. Right now, the Teichtels’ half of a pale blue duplex at 1201 W. 19th St. – a stone’s throw from Naismith Hall and the southern edge of the University of Kansas campus – doubles as the Chabad House. But by fall, they’ll have the building’s other half to use for offices, and a sign will beckon visitors.

Theirs is the nation’s 100th Chabad on Campus to be staffed full time (there are 160 total), and the Teichtels say they are excited to be raising the banner of Chabad-Lubavitch in Jayhawk country, Topeka and beyond.

“I always knew we’d open a Chabad Center,” said Rabbi Teichtel in an interview with The Jewish Chronicle this week. Rabbi Teichtel, age 24, (“almost 25”) said he comes from a rabbinic family and grew up in Brooklyn, near Lubavitch World Headquarters. He and his wife both taught in Lubavitch-affiliated schools in New York before moving to Lawrence.

“I spent many hours there, on Shabbat and other times, and I received lots of blessings from the Rebbe,” Teichtel said, referring to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of Lubavitcher Chasidism, who died in 1994. “Part of that education was having an instinctual love for one’s fellow Jew. So I always wanted to have my own Chabad Center. I’m one of 13 children, and seven of them are running Chabad houses around the country.”
Rabbi Teichtel said two of his brothers have been forerunners in the Chabad on Campus movement. They run Chabad houses at the University of Illinois at Champaign and at Arizona State University, he said.

An open door

Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, program director at the Chabad House Center of Kansas City, said he applied for the grant that brought Rabbi Teichtel and his family to Kansas. The Teichtels came for a visit last September before deciding to move here permanently. They visited again in January before moving here in March. Since they arrived, they said, they have been welcomed with open arms.

Rabbi Wineberg said he knew the Chabadniks would be well received in Lawrence and Topeka.

“I’ve been going down there (Lawrence) for 12 years,” said Rabbi Wineberg. “We’ve done some classes; we’re always working together with Hillel. We’ve done matzah giveaways and the sukkah-mobile.”

Rabbi Wineberg said that when he became aware of the push to expand Chabad on Campus, he applied for the Rohr Family Foundation grant.

“They wanted to see the need and why we think this campus could use a full-time Chabad rabbi,” Rabbi Wineberg said. “It was easy to show the need and why they could benefit. With 1,500 to 1,800 Jewish students on campus, and if I can shake the lulav with 150 kids in two hours, there is just no question but that it’s worth it.”

Apart from the initial grant, which pays half the budget for the first three years, and like all other Chabad houses, Rabbi Teichtel will be responsible for raising funds to keep the effort going. That’s in addition to the various programmatic duties of a Chabad on Campus rabbi. So far that has included greeting students by setting up tables at Naismith Hall and on the campus itself, and introducing himself and his family to the established local Jewish community.

Rabbi Teichtel has already put up and is maintaining a Web site – www.jewishku.com – something he called a necessity for a Chabad on Campusnik. Chabad at KU can also be reached by calling (785) 832-TORA.

When school starts up again, Rabbi Teichtel said, he and Nechama plan to offer a variety of intellectual and social activities – from Shabbat experiences to programs like “Pizza and Parashah,” “Kabbalah and Kabobs” or perhaps a sushi night leading to a discussion of kashrut.

“We want to be the Google for anything Jewish,” the young rabbi said. “We want to be an open door to learn anything about Judaism.”

“We want to be a helping hand to anyone who needs it – spiritually, physically or emotionally,” said Nechama Teichtel.

“Chabad is like a home away from home; where every Jew is family,” Rabbi Teichtel said.

And they plan to reach out to Jews in Topeka and beyond as part of the never-ending Chabad campaign of encouraging mitzvot.

“Although we are here primarily for the university,” Rabbi Teichtel said, “we want to contribute to Jewish life in the region – Topeka, Lawrence and even Manhattan.”