“Hi Rabbi, I just donated to your Mikvah campaign. Please charge my card monthly. I’ve been married for five years, and we have not yet been blessed with children. My mashpia told me I should donate towards the building of a Mikvah.”
Ira visited Texas A&M University for a weekend conference back in 2008. College Station, Texas is home to the largest university in the United States with over 73,000 students. Two months before Rosh Hashanah they contacted the Shluchim and conveyed they were expecting a child. B”H they were blessed with a baby boy a week before Rosh Hashana.
The Rohr Chabad Student and Community Center was established in 2007 by Rabbi Yossi and Manya Lazaroff. A Chabad House catering to Texas A&M University where the locals and alumni refer to it lovingly as Aggieland. Thousands of Jewish students have been impacted by their warmth and educational activities. From weekly Torah classes, Shabbat and Holiday meals, and Sinai Scholars.
It is a city that boasts a stellar education and attracts married graduate students as well. A vibrant community, however, with the closest Mikvah being over 100 miles away, Manya was shocked to meet Sarah and Michael who decided to move to College Station, as an observant couple they were asked what they would do for chinuch, a social life and Mikvah? They confided in Manya that they were not yet blessed with children and she has since decided to set aside that dream and pursue a 4-5 year doctorate program.
“After I received the call from Ira shortly after their arrival, and how they attributed their monthly giving to our Mikvah to being blessed with a child, I shared the wonderful news with the newly arrived couple,” Yossi said. The next day they gave Tzedkah towards the Aggieland Mikvah. After spending only six months in College Station, they informed us that they are moving. “The only reason I was pursuing my PhD at this point was because we were not blessed with children after over five years of marriage,” they said.
In May, they celebrated the birth of their first child.
The Lazaroffs themselves have also seen the power of this Mikvah project. Since its inception, Yossi and Manya have been blessed with two children in less than two years after a gap of 12 years. “With a 23 year gap between our oldest and our youngest we are witnessing the brochos this Mikvah has channeled into the world,” Manya shared.
Women in the community have said, “You build it and I will use it.” With a completion date of October, 2023 the community looks forward to seeing it completed.
Help them finish their Mikvah by joining their matching campaign today. JewishAggies.com/buildamikvah
If I can happily add to this: My wife and I too were married five years without children. I was advised to donate to a mikveh by my wonderful mashpiah. I too had visited Texas A&M for a conference on Purim of 2013 and was warmly hosted by the Rabbi and Rebbetzin at the Chabad (a time when I was just a simple friend of Chabad). They not only hosted me on Shabbos but provided me with several days of meals. B”h, a week before this past Rosh Hashanah we too were blessed with our wonderful son! Rabbi & Rebbetzin… Read more »
Rabbi Yossi & Manya Lazaroff are something else!
Aggie land is just a step out of reality, not just for Jewish students at Texas A&M, but for any Jewish person lucky enough to pass through! The Lazaroffs open up their door and just straight up adopt you into their family. If there is one place that lives “your home away from home” it’s them! These Mikvah stories are the tip of the iceberg….