BELIEVE
Chabad of Gwinnett Breaks Ground for New Center The corner of Spalding Drive and Crooked Creek Drive is the site of a new building for learning, fellowship, outreach.
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n a time when divisiveness and radical separatist beliefs have seen a rise in persecution for religious, racial, ethnic, economic, sexual orientation and a host of other reasons, it’s refreshing to see people come together in their faith.
On a blazing Sunday afternoon, all of Gwinnett County was in-
By Arlinda Smith Broady
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vited to a special groundbreaking ceremony for the new Chabad Enrichment Center. Although there is a current structure next door, the new building will be at the corner of Spalding Drive and Crooked Creek Drive in Peachtree Corners. “Honestly, I can’t believe that we have reached this moment. From a child, we have been dreaming of this. And I see many of you in the crowd who have dragged with us. And yet we are here,” said Rabbi Mendel Lerman in his introductory remarks. The Chabad first opened its doors in 2001 as a center for Jewish connection for hundreds of families. It has been a “gentle magnet and a beacon of light which draws
Peachtree Corners Magazine ■ June/July 2022 ■ LivingInPeachtreeCorners.com
Jews of all backgrounds closer to their Jewish roots,” according to its mission statement. Non-Jews may not be familiar with the concept.
History of Chabad In Czarist and Communist Russia, the leaders of Chabad led the struggle for the survival of Torah Judaism, often facing imprisonment and relentless persecution for their activities. After the Holocaust, under the direction of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchaak Schneerson and his successor, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, Chabad became a worldwide movement, caring for the spiritual and material needs of all Jews, wherever they could be found, peachtreecornerslife
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Left, Rabbi Mendel Lerman speaking to the audience at the groundbreaking ceremony. Above, among the engineers, architects and others were elected officials City Councilmen Eric Christ, Phil Sadd and Joe Sawyer, and Mayor Mike Mason. Top picture opposite page going clockwise: Rabbi Yossi Lerman, his wife Esther and Marie and Scott Frank Scott Frank Mayor Mike Mason Shelley Katzef Jim Gaffe with Scott Frank and Rabbi Lerman Michael Greenbaum, owner of TOWER Beer, Wine & Spirits flanked by Rabbis Yossi and Mendel Lerman peachtreecornerslife
