The Rebbe’s Minyan

Chabad of Georgia grows to 10 centers with no end in sight

Throughout their yeshiva years, Chabad rabbis are trained to be men on the street in cities across the country and around the world that could use an extra Jewish touch. They are sent to cities and rural towns to offer the essence of Chabad – the Hebrew acronym for chachmah (wisdom); binah (comprehension); and da’at (knowledge) – to Jews or anyone embracing the Jewish soul.

It may seem a lot like a Christian missionary model, like the young Mormons riding their bikes and wearing ties while searching for converts, but the Chabad approach has worked well for members of the Lubavitch branch of Chasidism since its arrival in America nearly 66 years ago.

That approach also has thrived in Georgia since Rabbi Yossi New arrived 23 years ago in an area where Chabad had failed to establish a foothold more than a decade earlier. Before the end of 2007, Rabbi New’s initial Chabad center will have grown into 10 centers, some on campuses, some in Jewish hotspots, some on the frontiers of Jewish Atlanta. Together, they form a minyan of Chabad houses serving the vision of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late “Rebbe,” to go anywhere and everywhere to fight for every Jewish soul.

It’s the ultimate model of Jewish outreach, lowering barriers and adjusting to local realities to make as many Jews as possible feel comfortable in following a Jewish spiritual path, regardless of the level of observance that path entails.

Chabad rabbis insist they are not trying to transform other Jews to ultra-Orthodoxy, nor do they expect the people they serve to live by the same standards of piety. The Chabad rabbis are pioneers on a search for Jews they can help with religious and Jewish life enrichment. They don’t fit a certain mold, nor do they use a one-size-fits-all model. They go through training to learn to adapt to the communities they serve while carrying with them the teachings of the Torah.

When Rabbi New arrived in what is now the city of Sandy

Springs in 1984, he was only three years into his marriage and three years past his rabbinical ordination from Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn, N.Y. In the growing suburb north of Atlanta, he set up the only Chabad center in Georgia, dubbed Chabad of Georgia.

Now Chabad of Georgia is the center of a network stretching around metro Atlanta and extending to Athens and Augusta, shadowing the growth of the Jewish community itself as the number of Jews in Atlanta more than doubled to top 120,000. And with only a third of the Jewish households in metro Atlanta affiliated with synagogues and less than half of the Jews involved with the Jewish community, Chabad’s message of outreach and acceptance has found the perfect target market.

But nothing was handed to Rabbi New and the other Chabad rabbis as they built the Rebbe’s minyan in Georgia. Hard work, dedication, soul and spirit have made it possible, not to mention the support and active involvement of the rebbetzins, the rabbis’ wives.

Rabbi New said Chabad has grown because it listens to what the community wants.

“Chabad depends on people who believe,” he said. “There are no gimmicks; it’s just pounding the pavement. Fundraising is hard work, and it’s building relationships.”

The central Chabad office in New York does not fund each Chabad house. It is up to the rabbi and rebbetzin once they are transplanted in a new community to build relationships and cultivate funds through tax-deductible donations.

“There is a central office in New York, and then there is one rabbi per state,” Rabbi New said about his role as the head of Chabad of Georgia. “One of my responsibilities is setting up new Chabads.”

Rabbi New and several other rabbis in the area said fundraising in metro Atlanta has been relatively easy, but it is a never-ending part of the job.

Each Chabad center implements its own programs for community, social and religious learning activities. Some, such as certain adult-education classes, are implemented throughout the Chabad system. Others, such as the annual Chinese auction at the Chabad Enrichment Center in Norcross, are one of a kind.

Gwinnett County

Gwinnett County is one of the fastest-growing Jewish areas in metro Atlanta, but it also has the highest rate of intermarriage and the lowest affiliation rate. The Chabad Enrichment Center serves the county under the leadership of Rabbi Yossi Lerman, 41, and his wife, Esther. With seven children, the Lermans are entering their seventh year in Gwinnett after coming from Brooklyn, N.Y., and they have announced a seminal moment for their center and the Jews it serves: They have purchased an acre as the site of a building.

The land is at Spalding and Crooked Creek drives in Norcross. The Lermans and their informal congregation have not started to raise the $2 million for the building but hope to break ground in 2008.

“It’s almost like Gwinnett is off the radar. Not many people know what is going on Jewishly in Gwinnett County,” Rabbi Lerman said. “We have made it our goal to search and discover. Our mission in Gwinnett County is simply to build a strong Jewish presence.”

That effort has included holding satellite religious school classes farther north in Gwinnett to serve Jews who have moved farther out in search of more bang for their housing buck.

Cobb County

A year ago Rabbi Ephraim Silverman of Chabad of Cobb noticed a similar outward movement of Jewish residents fleeing the soaring home prices in East Cobb, and he had dreams of a northwest Cobb Chabad even while building a new home for Chabad of Cobb on Lower Roswell Road.

