Rabbi Devises Program to Ensure Constant Stream of Prayers

With more than 3,300 Chabad-Lubavitch centers spread out among 70 countries around the world, it can be downright easy finding a public quorum to pray with while travelling. And if you’re going to a popular resort town in the middle of the tourist season – a place like Vail, Colo., for instance – you don’t need to look very far.

“I can’t count the number of calls I get from people who are coming to Vail and want to pray with a minyan,” says Rabbi Dovid Mintz, using the Hebrew term for the collection of 10 Jewish men necessary for the recitation of certain prayers.

In the off season, Vail has a small Jewish community: only a few hundred Jews spread throughout the valley. But as the largest single-mountain ski resort in the United States, its population swells during ski season.

“Last year I had a big calendar, and every day I would write down the names of the people who were coming, how long they were staying, and when they were leaving,” said Mintz, director of Chabad of Vail. “We had a minyan for more than 50 percent of the winter. It just became too complicated to organize.”

So Mintz created the Minyan Maker, an online, interactive scheduling tool designed to do exactly what its name says. Now, all visitors need to do is go to Mintz’s website, input the dates they’ll be in town, choose an available prayer service and provide contact information. A text message and email indicates when a minyan reaches the necessary quota.

“There’s nothing out there like this,” said Mintz. “The few other sites dedicated to organizing services are more like the classified pages of a newspaper. The Minyan Maker has everything: a user-friendly control panel, the minyan times for the day, and both the English and Hebrew dates on its calendar.

“The idea was to make it easier for me, and the guests,” he added. “Many people will not travel unless they know there will be a minyan on hand. Using the Minyan Maker, they can schedule their vacations accordingly. When they come, they’ll have everything available for them.”

“It certainly made my life easier,” said Jeremy Cicurel, who booked a recent trip to Vail without realizing it conflicted with the anniversary of his father’s passing.

“I almost cancelled my trip. I needed a minyan to say the Kaddish prayer for my father,” explained Cicurel. “He was always very careful about praying with a minyan himself.”

Mintz pointed the man to the Minyan Maker.

“I’m a software engineer,” said Cicurel, “and I can tell you that is one very well put together system. It worked perfectly. After using it, I felt very comfortable going. I knew I’d be able to say Kaddish for my father.”

Mintz encourages everyone to use it.

“We’ll take care of you when you’re here,” he said. “Just make sure to book your trip on the site.”