Newborn already doing Shlichus

By Tamar Runyan, Chabad.org

Chana Mendelsohn may be her parents’ second child, but to the people of Wyoming’s Teton County, the newborn girl will always be a first.

Just after giving birth at 10:47 the morning of Jan. 1, Raizy Mendelsohn was told by her midwife to prepare for even more excitement.

Not only was little Chanie the first baby of the decade to be born at S. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, she was the first for the entire western county.

“She told me that it was a really big deal, and that the newspaper wanted to interview me,” recalls Mendelsohn, who arrived two years ago with her husband, Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn, and their older daughter Chaya Mushka to establish Chabad-Lubavitch of Wyoming.

After the story hit in The Jackson Hole News & Guide, the Mendelsohns – whose efforts to strengthen Jewish life in the sparsely-populated state were the subject of a National Public Radio report last year – have been getting quite a bit of attention from the locals.

They say that Chanie, not even two weeks old, has already contributed to an increased awareness of Judaism.