Chabad of Alabama announced that Rabbi Aryeh Wells and Chana Wells (née Laber), together with their son Yisroel, will be moving this coming fall to Auburn, Alabama, to establish a permanent Chabad presence for Jewish students at Auburn University and Yidden in the surrounding community.

Auburn is a growing East Alabama city best known as the home of Auburn University, one of the state’s major public universities, which draws tens of thousands of students to the area each year. The city, long known as “The Loveliest Village on the Plains,” sits in the Auburn-Opelika area, where the university is the center of much of local life.

The new shlichus will give Jewish students and local families a full-time Chabad home for Shabbos meals, Yom Tov programs, Torah learning, and personal connection, creating a steady address for Yiddishkeit in a city where students arrive from across Alabama and beyond.

The move builds on the groundwork laid by Rabbi Shalom Posner through Chabad on Wheels, which has traveled across Alabama bringing Jewish life to Yidden in smaller communities. Chabad of Alabama thanked the Marcus Family for their generous support of Chabad at Auburn, Coach Bruce Pearl for championing the vision, Rabbi Shalom Posner for laying the groundwork, and Rabbi Avi Weinstein of Chabad on Campus International for his guidance and partnership throughout the process.