Since establishing the only Chabad-Lubavitch center in all of West Virginia just two years ago, Rabbi Zalman and Hindy Gurevitz have become adept at dividing their time. Theirs is a unique portfolio: The Chabad Jewish Center in Morgantown draws students from the University of West Virginia and members of the local community, but the couple is also responsible for prayers services, holiday celebrations and Torah classes at the city’s Federal Correctional Institution.
Each week, Zalman Gurevitz teaches 30 Jewish inmates at the minimum-security facility.
“For them, the classes are a very intellectual opportunity,” the rabbi said of his incarcerated students, who come from locations across the United States. “And interacting with the inmates helps me relate better to others in the community.”
For many prisoners, the class is their first opportunity to learn about Judaism.
“I’m in my mid-60s now,” one attendee said, “and in one year here I have learned more about Judaism than I have learned in my entire life.”
The rabbi, who lives four miles from the prison, also walks there every other week to lead Shabbat services on Saturday mornings. Inmates conduct the other services themselves, using a Torah scroll dedicated late last year with the help of the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based Aleph Institute.
“The services and classes create a deeper connection to Judaism,” asserted Gurevitz, adding that most prisoners spend less than four years in Morgantown. “I hope that it stays with them after they leave. My goal is to give them enough exposure to Judaism so that when they come out, they’ll continue the connection on their own.”
Work on Campus
While working at the prison may present some of the biggest challenges to their work, the Gurevitzes spend most of their time providing Jewish outlets to university students. An average of 25 undergraduates attends their Shabbat meals each week, and the Gurevitzes’ Torah classes and one-on-one learning sessions are similarly popular.
“I really like the sense of family and how comfortable they always make me feel,” said Jennifer Lipsitz, who hails from Pittsburgh and graduated with an education degree in 2009. “Morgantown has a very, very small Jewish population, and Chabad enabled me to meet so many more Jewish people than I thought there were in the area. It’s a really nice place for the community to come together in one place.”
According to Gurevitz, many out-of-state students feel “isolated” and have few Jewish friends when moving to West Virginia. Priority one has been creating a sense of community.
“Chabad has been a great way to meet students my age and to develop relationships,” echoed Lisa Tager, a doctoral student from Connecticut. “In a place like West Virginia, where for students the Jewish community is not so strong, Chabad has been a great way to bring Judaism back into my life.
“Chabad has re-inspired me to do things that I didn’t think were possible here,” she added, “like keeping kosher again for the first time since I moved to Morgantown.”
To illustrate the degree to which locals pride their heritage, Gurevitz recalled one student who was afraid to ask his professor to be excused from an important class on Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day of the year. The day’s fast ended at 7:50 p.m., but the student sat through the entire class from 6:00 to 9:00. He made it to the Gurevitz home at 10:45 to finally eat something.
“He fasted three extra hours just he wouldn’t have to break his fast too early,” said Gurevitz. “This just shows the strength of the Jewish soul when it is allowed to express itself.”
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