Chabad Finds New Home in Bonita

Bonita Springs, FL — Their new home is tucked away at the rear of a Bonita Springs strip mall, in a hall of a room containing only a table, an unhung portrait and a few stacks of folding chairs. Construction noise next door echoed through the mostly empty office suite from time to time, and outside the suite, there was no sign to indicate who rented this space or why.

It may not have a homey feel yet, but for the only Jewish religious community in south Lee County, finally having a permanent gathering place is something of a relief.

Building a synagogue is a dream for the 3-year-old Chabad of Bonita Springs and Estero, but at the moment, Rabbi Mendy Greenberg said, it’s a goal that is still at least several years off.

For now, this rented office space on Old 41 Road is better than rotating through homes and hotels in order to find meeting places for classes and holiday gatherings.

This new location is too small to hold the 500 people who have attended the group’s Hanukkah festivities in the past, but it’s the right size for the hundred or so people Greenberg said take part in activities with the Chabad throughout the year. It will also give the group a more visible presence in the community, he said.

Tuesday was move-in day — not a day too soon to put the space to use as the site for this year’s Shavuot celebration tonight.

It’s the holiday that commemorates the day the Jewish people received the Torah on Mount Sinai.

It was an inauguration of sorts, Greenberg said, and given the significance of the day, it was fitting in some ways, he said, to start out the Chabad in a new home in time for the holiday.