Redefining Rebbetzin
Chanshy Majesky
Chabad of North Orlando
“Rabbi and rebbetzin are partners, equals,” explains Chanshy Majesky, codirector of Chabad of North Orlando along with her husband, Rabbi Yanky, but this concept of equality is not new within Chabad. It’s foundational.
“It was actually the Rebbe, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He was the one in the 1950s, early on, and even before that, before he became the leader, who really advocated for women to be at the forefront of this role of spreading Judaism and being role models and being spiritual leaders and being out there in that sense.”
Chanshy specifically serves Longwood, Lake Mary, and Sanford. She was born and raised in Maitland, where her parents, Rabbi Sholom and Devorah Leah Dubov, were the first shluchim in Central Florida, establishing Chabad of Greater Orlando in 1985, the center they still run today.
“I always knew this was the most fulfilling and most meaningful life I could lead in my future,” Chanshy says. “It’s not a profession. It’s a life mission. It’s a passion. There’s no business plan, just what comes from the heart.”
The busy mom of six and her husband manage that mission and their family life by dedicating Sundays after Hebrew school exclusively to their kids.
“Sometimes you don’t have to balance it all – sometimes we need to drop it all (or delegate so we can) and attend to what your family needs at the moment,” says Chanshy.
She is grateful her parents, siblings, and kids’ cousins live nearby, allowing for frequent get-togethers.
Devorah Leah Dubov
Chabad of Greater Orlando
Chanshy’s mom, Devorah Leah, was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, “as a young shlucha,” she says, knowing she wanted to live and raise her children “with the same opportunity and amazing, rewarding experience” she had. When Devorah Leah and Rabbi Dubov were approached to establish Chabad in Central Florida, the decision was easy, but the early years were difficult.
“Those were the days when so many had never heard of Chabad,” says Devorah Leah. “Support did not come easy, and the introduction and arrival of an observant Chassidic young couple in this community appeared uncomfortable, unnecessary, and unclear to members at first glance. It took time, but eventually we gained the appreciation and recognition of the values and necessary contribution that Chabad offers.”
Devorah Leah has since developed and shared thousands of adult, teen, youth, and holiday programs and classes, and she has provided accommodations for Orlando’s only mikvah – all while raising nine children. She prides herself on being approachable, available, and connected to the Jewish community, which she considers family.
Some of the Dubovs’ immediate family work alongside them at Chabad of Greater Orlando.
“I think the message that we give our children is the reason they want to be involved,” Devorah Leah says. “Whatever we have, we want to share. If you have something good, share it with another. We just want to share that with everyone we know, to know the good life we can live.”
Esther Hoffer and Fraidy Dubov
Chabad of Greater Orlando
The Dubovs’ son Tzviky recently moved back to town from New York with his wife Fraidy, and the couple welcomed a baby girl a few months ago.
“Everyone here is so nice and friendly! I’ve had such an easy adjustment period, even moving while pregnant and in a worldwide pandemic,” says Fraidy, who now arranges women’s classes and events, teaches in the Hebrew school, and assists with the Chabad’s CTeen youth program. Growing up in a Chabad family, Fraidy says she aspired to lead the same lifestyle.
“Our goal is that anyone can come and find something meaningful to them, regardless of their level of observance,” she says.
Fraidy enjoys connecting with other Jewish families – even right in her own office! She works with Esther Hoffer, who has a baby boy and a three-year-old daughter with her husband, Rabbi Amram.
“It’s so nice that we can bring our babies to work and have that support as new moms,” says Esther, who is from Pittsburgh and moved to this area five years ago without knowing anyone in town. In her role as youth director for Chabad of Greater Orlando, she runs activities for babies to teens including Hebrew school, a monthly Mommy and Me class out of her Casselberry home, Bat Mitzvah Club for 11- and 12-year-old girls, and the new CTeen Junior club for middle-schoolers.
