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L’Chaim: Chabad Intown Celebrates 18th Year
I
nstalling 180 mezuzot in VirginiaHighland and Morningside, Rabbi
Eliyahu Schusterman says, is just
one way Chabad Intown plans to celebrate its 18th anniversary in Atlanta.
Chabad Intown is not just a religious base; it’s an institution. Rabbi and
Dena Schusterman and Rabbi Ari and
Leah Sollish have established a Chabad
presence in the heart of the city that
includes Intown Jewish Preschool, Intown Hebrew School, Camp Gan Israel,
and Jewish educational programming
on every topic at Intown Jewish Academy. Chabad also has been established
on Atlanta college campuses, where it
is now run by Rabbi Zalman Lipskier
from the Emory University campus.
“Chabad stands for fundamentally providing opportunities to connect with Torah study, mitzvah and
observance. We have done that well for
the intown community. This year our
special focus is the year of love. Torah
study, mitzvah and ahava (love) are a
euphemism for connecting communities to each other through Chabad,”
Rabbi Schusterman said.
During the yearlong celebration,
Chabad Intown plans to offer activities
including an intown tour of sukkahs, a
kickoff dinner in October and a Shabbat candle lighting with 180 women.
For the youngest audience, the
creative and nurturing Intown Jewish
Preschool plans to teach home rituals
to children and their families. At Chanukah, Chabad’s giant menorahs traditionally stand on the corner of North
Highland Avenue in Morningside and
on the square in downtown Decatur.
Teens can join activities through CTeen, run by Rabbi Sollish. This group
meets twice a month and culminates
in a huge teenage retreat in New York.
“Chabad is really a place for people
to connect. We keep everything joyous,
nondogmatic,” Rabbi Schusterman
said. “This