JUNE 30 • 2022 | 21
Recently, they worked with River Forest Farm, whose
owner is affiliated with Chabad, to throw an extravagant
Lag b’Omer event.
People in need of items for the High Holidays, like
candles or matzah, can also contact the center. The
Greenberg’s daughter, Chanie, bakes challah for the com-
munity as well.
EXPLORING JUDAISM
Twice a week, the center offers two classes on Zoom. One
is a Tanya class and the second is a Torah class. Yet for
affiliated community members looking for one-on-one
education, the Greenbergs offer that as well — and the
opportunities are diverse.
“It could be a Torah class; it could be more Talmud,
”
Rabbi Greenberg explains. “It could be mysticism.
Anything that people feel that they have a desire to learn, I
learn with them.
”
One community member, Rabbi Greenberg says, came
to the center with a request to simply learn more about
Judaism as a whole. Though he wasn’t Jewish, his father
was Jewish and the man wanted to explore the religion.
“I was [studying] with him for a long time about what it
means to be Jewish,
” he continues. “What is Judaism? What
is the look of Judaism? He just found a lot of interest.
”
As the closest Chabad to many communities on the
western side of Oakland County, the center also sees many
high school students coming to them for help with their
studies or to work on assignments. “They always call Rabbi
Greenberg and ask him questions or interview him for
their classes,
” Estie Greenberg explains.
FINDING COMMUNITY
Affiliation with Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce/
Walled Lake is entirely free. There’s no real membership,
the Greenbergs say, which allows anyone with an interest
in Judaism to easily access their programming, services or
education.
“People who live out here are a lot of times shocked.
They see a Chabad, but they don’t always realize [what it
is],
” Estie Greenberg says, since the Lakes Area is further
from Detroit than other Jewish communities.
“They say, ‘Oh, we thought we were the only Jewish peo-
ple who live out here.
”
That, however, is far from true — and once people dis-
cover the breadth of the area’s Jewish community, Estie
Greenberg says, they’re pleasantly shocked. As a central
hub for Jewish life in the Lakes Area, it’s the people them-
selves who help the center grow.
“We base our programming on what people have an
interest in,
” Estie Greenberg explains. “Once we talk to
people one-on-one and say, ‘OK, what would you like to
see happening for yourself, for your children, for your fam-
ilies’ … that’s how we grow.
”
Kids at Hebrew school (2019)
Women enjoyed an evening of art in 2019.
The men's club at a 2019 event