It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Chicago. The sun was unseasonably warm, the community was in high spirits, and visitors had come from all over the U.S.

They were there to celebrate what many describe as a miracle, a new $14 million dollar high school building and shul campus named for a little-known Jewish heroine who lived a quiet life in 18th-century Belarus. 

The Devorah Leah Campus honors the legacy of Rebbetzin Devorah Leah of Vitebsk, aunt of the Alter Rebbe, who was known as the Lamdonis, “the learned one”. A most fitting example for the students of the Lubavitch Girls High School (LGHS), one of the premier Chabad high schools, which caters to both local students and out-of-towners who live in the nearby three-story residence hall. 

According to Dean Rabbi Baruch Hertz, the inspiration for the name came directly from Shira Malka Walder, widow of the late Dr. Joseph Walder and Founder and Director of the Walder Foundation.

“Mrs Walder believes in the vision of girls’ learning and has made it a central focus of her life,” explains Rabbi Hertz. “When we approached her about this idea for the new school building and showed her the plan, she encouraged me to think bigger, to stretch and to bring others in to support this crucial endeavor as well.”

Plans took shape for what would become a beautiful new campus and girls high school building that would include state-of-the-art science labs, a large study hall, a sun-drenched library, and other beautiful spaces for the girls to learn and grow.

The plans were in place, but more financial support was needed.

In looking for that support, the Rabbi needed to look no further than next door. One of the three plots upon which the campus was built—immediately adjacent to the venerable Congregation Bnei Ruven—had once been the home of Aaron and Clara Jolcover.

The Jolcovers were deeply involved in Bnei Ruven affairs, even hosting “overflow” services in their basement. 

“I heard so much about the Jolcovers from Rabbi Shusterman, the previous Rabbi and builder of Bnei Ruven in West Rogers Park,” says Rabbi Hertz.

According to Dr. Howard Berger, a grandson of the Jolcovers, who spent a lot of time in their home as a child, they both immigrated from Eastern Europe to Chicago, where they met and married. 

“Their house was a place that was filled with laughter, lots of cousins,” says granddaughter Joyce Guenther. It was a home where the grandchildren loved to romp and run in the basement, sometimes dodging the folding chairs and ad hoc “holy ark” that made up the overflow minyan.

Aaron and Clara moved away in the 60s, and the house passed hands several times. The Jolcover family spread out across America and beyond, replanting their grandparents’ legacy of Jewish values and generosity wherever they went.

In 2005, the house was for sale, and Rabbi Hertz decided that it would be perfect as an additional dorm for LGHS.  This also enabled him to purchase the alley from the city, which connected the house to the shul.

But as the years passed, it became increasingly clear that a new facility was needed. 

In 2020, a three-story apartment building was purchased to replace the four houses that had previously served as dorms (including the Jolcover homes and the two to its left). This now provided the key space to build a proper school campus, one that would allow the school’s physical building to reflect the radiance and color of the Torah and Chassidus taught there.

Rabbi Hertz is quick to point out that the impressive campus is the product of many minds and hands. Rabbi Shua Greenspan, the school’s Administrator, invested countless hours into every aspect of the construction project, and Mrs. Rivky Wolf, the school’s Administrative Assistant, was crucial to the design. 

The building was completed in time for the school year of 2025-2026, and the joyous sounds of learning already ring through its halls every day. 

With Rosh Hashanah approaching, it was finally time to celebrate. 

In the presence of hundreds of students, alumni, wellwishers, supporters, and Jolcovers from around the country, Mrs. Walder unveiled the Devorah Leah Campus, which includes the Aaron & Clara Jolcover Lubavitch Girls High School.

Cheers rang out as the Jolcover family posed in front of the entry way, in the exact spot where their grandparents’ home once stood. There, several dozen strong, they cheered, laughed, and cried as they cut the ribbon on the most fitting monument for a couple who gave so much and a woman who blazed a path for all to follow.

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