Rabbi Silverman played an instrumental role in getting Cobb’s second Chabad center set up. Rabbi Zalman Charytan will be arriving with his wife, Nechama, and two young children in November to open the doors of Chabad in Acworth.

The opening of Chabad of Acworth, Rabbi Silverman said, was sparked by calls from people in Acworth, Woodstock and Kennesaw who yearned for a Jewish presence in their lives without the haul across the county.

Since landing in Cobb County in 1999, eight years after Chabad opened there, Rabbi Silverman said he has seen a tremendous boom in Jewish living and learning. But he has learned that you have to speak the language of the people and use methods of communicating with which they are most comfortable.

“The mission of Chabad has stayed the same from Day 1, but it’s how you convey your message. You may not have used YouTube or text messages to the kids about things, but you have to find the language and medium to communicate in that world,” he said.

Rabbi Silverman said the boom in East Cobb will reach a plateau at some point, and the demand for Chabad services will shift to the outlying areas. But as an outreach rabbi, he is extending almost as far as his full hands will let him.

“I think Cobb County continues to grow, and there are a lot of teens. We are working on shifting our focus toward teens and creating a bridge through school to college and finding ways to keep the kids engaged,” he said. “We want to hand kids over to Chabad or Hillel on campus and say, ‘We’ve kept them engaged; now it’s your turn.’ ”

As the tweens turn into teens, the fortysomethings are hitting the 50-year mark, and Rabbi Silverman said a big population of 50- to 60-year-olds wants education. “You get to a stage in life where you begin to realize you need to expand and explore your horizons. There is a positive response for adult education, and people are really curious and want to learn.”

The start of the Rebbe’s second minyan may be in Cobb in the Smyrna/Vinings area. “We get a lot of calls from people wanting to know about Smyrna and Vinings,” Rabbi Silverman said. “It’s almost like there’s a building on fire, and you’ve got to act. There’s so many Jewish people out there, and given the right setting and the right programs, they would like to get more involved in Jewish life.”

In about five months Rabbi Silverman’s new facility on Lower Roswell Road will be completed, including the mikvah. For now, Chabad of Cobb is renting space in a shopping center nearby on Johnson Ferry Road.

Rabbi Charytan will be the newest rabbi on the block, and the Winnipeg, Manitoba, native and his wife, Nechama, are looking forward to starting the new center. He said they have spent time in Acworth, checking out the area and meeting with people. They are searching for a space to rent for the Chabad center.

Rabbi Charytan, 27, said he didn’t mind the funny looks he got at an Acworth gas station. He said his parents moved to Winnipeg 32 years ago to run Chabad of Winnipeg, so he has been a part of Chabad his entire life.

“We’re sort of taught this all along, throughout our yeshiva years,” he said. “The students go out and visit rural towns all over the world – five summers I did this in northern California in a sort of hick town. Chabad is all about pioneering. I guess I am the next stage of that, ready for the next frontier.”

One of the best parts of starting the Acworth center, Rabbi Charytan said, is that in need, he’s not afraid to turn to the other Chabad rabbis. “I’ve been in touch with all of them so far, and they all have had good advice and moral support, and that counts a lot.”

Emory University

For Rabbi Zalman Lipskier at Chabad on Campus, the movement’s Emory location, the Chabad presence is appreciated, and the growth is remarkable. Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman, who heads Chabad Intown, started the campus branch on a part-time basis in 1997.

When it went full time in 2000, Chabad barely had enough students for Rosh Hashanah services.

“There were only nine kids. We had to schlep someone who walked by unsuspecting in the hallway to have a minyan. We held services in the dorm,” Rabbi Lipskier said.

This year he had 230 college kids for dinner the first night of Rosh Hashanah.

The popularity of Chabad, he said, reflects the style and approach.

“I think the style that Chabad can reach out and get with everyone on their own level has allowed it to grow and flourish – loving and caring about every single Jew regardless of background or affiliation,” he said.

Augusta

A few hours away, Augusta has had a Chabad center for more than a decade. Going into his 12th year as the full-time founding rabbi, Zalman Fisher has seen his more rural community grow and has faced many issues similar to those of the metro-area rabbis.

“In the beginning there was a lot of nervousness, but that was in the beginning, being that it is a small Jewish community,” he said. “There was apprehension, but there wasn’t opposition. It’s been a pleasure. We’ve made many friends, and we are happy to be here.”

After 12 years, community events such as the Chanukah menorah lighting, the Purim celebration, and the Rosh Hashanah dinner and other High Holiday events draw as many as 125 people.

“Everything we do is a focus on community,” Rabbi Fisher said.

North Metro

In Alpharetta, things are growing at a pace that is hard to keep up with, said Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz, who is entering his ninth year along the new border between Alpharetta and Johns Creek. He has watched the summer camp grow from six kids to 225 this summer and said about 75 people attend weekly Shabbat services.

“With the property we have here now, we’re in good shape,” Rabbi Minkowicz said of the 4.5-acre tract where a mikvah and sports facility are under construction, the current buildings are under renovation, and positive change is happening fast.

