World Travelers Now Call Orlando and Their Chabad House – Home

Orlando, FL — When Rabbi Chaim and Rivkie Lipskier learned they would be co-directors of the new Chabad house at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, they were excited to start a permanent home together as emissaries, or shluchim, of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The husband-and-wife team had traveled to dozens of locations around the world to reach out to Jewish communities, and finally found their place in Florida.

“I always knew I wanted to be a rabbi,” said Lipskier, a devoted follower of the Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory. “And I always knew I wanted to be a shaliach in the Rebbe’s army and take part in the mission of bringing Judaism to every part of the world.”

The rabbi’s passion led him to Angola and Nigeria in Africa, to Poland and Russia, and to Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. He even “traveled the length and breadth of Australia in a camper called the Mitzvah Mobile.”

His wife, Rivkie, also traveled the globe, bringing the joy of Judaism to Detroit, California and Kansas, and to the Ukraine, Denmark, China and South Africa.

So how did they end up in Orlando?

About three years ago, Lipskier decided he wanted to be a campus rabbi. He had spent time at UCF and helped arrange a Purim party with Hillel two years ago. “It was a major success,” he said, noting that about 250 students attended. “I realized right then that this was a tremendous opportunity.”

Chabad opened its doors at the end of this school year’s fall semester. Lipskier said the first Shabbat dinner drew 12 students, and the next one drew 35. “We’ve been growing by leaps and bounds,” he said.

The Lipskiers’ family is growing, too, with the addition of baby Chaya, born just before Pesach.

The Chabad house doubles as their home. “We like taking the home approach,” said Lipskier, “because we believe the most important thing a student is missing is the home environment.

“The students know they don’t have to knock. … It’s a place where they can feel comfortable to hang out.”

“I was one of the first students to get involved with Chabad,” said Caitlin Balmo, of Sarasota, Fla. “I kind of helped pioneer and get other students involved. As soon as I went, I fell in love with it. I was like ‘Oh my gosh!’ It was awesome.”

Balmo, who will be a sophomore in the fall, doesn’t come from an Orthodox background. But that doesn’t matter one bit. “They just want a place for Jewish students to hang out, and go somewhere where they have something in common,” she said.

“It’s a great place for Jewish kids to get together and network,” said Louis Swintelski of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Swintelski, who will be a senior this fall, is a regular on Friday nights. He also participated in Chabad’s Pesach Seder, and was amazed how packed it was. Best of all, he said, is that there’s no cost for students. He said that he’s even been given leftovers to take home.

Beyond the food, however, is the connection he and other students have with the Lipskiers. “The rabbi always calls me to see how I’m doing – see how my finals were going,” said Swintelski.

Chabad is also a place filled with educational and entertaining programs. There’s bagels and lox for the guys on Sunday mornings, Kabala & Kabob – a weekly barbecue with a little mysticism mixed in – a weekly Torah class, and monthly programs for female students – everything from challah baking to mask making for Purim.

Rivkie Lipskier leads the women’s programs and, as she eagerly details each program over the phone, her voice could easily be mistaken for one of the students she teaches. After all, she’s only 23 and the rabbi is only 26. So it comes as no surprise that the UCF students relate so well to them. In fact, one student from South Florida said he found out about Chabad from the rabbi’s page on Facebook.com, the social Web site geared toward college students.

It’s an approach that, by all accounts, is working.

“Since we’ve arrived,” said Rivkie, “we’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm.”