OUR COMMUNITY
Permanent Home Chabad Jewish Center of Troy signs lease for Jewish community center. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
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ore than two years after opening the Chabad Jewish Center of Troy, Rabbi Menachem and Chana Caytak have taken the next step: signing a lease for a Jewish community center, a central place in the area where Jews can congregate and celebrate their Judaism. The move signifies a permanent location for the Chabad Jewish Center of Troy after it operated out of multiple locations for the past two years. The Caytak’s motivation to move to Troy in the first place is exactly what’s motivating them to take the next step with the community center. It all stems from the vision of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. “His approach was, ‘We have to get out there and reach every single Jew,’” Menachem Caytak said. “We’re not here to just gather 10, 20, 100 Jews. We’re here literally to reach every Jew in the area and provide for their own specific Jewish needs — and we won’t stop until we do that.” Their Jewish community center is focusing on reaching out to Jews who live throughout northern Oakland County, including Troy, Rochester, Rochester Hills and even out to Lake Orion, as well as east, going into Macomb County. The lease for the new community center is on a property in downtown Auburn Hills
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is that it’s right next to Oakland University, (3306 Auburn Road), settling there for its which aligns with a core objective of the centralized location. “It’s right off M-59 and also right off I-75, new center: being a Jewish student center for Jewish OU students with classes and so it’s a very central area people can access programs specifically programmed and from every point,” Caytak said. available for them. Before Troy Chabad opened, a large While OU has a Hillel student group and percentage of the families they currently Chabad works with them on different projserve had zero interaction with any Jewish ects, Caytak says the community center will organization, he said. Through an array of provide even more for those students. educational, social and community pro“OU’s Jewish student population is a gramming, they have begun to bring the Jewish community together. They currently very important Jewish demographic that we’re serving,” he said. “We’re in touch with are in contact with more than 750 Jewish households in the area and are still growing. over 60 students who learn there. We’ve had classes every single week and provide Some of the programming Chabad has Shabbat dinner on Friday nights every sinoffered and will continue to offer at the gle week for Jewish students.” community center are Torah classes, with Another purpose is that the center will an average of 45 participants on a weekly basis, a teen group and classes Rabbi Menachem and Chana for Jewish teens, a Jewish Kids Club with dozens of Jewish chil- Caytak with their daughter Chaya Mushka. dren participating on a monthly basis, Shabbat dinners, social events, and programs such as a women’s club and a Jewish business group, with summer camp currently in the works and much more. CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS Another benefit of the location