Although Esther and Fraidy mainly serve Winter Park, Maitland, and Casselberry, they both point to the availability of eight different Chabad centers as something that makes the Central Florida area unique and convenient.
Slava Dubov
Chabad of Downtown & Chabad Young Professionals
Those living in downtown Orlando, for example, have Chabad of Downtown & Chabad Young Professionals (CYP), codirected by shluchim Slava Dubov and her husband, Rabbi Levik, another of the Dubovs’ sons.
Slava, a mother of three young children, hosts social events and teaches women’s classes, particularly on the significance of mikvah, or family purity. She is originally from Paris and has found the community’s openness to learning refreshing.
“I think that there are so many Jews here who just need a little push in discovering their passion and appreciation for Judaism and Jewish values,” Slava says. “There is so much growth and also so much opportunity.”
Chayala Sasonkin
Chabad on Campus
College students represent one group that is always growing and changing. Chabad on Campus serves them with locations both at Rollins College and the University of Central Florida. Chayala Sasonkin is co-director of the Winter Park Jewish Center with her husband, Rabbi Shmuli. Another of the Dubovs’ daughters, Chayala grew up in Maitland and is now raising five young children of her own in Winter Park. She and her husband could have joined or established a Chabad just about anywhere, but the goal of “one student at a time, one mitzvah at a time,” as Chayala puts it, resonated with them.
“We liked the idea of working with young people and found campus to be a good fit for us,” she says. “We quickly decided that a Jewish student center that any Jewish student can call home was definitely needed.”
Chayala also enjoys being by her family and constantly learning from her “powerhouse shluchos,” as she calls her mother and sister.
Rivkie Lipskier
Chabad at UCF
Rivkie Lipskier serves students on the other side of town as codirector of Chabad at UCF. She and her husband, Rabbi Chaim, moved to Oviedo 14 years ago from Brooklyn, the Chabad headquarters, and are now raising five children. They saw how much Chaim’s brother loved running a campus Chabad at Emory University, so when they found out the Dubovs wanted to start a Chabad at UCF, Rivkie and Chaim reached out. They ended up moving to Oviedo six months after their wedding.
There are now Lipskier family members running five campus Chabads throughout the South: Emory, UCF, Tulane, the University of Alabama, and the University of Miami. At UCF, Rivkie teaches, mentors, and runs educational and holiday programs for students, all with the goal of creating “a home away from home for the Jewish student community,” she explains. The closeness of her Chabad community, and being able to rely on the other shluchos both personally and professionally, have made Central Florida home for her, too.
Chani Konikov
Chabad of South Orlando
Chani Konikov serves the younger students through Chai Jewish Preschool, Orlando Jewish Day School, and Camp Gan Israel – all programs of Chabad of South Orlando, which she codirects with her husband Rabbi Yosef. This center, which targets Doctor Phillips, Bay Hill, Windermere, Lake Buena Vista, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Kissimmee, and beyond, also facilitates two Hebrew schools, adult education classes, teen programs, bar and bat mitzvah training, women’s gatherings, life-cycle events, spiritual guidance, social services, and more. That might sound like a lot for this mother of seven, but she learned the trade from her own parents, who were sent as shluchim to Bologna, Italy, where Chani grew up. Teamwork helps, as well.
“All our activities are done as a team,” says Chani. “There are certain classes or programs that my husband leads, and other activities where I take the leadership role, but it is all in the context of a life mission, where we both feel responsible for the greater picture and the needs of the community.”
The South Orlando Jewish community has grown significantly since the Konikovs moved to Orlando in 2000.
“When my husband and I were dating, we spoke at length about our shared plans to dedicate our lives as shluchim,” says Chani. “We spoke about different geographical options, and my husband mentioned that the community in Orlando, specifically near the theme parks, was really developing and might be a great spot for us. As newlyweds, while still living in Brooklyn, we traveled often to Orlando. We organized High Holiday services in a hotel on I-Drive, a menorah lighting at the Florida Mall, and a sukkah party on the property where the Rosen JCC now stands. The following year, the Dubovs gave us the wonderful opportunity to become the shluchim to South Orlando.”
