A planned Chanukah celebration with a public menorah lighting from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday is only the beginning for the Chabad Jewish Center of Hinsdale.
The free event is scheduled to take place at the Lodge at Katherine Legge Memorial Park, 5901 S. County Line Road, and also will include Chanukah arts and crafts, music, and light refreshments. Additional information and RSVP details can be found at JewishHinsdale.com/Chanukah25.
Rabbi Yisroel Lifshitz called the Chabad Jewish Center of Hinsdale a warm, welcoming community where everyone, regardless of background or affiliation, can feel connected and inspired.
“At Chabad, our mission is to reach every single Jew,” Lifshitz said. “To ensure that each and every Jew has the opportunity to connect to God, the Torah and Mitzvos, and just as importantly, to each other.”
Lifshitz said there are approximately 1,500 Chabad Centers throughout the United States, including 50 throughout Illinois.
“The time had come to reach further and find a place that wasn’t being adequately serviced and develop a thriving Jewish community there,” he said. “We settled on Hinsdale, as there isn’t any existing Jewish infrastructure, despite having a sizable Jewish community. Many residents have already reached out to display their excitement about the new center.”
Lifshitz said that in addition to this Chanukah celebration, the Chabad Jewish Center of Hinsdale is planning Jewish education classes, Shabbat dinners and services, holiday celebrations, youth programs, and social services.
“We will work tirelessly to ensure that the physical and spiritual needs of the Jewish community will be met and that each individual Jew has a space which they can call home,” he said. “We look forward to meeting all of the Jews in Hinsdale and the surrounding villages.”
Lifshitz said there are plans to begin synagogue services in the near future; however, the location has yet to be determined.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
