Just a week before Hurricane Beryl hit Houston, over 100 community members gathered to celebrate the opening of a new Chabad Lubavitch Education Campus with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony and hanging a mezuzah.
By Anash.org reporter
Just a week before Hurricane Beryl hit Houston, over 100 community members gathered to celebrate the opening of a new Chabad Lubavitch Education Campus with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony and hanging a mezuzah.
Previously The Villagio event center, the new Shmuel & Michele Amber Chabad Lubavitch Education Campusis situated a few blocks west of Torah Day School and will serve several functions for the Chabad community.
Camp Gan Israel now began utilizing the space, which includes a fully equipped athletic center for basketball and pickleball. The campus will be the future home of Torah Day School’s girls’ middle school and other community facilities.
“We are expanding not just physically, but also spiritually,” Chabad Lubavitch Rebbetzin Chiena Lazaroff told JHV online. “We are expanding in numbers. We are expanding in personal growth. And we are expanding in holiness. Today is very meaningful as we are building for the future.”
Rabbi Shimon Lazaroff, welcomed the community, along with his sons Rabbis Chaim and Lazer Lazaroff who led the ribbon-cutting and mezuzah hanging.
“We are very excited and look forward to the future development to meet the educational needs of the community for decades to come,” Rabbi Chaim said. “The study of Torah is essential to the life of the Jewish people. We hope the community will support our campaign, which will significantly impact the future education of the Houston Jewish community.”
Chabad of Houston is launching a $14 million fundraising campaign to renovate the campus, and have already raised a staggering $5 million towards the cause.
The purchase of the campus was made possible by the generous donations of Shmuel and Michele Amber, and their daughter and son-in-law, Gila and Shmuli Barnett. The Ambers and all six of their children graduated from the Lazaroff’s Torah Day School.
“There is a growing demand for Jewish education,” Shmuel said. “Securing this land for future development was crucial. It has been my dream for many years to build a shul or school, and now I feel it has been realized.”
Torah Day School currently serves nearly 200 children from 18 months old through eighth grade. The head of the school, Rabbi Enan Francis, expressed his excitement about the forthcoming development.
“We are thrilled about the opportunity to develop our campus and operations to meet the growing needs of the Torah Day School community,” said Rabbi Francis. “With this expansion, we can offer state-of-the-art facilities, enhance our educational programs, and foster a stronger sense of community. This endeavor is truly a dream come true.”
To mark the opening of the new Shmuel & Michele Amber Chabad Lubavitch Education Campus, more than a dozen Camp Gan Israel boys said the twelve pesukim, followed by Tehillim, and tzedaka.
Gila Barnett, who is also a TDS teacher and alumna, the expansion holds special significance.
“As a teacher and alumna of TDS, I am deeply grateful to my parents, Shmuel and Michele Amber, for acquiring and donating this beautiful new campus to further Jewish education for the entire Houston community, including their grandchildren,” said Gila. “Their merit in the children’s learning of Torah ensures the continuity of the Jewish nation. The new Shmuel & Michele Amber campus is a real dream for Jewish education and the Jewish Houston community.”
Photos by Hagit Bibi Photography
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