Investment in Reaching British Columbia Jews Pays Off

The Chanukah lights shined brightly this year in Langley, British Columbia, where over 150 Jews gathered for a Chanukah celebration that was unprecedented in the city’s history.

Until recently, Langley only had a small Jewish community, but as the cost of living shot up in nearby Vancouver, Jewish families, many of them Israeli, settled in the Lower Fraser valley which includes Langley.

The Chanukah event was the culmination of years of tireless work to promote yiddishkeit in the area dating back to 2019. In that year, Rabbi Falik and Simie Schtroks, directors of Chabad of the Lower Fraiser Valley, arranged for their son Bentzion Schtroks, then a bochur in Yeshiva, to organize a Pesach seder in Langley. To their astonishment, over 50 people signed up and the event was a huge success.

Covid prevented any further activities and it wasn’t until two years later that Bentzion was able to arrange another Seder which was again met with impressive results.

The next summer Bentzion was back for mivtza mezuza – visiting Jewish homes and putting mezuzas on their doors. In all, over forty mezuzas were affixed to homes all over the city.

After a packed Rosh Hashana with a well-attended Yom Tov dinner, Chanukah was the obvious choice for the next event to bring Jews in the area together.

Bentzion, together with his friends Shabi Soffer and Meir Deren, flew down to the area before Chanukah and organized an outdoor menorah lighting at West Langley Hall followed by an indoor celebration nearby. 250 people had signed up and the stage was set for a beautiful evening. Then, some worrying news arrived. The weather channels were predicting a massive snowstorm and icy weather at the time of the event. Soon, their phones were ringing off the hook from people calling to see if the event was still on. An emphatic “yes” was the response. This amount of pirsumei nissa was too much to cancel on. They arranged for the parking lot to be plowed and hoped for the best. Sure enough, their perseverance paid off; over 150 people attended. Between the dreidel man, an LED light show, and delicious Chanuka delicacies, the freezing 8-degree weather outside couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the attendees.

The Chanukah event was a clear display of the bright Jewish future for Langley and the surrounding areas.

“It was a very special celebration,” said Bentzion. “We got to meet new families who had just recently moved to the area and saw old friends who had attended previous events.”

The cost for these events is often in the thousands of dollars and Bentzion fundraises for them from friends and acquaintances. “I would like to thank those members of the Lubavitch community who helped fund the programs that we have been doing in Langley. There is no doubt that the Rebbe is getting much nachas from them.”