Just days after the death of Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson on June 12, 1994, Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin pledged that local Lubavitch efforts would continue.
”The Rebbe’s wishes and his expectations of us will continue without interruption and only with greater vigor. We are all determined and united in that,” said Shmotkin, director of Lubavitch of Wisconsin, as quoted in the June 17, 1994, issue of The Chronicle.
Now, 10 years later, these words still ring true, Shmotkin said in a recent interview. “The community has come to realize the vitality and truth of the Rebbe’s message at all levels,” he said.
Lubavitch has “grown tremendously” since the Rebbe’s death, said Shmotkin. He said that the success of Lubavitch locally is a reflection of its success around the world, where there are estimated to be more than 200,000 Lubavitch followers.
In the past ten years, Shmotkin said, Lubavitch of Wisconsin has “practically doubled its activities,” by “expanding existing programs and creating new programs…. The response and unity of the community has been outstanding.”
Michael Khvilovsky is one example of Lubavitch’s local success.
About two years ago, Khvilovsky decided to attend a service at The Shul-East. It was there that he met Rabbi Yerachmiel Kittner, who invited him to Shabbat dinner at his home. Khvilovsky found himself coming to Shabbat dinner more frequently.
“I wasn’t too religious. I knew I was a Jew, but wanted to find out more,” said the 25-year-old financial analyst in a recent telephone interview.
During one of these dinners, Khvilovsky saw something that made him think. Kittner’s son, Mendel, then about five years old, was handed a piece of challah. Mendel split it in half and gave the larger piece to a child sitting beside him at the table, as he said to the child, “because you are my guest.”
It was then that Khvilovsky said he realized “what a Jewish education can do for kids.” In the Kittner home, Khivilovksy said, there was “so much light and warmth… [The children] were so comfortable with their family.”
Khvilovsky said, “The priorities of my life have changed. I feel I have become a better person. I think differently now.”
Khvilovsky began attending Shabbat services at Lubavitch of Wisconsin’s Jewish REACH (Russian Education & Aid Center) on the East Side, which he now goes to every week. He also attends holiday services.
As a result of his experiences with Lubavitch, Khvilovsky said that he now knows he will always be involved in some way with the Jewish community. “What I learned there,” he added, “I will keep in my life for many years.”
Reunified
One of the most recent changes for Lubavitch here is the reunification of Lubavitch of Wisconsin with Congregation Agudas Achim Chabad of Mequon. This joining will bring together both of the congregations’ many centers and programs, to reach out to even more Jews in the community, Shmotkin said.
Rabbi Dovid Rapoport, spiritual leader of Agudas Achim Chabad, told The Chronicle that the leaders of the congregations got together and said, “Let’s join and become one entity, because we are all working for the same cause, to enhance the spiritual life of Milwaukee.”
These plans include the building of a $4.5 million project — a 37,000 foot campus that will house a larger synagogue, area for teens and seniors, and well as a new mikvah in Mequon.
Rapoport says this project will allow Lubavitch to expand “on a larger scale,” and also keep with the Rebbe’s message to never be satisfied with past achievements, and to continue to grow.
Rapoport said that the coming together was partially a result of the anniversary of the Rebbe’s death: “We feel the Rebbe deserves to have all of his followers together in complete and total harmony.”
According to their Web site, “Lubavitch of Wisconsin is dedicated to serving all Jews throughout Wisconsin with Ahavat Yisrael — an unconditional love and concern for every Jew, regardless of background and affiliation.”
Stacey Kohl, a past co-president of Children’s Lubavitch Living and Learning Center and parent, agreed with this philosophy. She told The Chronicle, “I feel our school really has reached out to the greater Milwaukee Jewish community.” She added that the school “encompasses Reform, Conservative and Orthodox” Jews.”
Khvilovsky, agreed. “All Jews are welcome. The fact that you are Jewish is priority.”
Lubavitch of Wisconsin now has centers downtown, on the East Side, in Bayside and Mequon, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Much of Lubavitch’s growth is due to new youth programs and adult education programs, which have steadily increased over the past 10 years, and at even a faster rate just during this past year.
Lubavitch has experienced great response, said Shmotkin, especially with its new youth volunteer program, the Friendship Circle.
This program, according to its Web site, enlists teenagers to offer “help to families who have children with special needs and to involve them in a full range of social and Judaic experiences.”
Shmotkin said the Friendship Circle not only “utilizes teenagers’ energy,” but also provides “relief for parents” of the special needs children.
Future plans for Lubavitch include supplying more resources to the Chabad of UW-Madison, where a young couple has been hired to work exclusively with college students there, according to Rabbi Shmaya Shmotkin, spiritual leader of The Shul in Bayside.
Also, a new Chabad center will be opening up in the Wisconsin Dells, he said.
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