Shaina Zibell
Chabad of South Orlando
The Chabad of South Orlando team grew in 2015 to include Shaina Zibell and her husband, Rabbi Nissan, who live in Doctor Phillips with their four children. Shaina is originally from Long Beach, California, which features a small Jewish community she says is similar to Orlando. When she and her husband were living in Brooklyn, an upstairs neighbor who ran the international CTeen program let them know the Konikovs were looking for shluchim to run teen programming in South Orlando. After a few meetings, the Zibells knew this was the community for them.
“The beauty I saw in religious life made me decide as a very young child that this was the lifestyle I wanted and that I wanted to go out and spread this warmth and love with others,” says Shaina.
She does that through teaching at Orlando Jewish Day School, running the Hebrew school, and hosting teen programs, women’s events, and Shabbat dinners.
Chavi Dubinsky
Chabad of South Lake County
Chabad continues to grow in Central Florida, most recently opening the eighth location in South Lake County, codirected by Chavi Dubinsky and her husband, Rabbi Moshe, who live in Clermont with their young son. Chavi was born and raised in nearby Satellite Beach, where her parents run Chabad of the Space & Treasure Coasts.
“The growth of the Central Florida community is impressive, and it is so exciting to take part in the action, especially the spiritual side of its growth,” says Chavi. “If I were to choose one word that perhaps reflects Chabad’s strongest ingredient that contributes to its colossal success, it is ‘joy,’ hands down.”
And that joy is felt in the friendships among the shluchim, in living their mission, and in the connections each shlucha makes with her community members, whether they be children, adults, seniors – observant or not.
“The beauty of Chabad is that we are the great equalizer,” says Chani. “All Jews can find their place at Chabad since we welcome all without labels or judgment.”
Mussie Bronstein
Chabad of Altamonte Springs
Mussie Bronstein also enjoys spreading the warmth of Chabad as codirector of Chabad of Altamonte Springs with her husband, Rabbi Mendy. And it doesn’t hurt that the weather here is warmer than she experienced at her previous job as education director for Chabad of Wisconsin.
“Honestly, we love the weather in Central Florida!” says Mussie, who is originally from Brooklyn. “Also, the community is really special. We’ve made many great friends, and we are grateful to have them in our lives.”
In 2016, the couple was looking for a change and got in touch with the Dubovs after hearing that Chabad of Greater Orlando was looking to establish a presence in Altamonte Springs, where Mussie and Mendy now live with their four young children. In addition to her role as mother, Mussie plans programs for holidays, women, and children, and provides social services, helps with challah and soup deliveries, and hosts Kiddush lunch every Shabbat – oftentimes handling the catering, too. Mussie says helping to build a community and see it grow these last four years “is really fulfilling and humbling for me – to be a part of a greater mission of strengthening Jewish life in Central Florida, and really, throughout the world.”
The Rebbetzin Road Less Traveled
For Bracha Leibowitz, the path to Chabad looked a little different than her fellow shluchos. Raised in Daytona, she didn’t grow up in a religious atmosphere but was always told she was Jewish.
“I started searching for purpose and substance in my life around the age of 21,” explains Bracha, who had been pursuing a modeling career when she found out she wasn’t actually Jewish. “My life changed drastically when I found out I wasn’t. I went to Rabbi Dubov for a conversion, and Devorah Leah became my shlucha. She taught me so much, and I was hanging on every word, every story, every teaching. I decided I wanted to give others what I found.”
Bracha now runs the CTeen program at Chabad of Greater Orlando with her husband, Rabbi Ed, who “is also not your typical Rabbi,” says Bracha. “He is a bodybuilder!”
Bracha has now been with Chabad of Greater Orlando for 16 years. In addition to planning teen programming, she owns an insurance agency and is raising five children with Rabbi Ed in Maitland.
“I’m always here to help with anything Chabad needs,” says Bracha.