Rabbi Mendy Wineberg believes that the ideal situation is for every member of the Jewish community to have a place of worship within close proximity to their home. While he knows Chabad House Center of Kansas City can’t open a location on every corner where a Jewish family lives, he knows they can do the next best thing; open up a Chabad House where the most number of Jewish people live.
To that end, Chabad is opening The Shul-Chabad of Leawood, its new location in south Johnson County.
“We are not in a major metropolitan center where there are highly dense Jewish areas and Jews can walk down the street to shul,” Rabbi Wineberg said. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}“However, we have found a great location. One that can service a great number of our community.”
The Shul-Chabad of Leawood has leased 2,000 square feet of space at 5051 W. 134th St. in Leawood. Co-directors for Chabad of Leawood are Rabbi Wineberg and his wife Devory, and as Rabbi Wineberg says, they will “be joined soon, G-d willing, by Rabbi Schneur and Esty Perman,” Rabbi Wineberg’s son-in-law and daughter.
A Purim Feast today, March 5, has the distinction of being the first event at this new location. The festivities begin with a Multimedia Megilah reading at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Purim Feat at 6:15 p.m. and then for the adults a wine and beer tasting. Purim arts and crafts for the kids will also be available.
Rabbi Wineberg was quick to point out that the Overland Park location at 6201 Indian Creek Dr. would continue as it has. The Leawood Chabad will not take over any of the programs that Overland Park has, but is an additional resource. Chabad of Leawood was opened simply to meet a growing need. The Chabad rabbi said he has heard from many people in the past that they didn’t go to shul, especially on the High Holidays, because there wasn’t one within convenient walking distance for them.
Chabad had opened a satellite location in Leawood before. In August of 2013, Chabad of Leawood opened at 4800 W. 135th St. Chabad had a lease on that building for six months, with an option of six additional months. When this last satellite location opened, it was only six days before Rosh Hashanah. This didn’t give them very long to prepare for the holiday, but they still had 50 people show up for that service. For the next event they had over 100. Rabbi Wineberg says that services at that location were averaging around 75 people. He believes the success of the Parkway Plaza location showed there was a definite need for a Chabad House down south.
“Chabad’s mission is to enhance Jewish pride and identity. This can best be done by providing opportunities to connect Jewishly through study, prayer and holiday observance. Our goal is to make Judaism accessible and that includes making it more convenient to attend,” Rabbi Wineberg said. “We want to do whatever we can to make it more convenient for the community.”
Another organization took over that building, but plans were made to open a new Chabad of Leawood.
“We have been thinking about this for a while,” Rabbi Wineberg said. “It is very nice to see everything coming together.”
The Leawood location fulfills a long-term plan for Chabad. They have the building for the next five years, with an option after that for five additional years.
Work on Chabad of Leawood will continue for the next month. Furniture is still being moved in. Regular Saturday services will begin March 21. Adult education classes will be offered, as well as Hebrew classes beginning next year, Jewish Learning Institute courses and one-on-one learning.
Chabad House was established here in 1970, and then moved its headquarters from Kansas City, Mo., to the current Overland Park location. Three other locations under the auspices of Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters of Kansas and Missouri have opened in the last decade, including Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Life, more often known as KU Chabad, Chabad on the Plaza and Chabad of MU and Mid-Missouri.
The Shul-Chabad of Leawood was made possible by donations from the community. A one-day campaign was operated to raise the initial funds. The campaign raised $10,000 in less than seven hours. Donors provided another $30,000 in matching funds for a total of $40,000.
“We broke a record for raising that much money,” Rabbi Wineberg said. “It shows us the interest and the enthusiasm for Chabad of Leawood. I was really humbled.”
Rabbi Wineberg says he was touched by the support, and knows it speaks to more than just the physical location.
“Chabad is not about the building,” Rabbi Wineberg said. “It is about having a place that Jews can come together and be together. It is about going to where the Jews are. And since this is where a lot of Jews are in the area, it just made sense to open a location here.”
The Shul-Chabad of Leawood is an important development for the Jewish community in the area.
“This is a positive step in integration,” Rabbi Wineberg said. “It wasn’t that long ago that Jews weren’t allowed in Leawood, and now there is a Jewish institution here. It is important to be able to integrate into the larger society while still being able to keep our religious values.”
Visit The Shul-Chabad of Leawood’s Facebook page to stay updated on all the events and happenings at www.facebook.com/ChabadLeawood. For further information call 913-205-9524.{/mprestriction}
