In 1983, the Rebbe’s secretary Rabbi Hodakov called Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm into his office and told him that Portland, Oregon was burning. Rabbi Wilhelm had planned to move on shlichus later that year, but Rabbi Hodakov encouraged him to begin right away. “Imagine your house was burning and the fireman told you he’ll come in six months!” he said.
Although their worldly possessions were still around the world in Australia, Rabbi Moshe and Devora Wilhelm were off to Portland. Towards the end of their first summer with Gan Yisroel coming to a close, Rabbi Wilhelm wrote the Rebbe an eight-page letter describing the local Jewish educational landscape. Following the Rebbe’s guidance, the Maimonides Jewish Day School was born. Bringing authentic Jewish education to Portland helped battle those flames Rabbi Hodakov had talked about.
The Day School grew, and their building near Portland’s Chabad Center for Jewish Life was running short on classroom space. “We were looking into options for expanding,” says Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg, of Chabad Clark County. But before there was time to expand, disaster struck.
In August 2019, just before the beginning of a new school year, Rabbi Wilhelm awoke at two in the morning to discover that an arsonist had set fire to Chabad’s space. By the time the fire was out, half their classrooms had gone up in smoke.
The search for an adequate building began in earnest. At last, Maimonides Jewish Day School has good news. They’re purchasing a turnkey, 8,700 square foot building. As Director Devora Wilhelm wrote in a letter to parents. “We are excited to share the news that we have found a property already zoned for a preschool, removing the entire permit application process, … (and which) will more than double our current capacity.”
“It’s a dream come true,” Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm says, “the new building will allow us to expand the Day School, and provide a quality Jewish education for more Jewish kids.” There’s lots of classroom space, and an outdoor play area. Rabbi Chaim Wilhelm says the outdoor area will also be used for camp and afterschool activities. Inside the building’s two stories, there’s a kitchen, office space, and a community area that will serve as Chabad of Northeast Portland’s new shul.
A matching campaign is currently underway to cover the final $360,000 needed to close on the $2.3 million dollar project. Double your impact, and help Maimonides Jewish Day School continue bringing an authentic Jewish education to Portland. You can help fight the fire in Portland at Charidy.com/mjdsportland.
I just donated and you should too, amazing people, great cause!