Community
Spirituality
All Jews, All The Time
Chabad House announces expansion plans for
Ann Arbor home of study and prayer.
Clockwise from top left:
Rochel Laya de le Zerda of Oak Park with Esther
Goldstein of the Ann Arbor Chabad House.
Rabbi Alter Goldstein enjoys the anniversary
dinner with University of Michigan students.
Herb Katz of Ann Arbor with Rabbi Aharon
Boldstein.
Rabbi Aharon Goldstein of the Ann Arbor
Chabad House blows the shofar. He is behind a
podium displaying a drawing of the current
Chabad House building.
SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN
Staff Writer
T
rue to the expectations of
those who frequent the Ann
Arbor Chabad House, a din-
ner held to honor its 25th
anniversary brought out many friends
— actually, more than 250 of them.
The Sept. 10 event at Eastern
Michigan University's McKenney
Union in Ypsilanti attracted guests
from many paths. There were students,
adults, families, nearly all the Detroit-
area Chabad rabbis and Ann Arbor-
based members of the rabbinate repre-
senting other streams of Judaism.
To get all segments of the Jewish
people in one room is quite an accom-
plishment," said Rabbi Aharon
Goldstein of the Ann Arbor Chabad
House. "One of the things I always
emphasize is to try to bring all Yids
10/13
2000
72
(Jews) together in Ann Arbor."
Among those bringing greetings to
the group was Rabbi Berel Shemtov,
Michigan regional director of the
Lubavitch Foundation in West
Bloomfield. From Ann Arbor, the well-
wishers included Rabbi Robert
Dobrusin of the Conservative Beth
Israel Congregation, Rabbi Rod
Glogower of the Ann Arbor Orthodox
Minyan and Rabbi Robert D. Levy of
the Reform Temple Beth Emeth.
Unique to the Ann Arbor Chabad
House is its two sectors, comprised of
community members as well as
University of Michigan students.
was always on campus in my spare
time," he said. "At 12 years old, I was
shaking hands with kids on campus,
going there before holidays. This is an
occupation I grew into."
With an e-mail list of more than
1,000 students, Rabbi Alter and his
wife will typically host 20-40 of them
every Shabbat for dinner and services
at the Chabad House. Many others
join them for holiday events and in
one-to-one study sessions. Students
may learn more about Chabad activi-
ties on Rabbi Alter's Web site
(jewmich.com ).
Announced at the September din-
ner was a plan to nearly double the size
of the existing Chabad House.
"Now we have to use the building
at different times of the week for dif-
ferent purposes," said Rabbi Aharon
Goldstein, about attempting to juggle
classes and services for both popula-
tions the Chabad House serves.
Plans call for addina another 7,500
Ann Arbor Legacy
b
square feet to the building's
current
Today, it's the Goldsteins' son, who U-
8,800. "We will double the size of the
M students call Rabbi Alter, with his
shul and dining room and add new
wife Chanchi, that oversee the involve-
classrooms and offices," he said.
ment of university students in Chabad.
The focus of the expansion is to
"Chabad, which began here as a stu-
benefit all individuals who express an
dent center, grew into a community
interest in studying and praying at the
place, and in the last three years is see-
Ann Arbor Chabad House. With a
ing a rejuvenation among students
nod to the range of guests who cared
again," Rabbi Alter said.
enough to join the anniversary celebra-
For him to be the Chabad rabbi on
tion, Rabbi Alter said, "We are here for
campus was a natural progression. "I
every Jew, from all walks of life." Eli
Twenty-five years ago, Chabad in
Ann Arbor meant classes offered in
private Ann Arbor homes by Rabbi
Yitzchak Kagan, now assistant
Michigan regional director of the
Lubavitch Foundation and keynote
speaker at the dinner.
"Back then there was a presence of
Chabad," said Rabbi Goldstein, "but
there was no permanent building —
no permanent address until 1975."
That was the year the rabbi and his
wife, Esther, pregnant with the oldest
of their seven children, settled in Ann
Arbor. Their elder children now work
in Chabad-related positions.
Rabbi Goldstein said the main tar-
get when Chabad started here was reli-
gious outreach to the students. "As
time moved on, we expanded to com-
munity members," he said. Some 300
individuals attend regular services and
classes with him.