A new Chabad House being built at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, is set to resemble 770, and will include a shul, kosher kitchen and a large yard ideal for socially distant events.
Chabad at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio is moving to a new, bigger space this fall, the Cleveland Jewish News reported. The organization is renovating a former fraternity house near the campus and is hopeful that it will be completed before Rosh Hashana.
The new space will include a library, kosher kitchen, shul, student lounge and multipurpose space.
“[We] took over a 6,000-square-foot fraternity home,” shliach Rabbi Yossi Greenberg told Cleveland Jewish News. “And it’s being literally gutted, A to Z, everything will be nice, fresh and welcoming and beautiful to accommodate students and the activities for them here at Miami.”
As is obvious from the rendered image, the new Chabad House is set to resemble 770, and will also include a large yard to accommodate physically distant events this fall and throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chabad’s move comes after the organization has seen an increase in membership over its first seven years at the university. As the organization planned for the future, Greenberg knew a new space was needed.
“An amazing problem – running out of space – has become a reality,” Greenberg said. “We started literally out of our living room and dining room with a handful of students,” Greenberg said. “And at this point during the holidays, we’re able to have over 100 people come through the door.”
Rabbi Greenberg and his wife Mushka are hopeful that their new space will continue to carry on the organization’s inviting nature that helped in gaining members over the years.
“That’s the strength of starting small,” Greenberg said. “We’re very relationship based, very homey and cozy. It’s the true home away from home experience.”