New Center seen as sign of Thriving Jewish Community

Oklahoma City, OK — A new Jewish community center planned for northwest Oklahoma City is a sign of growth and diversity for the metro area, Jewish leaders said this week.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Chabad Community Center for Life and Learning is set for Sunday at 3000 W Hefner Road. Rabbi Ovadia Goldman said the site is west of May Avenue and Hefner Road.

“The city is growing, and the Jewish community is growing,” said Stephen Tanenbaum of Oklahoma City.

“We hope to grow with the new, diverse economy — to make our contribution. We hope this will be a place to serve the local community.”

Goldman, rabbi with the Chabad Jewish Center of Oklahoma City, said the estimated cost of the 10,000-square-foot facility is $1.4 million, which includes land and construction. He said Chabad is in the midst of a capital campaign to raise funds for the project. He said he hopes to see the center completed by the Jewish High Holy Days (September) at the earliest, and at the latest, by the end of the year.

Like Tanenbaum, Goldman said the new center is a positive sign.

”In general, Oklahoma City has positioned itself to be more diverse,” Goldman said. “The fact that there is a new Jewish facility is a signal of that diversification and, in a broader sense, community.”

He said the new center will provide a permanent home for Chabad plus rooms for educational classes and community activities. He said the Chabad office has been his home for several years, and activities have been there or at local meeting facilities. He said the new center will feature a fully kosher commercial kitchen, alleviating a dilemma for those planning events. A kosher kitchen is ritually prepared to meet the standards of Jewish law.

”Finding a facility that would host our kosher events has been extremely challenging,” Goldman said.

Michael Barlow, chairman of the community center steering committee for fundraising and construction, said Chabad draws people from the two Oklahoma City Jewish congregations as well as Jews unaffiliated with either congregation. He said the community center is expected to do the same.

“It will benefit the Jewish person regardless of their affiliation — Reform Jews, Conservative and Orthodox — as well as interested Christians,” he said.

Barlow said the popularity of Chabad activities is evidenced in the Jewish Learning Institute classes taught by Goldman. The classes draw Jews from the city’s Jewish congregations, non-affiliated Jews and Christians.

Tanenbaum said he is co-chairman of a committee seeking funds for the center through corporate donors, institutions and grants. He said he and his family have been longtime supporters of Temple B’nai Israel and Emanuel Synagogue, and he is proud to continue that tradition of support for a new Jewish center.

”I’m a young Jewish professional working for a Jewish-owned company who is excited about the new activities in Oklahoma,” Tanenbaum said.

“We hope to not only add to the Jewish community, but we hope to succeed in the new Oklahoma. This Chabad Center will attract other Jewish professionals seeking a diverse community.”