WINNIPEG — It was a festive atmosphere Dec. 5 as more than 500 people came to Winnipeg Chabad’s new Jewish Learning Centre to celebrate both Chanukah and the centre’s grand opening.
“This was the most ambitious project that we have ever undertaken,” said Rabbi Avrohom Altein, Winnipeg’s Chabad rabbi for the past 40 years, of the $3- to $4-million project.
Rabbi Altein’s son, Rabbi Shmuly Altein, director of the new centre, spoke of energizing and engaging a young and vibrant Jewish community.
The event began with music by Brooklyn-based singer and guitarist Chaim Fogelman after which, Adina Altein, wife of Rabbi Shmuly Altein, welcomed the guests.
Mezuzahs were attached to doorposts by the individual donors who funded each room. Rabbi Avrohom Altein and Abe Anhang, who co-ordinated the campaign to build the new facility, attached the last mezuzah as confetti floated down from the ceiling.
Following a concert by Fogelman, a chanukiyah was lit by former Winnipegger Koppel Goldberg, who came in from Toronto for the centre’s grand opening.
Following greetings and congratulatory remarks by Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger and Ben Cohen, the president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, several participants jumped into their cars for a menorah parade through south Winnipeg. Some 25 cars, including a stretch limousine, were equipped with electric menorahs on their roofs.
The building of the new facility was kick-started in September 2009 when the province and the federal government announced infrastructure grants of $320,000 each for the project. That encouraged others to take out their chequebooks..
“We have been working on this since 2005,” when Chabad purchased the former railroad land in south Winnipeg, said architect Lanny Silver. “There were a lot of obstacles to overcome. There were different options to consider.“
The new building will house a multi-purpose social hall/lecture hall/synagogue, along with classrooms, a library, a small gym for Chabad’s preschool program and summer and winter camp, and separate mikvahs for men and women. The centre can accommodate 350 to 400 people.
“There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm in Winnipeg’s Jewish community for this project,” said David Rich, co-chair of the fundraising committee, in an interview before the event. “Almost everyone in the community has been touched in one way or another by Chabad’s numerous services and programs.”
David Salita, a member of the fundraising committee, added that the current construction project is just phase I of a more ambitious vision. The ultimate goal, he said, is to incorporate a yeshiva and student residence that would attract students from all over the world.