Miami

Miami is a city in the southeastern part of Florida, United States. The Miami metropolitan area is home to nearly 6 million residents, including half a million Jews. The city has a large and growing community of hundreds of Chabad Hasidic families, primarily in Miami Beach. The Rebbe referred to Miami as the "Jerusalem of the Diaspora."

Chabad Community in Miami

Until the early 1960s, there was no Chabad presence in Florida or Miami. This changed when in 1960, the Rebbe instructed Rabbi Avraham Korf to become a Shliach (emissary) to Florida. After his wedding in Kislev 1961, Avraham Korf and his wife moved to Miami Beach, where there was already minimal Jewish activity and several synagogues. Initially, they gave classes and lectures at various synagogues, and after establishing their activities, they founded the first Chabad synagogue, built a mikvah following the bor al gabei bor method, and later established an educational framework for Jewish children.

In 1974, the Rebbe sent Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schapiro to establish a yeshiva in Miami with 11 students personally chosen by the Rebbe. Later, as the Chabad community in Miami grew and established itself, Rabbi Schapiro was appointed as the community rabbi.

In 2014, due to the significant expansion of the Chabad community in Miami, the local Talmud Torah split into two separate campuses. The first, for grades 1-6, remained at the original location, while the second, called "Mesivta," moved to Miami Beach for grades 6-8. For the 2017-2018 school year, Beis Chana High School moved to a spacious 47,000-square-meter campus, costing about five million dollars. In Cheshvan 2021, the Mesivta administration purchased a new, spacious campus for the students, costing about seven million dollars.

Recent Developments

In Kislev 2023, a new street in Miami Beach was dedicated as "Pinchos Aharon Weberman Street," named after Rabbi Pinchas Aharon Weberman, one of the founders of the Jewish community in Miami Beach and among the Rebbe's first emissaries to the city.

The Chabad community in Miami includes Anash (Chabad community members) living in nearby Miami Beach, sharing educational institutions, events, and some synagogues. The community is spread throughout the area, primarily concentrated around the main Chabad synagogues in different areas. For example, the "Beis Menachem" community in North Miami Beach includes over 150 Anash families and maintains extensive community activities. "Beis Ovadia" incorporates about 13 Chabad House branches affiliated with it.

Tourism and Growth

The city serves as a major tourist destination, leading to the establishment of over 50 Chabad Houses throughout Miami. Additionally, the city has several Chabad synagogues with community life, educational institutions including kindergartens, schools for boys and girls, high school, and yeshiva, and more than 8 Chabad mikvahs following the bor al gabei bor method.

Currently, the Chabad community in Miami numbers hundreds of families and is experiencing significant growth, with dozens of young couples from across the United States moving there, partly due to rising housing prices in Crown Heights. The city also has a large concentration of Israeli Anash. The community rabbi is Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schapiro, the main Shliach is Rabbi Avraham Korf, and the chairman of the institutions is Rabbi Bentzion Korf. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Sasanka served as the community's Mashpia until his passing on 29 Nissan 5782 (2022).

Significant Events in Miami

On Sunday, 24 Menachem Av 5752 (1992), authorities in South Florida declared a state of emergency due to an approaching destructive hurricane. Rabbi Refael Tenehouse from the community contacted the Rebbe's office and asked through Rabbi Leibel Groner whether to evacuate. After about an hour, Rabbi Groner returned with the Rebbe's firm instruction to stay in Miami. Community Rabbi Leibel Schapiro from nearby Miami Beach and Rabbi Rafi Solomon from Sunny Isles also contacted separately, asking if the instruction to stay applied to them, and the Rebbe nodded firmly in both cases. Indeed, the next day, Monday 25 Menachem Av, hours before the destructive storm was supposed to hit Miami's shores, it suddenly changed course against all forecasts.

On 14 Tammuz 5781 (2021), a large portion of a 12-story residential building collapsed in Miami. During a month-long search of the building's ruins, about 98 casualties were identified. Several Chabad families lived in the collapsed building, with some leaving just shortly before the disaster. However, others were in the building at the time and were considered missing, with Chabad communities worldwide praying for their rescue. On 25 Tammuz, the bodies of Chabad couple Rabbi Tzvi Daniel and Mrs. Itty Ainsworth were found in the building's ruins. Their funeral later passed by 770 on its way to Montefiore Cemetery in Queens.

Chabad Institutions in Miami

The Lubavitch Education Center (LEC) serves as an umbrella organization for educational institutions in Miami, managed by Rabbi Avraham Korf and Rabbi Bentzion Korf. It includes:

• Chabad Miami kindergartens
• Chabad girls' school (grades 1-8)
• Chabad boys' Talmud Torah (grades 1-6)
• Beis Chana High School
• Klurman Mesivta - Junior Yeshiva
• Miami Yeshiva Gedolah headed by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schapiro

Synagogues and Chabad Houses

• Beis Menachem, Chabad synagogue in North Miami Beach (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Marlow)
• Anshei Lubavitch synagogue (Rabbi David Shapiro)
• Beis Ovadia, central Chabad House with 13 branches in South Miami-Dade

Mikvahs

• Mei Rachel, women's mikvah
• Am Kadosh, women's mikvah
• Mei Menachem, men's and women's mikvah (men during day hours, women at night) located in South Miami in South Broward
• Beis Menachem mikvah, men's mikvah located in the Chabad synagogue Beis Menachem in North Miami Beach

This community continues to grow and develop, serving both local residents and the many Jewish tourists who visit Miami throughout the year.