A Building of ‘Moments’

On Monday evening, June 13, 2011, more than 500 friends and supporters of Chabad of the Conejo gathered at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, California, for an historic Banquet-Concert in celebration of a milestone three decades in the making: the dedication of the new “Center for Jewish Life” in Agoura Hills.

The evening’s opening remarks were delivered by Rabbi Yisroel Levine, Director of Development of Chabad of the Conejo, who painted a verbal portrait of the history of the organization – stemming from the pioneering days when it was just two fresh-out-of-yeshivah young rabbis, named Moshe Bryski and Yitzchak Sapochkinsky, making things happen; through its expansion into a network of nine community centers led by 12 rabbis and rebbetzins and scores of staff members – leading up to the now imminent completion of a new central edifice to help alleviate the overcrowding at Chabad’s classes and programs.

Rabbi Shloime Bistritzky followed with the evening’s formal dedication. “Chabad of the Conejo is a microcosm of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s global impact,” said Rabbi Bistritzky. “Tonight we rededicate ourselves to continue perpetuating his living legacy of love for G-d, Torah and Israel.”

The program’s next segment got underway with entertainer Jordan Bennett offering a stirring rendition of “This is the Moment!”, followed by a series of poignant testimonials by various individuals who shared the seminal “moments” in which Chabad touched, and ultimately changed, their lives. The first presenter was Laurie (Zimmet) Lans, a naval officer with the US armed forces who had just returned from her second tour of duty in Afghanistan, on the heels of her tour in Iraq during the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She shared how a caring overture by Rabbi Moshe Bryski, shortly after the passing of her mother in 1997, had exposed her to the world of “Yiddishkeit”, and ultimately served as her guiding light throughout each tour of service. She described how she lit a Menorah in Saddam Hussein’s palace with a picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe hanging in the background; arranged for a Seder in Afghanistan; met her husband-to-be, a decorated serviceman with a Yeshivah background; and how she helped rekindle the spark within a soldier who had grown up in Crown Heights but had spiritually lost his way.

“Moment” presenter Laurence Michelson, a former mortgage broker, followed with an account of how he’d lost everything during the crash and was yanked from the depths of the abyss as a result of a chance meeting with a Chabad rabbi. He spoke of how his regular attendance at Chabad of Agoura Hills and spending Shabbos with his children at the rabbi’s house had inspired him to reshape his priorities. “Chabad has given me an appreciation for what is of true value in this world, and the realization that the most important things in life – aren’t ‘things’.”

Lisa Robin, a mother of four children, whose late husband, Louis, recently passed away at the age of 53, spoke with great eloquence and poise of the Chabad community that has stood by her side throughout her family’s ordeal. “When people ask me how I get through it, I respond that it’s not ‘I’, but ‘we’, who are getting through it,” she said. “I feel that this is something that this entire community – this incredibly blessed extended family – has gone through together, and are still handling together.”

Tania Weissberg spoke of the enormous challenges she faced as a single mother of a child with Apert Syndrome, back when she had few friends and virtually no support system. She spoke of how being introduced to Chabad’s Friendship Circle, under the leadership of Rabbi Eli Laber, marked a dramatic turning point in her and her child’s life. “The thing that the Friendship Circle gave me – at a time in my life when I so sorely needed it – is that sense of caring and community… While Chabad may be rooted in tradition, they always make sure to put the person first…”

Fred and Joni Lovell, participants in Chabad’s Sunshine Club – under the leadership of Rabbi Leibel and Chana Stery Kahanov – which arranges for volunteers to visit with local seniors on an ongoing basis, shared a moving story of how their visitations with an 89 year-old Holocaust survivor paved the way for the man to be present at his great-granddaughter’s naming ceremony in San Francisco even though he was in no physical condition to travel. Their arrangements of an on-line hook-up enabled the man to bless and sing to his newest progeny. “As Lou Schotland began singing ‘M’dor L’dor’ to his new great-granddaughter, the tears just started flowing and wouldn’t stop,” said Joni Lovell. “It was one the heartwarming and inspiring things I had ever seen.”

All of these moments were stage-setters for the “biggest moment of all” for the community, collectively. Real estate developer and contractor Martin Teitelbaum spoke compellingly of how the building of the New Center for Jewish Life was the “most meaningful” project he’d ever undertaken. Before introducing a video of the project in its final stages, Teitelbaum paid tribute to the memory of his father, Irving Teitelbaum, obm, who passed away just as construction was getting underway, and whose spirit he could feel motivating him along throughout. He also paid tribute to his wife, Joy, who first brought him to Chabad and has provided valuable support and encouragement. He reminded the community that there was still much work to be done; namely, the finishing of the New Center for Jewish Life and the launching of “Phase Two” – the construction of a new synagogue and lecture hall on the front parcel of the campus.

These sentiments were echoed in the evening’s keynote address by Chabad of the Conejo’s Executive Director, Rabbi Moshe Bryski. “As deeply as I feel anything in the depths of my soul, I feel that this bridge connecting our lives together was engineered for a momentous and monumental purpose,” said Rabbi Bryski. “That purpose, I suggest, is so that I could stand before you, as I’m doing right now, to declare – boldly, exuberantly, proudly and joyfully: ‘This is the Moment!’… After years of tedious efforts, starts and stops, we are at long last about to open the doors to this community’s magnificent New Center for Jewish Life!” The audience responded with a thunderous ovation.

Rabbi Bryski went on to point out the great “zechus”, the auspicious merit and opportunity, being afforded all those who choose to participate in the historic campaign. “Years from now, you will be able to drive along the Ventura Freeway, or better yet, actually step foot into a classroom, an office, a shul, a lecture hall, a friendship center, and point with your physical fingers as you show your grandchildren or great grandchildren the very physical space where your family’s name is posted. You’ll be able to tell them that you were there when a community joined together as one and pronounced: ‘This is the moment!’… You gave of your hard-earned dollars so that they could have this beacon of light in their midst to illuminate their lives; a place where children learn and people are helped…”

As the lights then went back down for a full-length concert by headliner Jordan Bennett, there was an almost palpable sense of electricity in the room. By the time Mr. Bennett sang his encore, “I believe I can Fly”, there was a profound awareness that no truer statement could be made about the Chabad of the Conejo community at that very powerful moment.