One thing that confuses people, he said, is the idea of Chabad as a synagogue.

“We are an educational outreach enrichment center,” he said. “Most people in the South think of us as a network of synagogues, which we are absolutely not. We want to be there for members of other synagogues.”

Chabad houses do offer worship services, but unlike synagogues, for which you must pay dues, Chabad does not have a membership fee.

Rabbi Minkowicz, like the other Chabad rabbis, said that becoming a part of the movement doesn’t mean someone is Orthodox, has to become Orthodox or is treated any different if he is not Orthodox.

“All you have to do really is reach out to a Jew. There is nobody who is untouchable or unreachable; you just have to push the right buttons,” he said.

As for the growth of Chabad in Georgia, even in nine years Rabbi Minkowicz said he couldn’t have guessed there would be 10 centers by 2007.

“Today Atlanta is one of the hottest places in America,” he said.

Israeli Center

Now Atlanta is even a hot spot to reach out to Israelis who want to learn about Judaism in a comfortable place where Hebrew is the first language.

The Chabad Israeli Center recently opened in Sandy Springs. Lead by Rabbi New’s son-in-law, Rabbi Mendy Gurary, the center has a large population to serve.

“There are thousands of Israelis living in Atlanta with no organization specifically serving their spiritual needs,” Rabbi Gurary said. “Israelis have a different culture and don’t always feel comfortable in an all-American, English-speaking setting. We are here to make Judaism available to them in their style and language.”

For Rabbi Gurary, 24, Jewish outreach has been an integral part of his upbringing. “I am from Israel, where my father was sent from the U.S. as a Chabad emissary and chief rabbi of the city of Holon. I grew up reaching out to Jews in Israel and now moved to the U.S. to reach out to the Jews who have moved here as well.”

Athens

Similarly on the outreach front at the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Rabbi Michoel Refson has the challenge of reaching all 200 Jewish students he knows of who attend the school.

To draw in more students, the 26-year-old rabbi and his wife use large, home-style Friday night dinners, weekly classes, social events, sushi in the sukkah, one-on-one learning and a kosher cooking club, among other programs.

Besides the challenge of identifying and reaching out to all the Jewish students on campus, Rabbi Refson said one of the misconceptions he has encountered involves the rebbetzin’s role in Chabad.

People think “Orthodox women cannot have an active role in the running of Jewish organizations,” he said. “The truth, however, is that my wife, as I’m sure many other Chabad rebbetzins, plays as an important role, if not more, in the day-to-day [operation] of our center.”

Inside Atlanta

Chabad Intown, meanwhile, has seen a major growth spell because of an underserved Jewish population, said Rabbi Schusterman, who established the center in 1997 and still leads it.

Because many Jewish agencies moved into the northern suburbs as they followed the population trend of the past decade, people living intown lack many of the programs they want and need, Rabbi Schusterman said, “so we’ve stepped up to the plate.”

When the center began on the second floor of Congregation Anshi S’fard in Virginia-Highland after he set up Chabad on Campus, the intown community began to grow. To avoid conflicts with the small synagogue, Rabbi Schusterman said, Chabad found a larger space in April 2000 on Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Seven years later, Chabad Intown has outgrown that space and is looking for more room to spread out.

He said an anonymous $500,000 matching grant will help Chabad launch the Intown Jewish Preschool. He hopes to have land and a building by next fall.

For now, the 4,000-square-foot building on two-tenths of an acre on Ponce de Leon will continue to be the home of the growing Chabad Intown. “We’re choking,” Rabbi Schusterman said, “but it’s all a great problem to have.”

Like the other Chabad rabbis, Rabbi Schusterman said that serving a large community has been a task he has shared with his wife, Dena. He said she plays a huge role in the preschool and other aspects of daily programming.

Their ability to work together and grow with the community, he said, “is a blessing from above. We didn’t sign up to be outreach like the JCC or Federation. We find them to be participants in the Rebbe’s army.”

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Myths and Facts

Rabbi Yossi New addresses a few of the rumors that have arisen about Chabad.

Myth: Chabad people are mindless followers of the Lubavitch Rebbe, a cult.

Fact: “The Rebbe Schneerson was a charismatic person. He didn’t cultivate followers. He cultivated leaders.”

Myth: Chabad Lubavitchers think Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), known as “the Rebbe,” is the Messiah.

Fact: “Chabad is a movement and as such has no membership. Anyone can call themselves a Chabadnick or Lubavitcher. As the head of a Chabad institution, I can tell you that the identity of the Messiah has never been important or relevant to the coming of the Messiah. It is doing mitzvot and acts of kindness that we believe will hasten his coming. We are ready to accept whomever God selects to be the Messiah.”

Myth: Chabad rabbis are missionaries who want to convert everyone to ultra-Orthodoxy.

Fact: “There is a passion in Chabad. The black hats and the long coats, they are opportunities and freedom. The dress code is seen as superficial external aspects. (It is about) the mind, the heart and the soul. We are introducing people to access their own mind, body and soul.”