Last week’s Board of Directors meeting was taken up by a single topic, and that is very unusual.  The topic was Chabad, and Chabad’s plans to open up a storefront in Cheyenne.

A couple of weeks earlier, Chabad Rabbi Yaacov Raskin from Laramie told us that he had received a grant that would allow him to open up a storefront in Cheyenne.

Before we go too much further, here’s a little background.  Chabad is a form of Orthodox Judaism.  You can recognize Chabad rabbis by their long beards and black flat-brimmed hats.  There are no women Rabbis in Chabad, and men and women sit separately during services.  Chabad services generally run longer than others and feature a lot more Hebrew.

Chabad Rabbis have a reputation of acting like missionaries, except the Chabad Rabbis only focus on people who are already Jewish.  That means that many prospective members of a Chabad House might already belong to a different Synagogue.  The concerns of Synagogues around the country are that Chabad takes members, and perhaps more importantly, donors, away.  There have been hard feelings between Synagogues and Chabad congregations as a result.

Here in Cheyenne, we wanted to try something different.  There was extensive discussion about allowing Chabad to use our Synagogue for their services, classes, and other events.  Chabad Rabbis Raskin and Zalman Mendelsohn from Jackson, Wyoming attended the Board meeting via Zoom, and spoke at length about their plans.  After they left the meeting, the Board and several guests held an in-depth discussion about how to respond to Chabad’s coming to Cheyenne.

There were some concerns about having Chabad use our building.  One of them was that it might be confusing to visitors, who would not be clear on whether this was a Chabad Synagogue or Mt. Sinai.  It would also be awkward if someone was in one group and wanted to try the other.  And there would be additional concerns about the increased cost of security.

In the end, the Board voted against inviting Chabad to use our building.  However, Board members expressed an interest in working together to benefit Jews in Wyoming and inviting Chabad to some of our events and activities.

We also opened up excellent lines of communication between our Board, our Rabbi, and the Chabad leadership in Wyoming.  So Chabad is coming to Cheyenne and will have its own location, but we have so far avoided the negative feelings that have taken place in other communities.

Today is the deadline for the High Holy Day Journal but you may be able to still squeeze in some greetings.  The Journal is an important fundraiser for Sisterhood.  Here’s the pricing one more time:

New Year’s Greetings . . . . . . . . . . $18.00

In Honor of – first name . . . . . . . . $18.00

Each additional name . . . . $2.00

In memory of – first name . . . . . . . . $18.00

Each additional name . . . . $2.00

Vital Statistics Listing . . . . . . . . . . no charge

Births, bar and bat mitzvah, engagements, weddings, graduations, anniversaries, special honors, etc.

Please reply with your information to: [email protected]

or:

Mt.Sinai Sisterhood

3409 Green Valley Rd.

Cheyenne, WY 82001

Please make your check payable to Mt. Sinai Sisterhood. 

Here’s our Yiddish Phrase of the Week:

Gey zukh dem farayorikn shney.       
Go look for last year’s snow.

Shalom,