18 | JULY 4 • 2024 
J
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OUR COMMUNITY

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and so the best thing I’ve been 
doing is helping other students 
find Chabad so they can feel 
that way and find the Jewish 
community.
” 
Back in Michigan after an 
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) 
trip with MSU to New York that 
stopped at the Ohel, the Rebbe’s 
gravesite, she says she now feels 
like she has a deeper under-
standing of the Rebbe and his 
teachings. 
“I think the Rebbe and his 
teachings definitely affected 
my college experience,
” she 
says. “Because if it wasn’t for 
the movement he started, there 
wouldn’t be Rabbi Bentzy and 
Simi Shemtov there teaching 
us students the really valuable 
lessons about always remaining 
positive and staying true to who 
you are.
” 
Shari Ferber Kaufman’s par-
ents, Miriam and Fred, had a 
close relationship with Rabbi 
Yitzchak Kagan, of blessed 
memory, of Oak Park and 
used to fly to New York for an 
audience with the Rebbe. As an 
adult, she’s forged her own ties 
with Chabad, she says, from 
studying with Rabbi Pinson for 
over 20 years weekly to hold-
ing the founding meeting for 
Friendship Circle in her home 
and taking part in initiatives like 

the Chabad-run Farber Soul 
Center and Dakota Bread. 
“Chabad became a big part of 
my life because I loved the way 
they include everyone, the way 
they’re so caring about people 
in general,
” she says. “These 
experiences have allowed me to 
witness and contribute to the 
incredible growth of Chabad in 
our community.
” 
She says while she feels a 
strong sense of regret for never 
having met the Rebbe, she has 
been deeply impacted by his 
insights. “Through the teach-
ings of Rabbi Yisrael Pinson, 
Rabbi Kasriel and Itty Shemtov, 
and Rabbi Yarden Blumstein, I 
have been profoundly touched 
by the Rebbe’s wisdom,
” she 
says. “They have imparted his 
timeless lessons and interpreta-
tions of the Torah, which seem 
to hold even greater significance 
today.
” 
Looking to the future, she 
says she looks forward to 
Chabad’s continued growth in 
Michigan and beyond. “I envi-
sion Chabad’s growth as not 
merely beneficial, but essential,
” 
she says. “Chabad enriches the 
quality of life for everyone it 
touches, fostering a sense of 
community and exemplifying 
the principle of loving your 
neighbor as yourself.
” 

Participants walk 
in Friendship 
Circle’s Annual 
Walk4Friendship.

