By Aliza Alperin-Sheriff
If you look at the signs in front of businesses in Hamilton, you might spot a fair number of Jewish last names. But, until recently, what you couldn’t find in Hamilton were any Jewish institutions.
That changed when Rabbi Yaakov Chaiton and his wife Chana moved to town with their young son Levi in order to set up a Chabad center, the first formal Jewish presence in the Hamilton-Robbinsville area.
Chabad is an international Jewish organization with the goal of reaching out to every Jew, no matter where they live. Chabad attempts to achieve this goal by sending out emissaries to live in places all around the world and reach out to the local Jewish community.
Although Chabad is a Hasidic organization, its intention is to be welcoming, not judgmental. The emissaries, called shlichim, want to connect with all Jews regardless of their background or level of observance.
“The idea is really how each person can have more Jewishness in their life,” Chaiton said.
Both Chaiton, 25, and Chana, 23, were raised in families of shlichim. Chana grew up in Princeton, where her father Rabbi Dovid Dubov is the local Chabad rabbi. After high school, she did a series of internships in different Chabad houses in places as far-flung as Norway, Alaska and China.
Chaiton, whose father is from Montreal and whose mother is from London, grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Growing up in families of shlichim helped influence the Chaitons’ decision to become shlichim themselves. They explained that Chabad rabbis act as friends as well as spiritual guides and so they grew up welcoming guests into their homes, accompanying their parents on holiday visits to nursing homes and generally feeling like part of their parents’ work.
“We learned that sometimes a smile from a kid does something more than a rabbi could ever give,” Chaiton said.
The Chabad Community Center of Robbinsville and Hamilton is the ninth center under the umbrella of Chabad of Mercer County, which is run by Dubov, Chana’s father.
“My father never had much to do with Jews in Hamilton,” she said. “Probably around two or three year ago, he started getting calls about high holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) services in Hamilton.
Then, last summer, two rabbis came to town as part of a Chabad program called Roving Rabbis. The program sends pairs of rabbis to different cities for short periods of time to bring Jewish life to the area. The Roving Rabbis connected with people that Dubov put them in touch with. Eventually Dubov decided that the community would benefit from a permanent Chabad presence.
“Places like Princeton and Lawrenceville have a core Jewish community, but when we meet anybody here they say, ‘There is nothing here for us.’ They’re nervous about bringing up a family here,” Chana said. “There are a lot of Jews here, but they don’t know each other because there is no network. First and foremost, our goal is to bring some sort of community network here.”
When he was 16, Chaiton left Johannesburg to further his Jewish education. He spent the next several years studying in Israel, Michigan and Brooklyn. In Brooklyn, he met Chana’s brother who suggested that he and Chana go on an arranged date, which is the way courtship is done in Hasidic circles. Eventually, the two got married.
After spending the first year of their marriage in Brooklyn, the Chaitons started to look for a post where they could be shlichim. They considered a few offers and decided that Hamilton would be the best fit because they were both passionate about the prospect of building a community from the ground up.
“In the beginning, the goal is just to meet as many people as we can,” Chaiton said.
In order to accomplish that, they have been going from office to office, getting in touch with social services and visiting nursing homes and hospitals. As they meet people, they are trying to assess the needs of local Jews.
So far, most of the programming they have done has related to Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year which began at sundown Sept. 24. Prior to the holiday, the Chaitons distributed apple and honeycakes, traditional Rosh Hashana treats to symbolize the hope that the coming year will be sweet. Chaiton also gave a talk for the staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital-Hamilton.
On Rosh Hashana itself, they planned to hold an event called “The Sounds and Tastes of the Jewish Near Year” complete with the ritual blowing of a ram’s horn known as a shofar and more Rosh Hashana treats.
Seeing a need for Jewish activities for young children, Chana also organized a Mommy and Me event.
“I’ve met lots of moms with kids and there are no Jewish preschools in the area,” she explained.
The Chaitons are also finalizing the details for a kosher cooking show at the Enchantment at Hamilton clubhouse for the coming months.
In the future, they hope to expand their programming including offering classes and opening up a Hebrew school, but ultimately their desire is to fulfill the needs of the Jews in Hamilton and Robbinsville, whatever those may be.
“For a businessman who has half an hour a week, that might be a Lunch and Learn, for doctor who doesn’t have much time that might be a Friday challah (a type of braided bread that Jews prepare for the Sabbath) visit,” Chana said.
So far, the Chaitons are enjoying living in Hamilton.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful community,” Chaiton said. “Everyone we’ve met has been helpful and friendly.”
They said although most of their new neighbors don’t know much about Judaism, they are very respectful. Chana said some Catholic neighbors had requested that the Chaitons pray for their niece who was ill.
“It’s a very religious community,” Chana said.
Nonetheless, it can be difficult for religiously observant Jews to live in a primary non-Jewish community, she said. However, as the children of shlichim, it is something the Chaitons are used to.
“I never lived where there is kosher food nearby or a Jewish day school down the street,” Chana said.
Although they just moved to Hamilton, the Chaitons intend to stay in the area indefinitely.
“Divine providence brought us here,” Chaiton said.
“This is our life’s mission,” added Chana. “This place is growing with business. This is not the community it was 10 years ago, and it will have changed 10 years from now. We will change with the times. We’re here to cater to what’s needed.”
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