After years of comprehensive bureaucratic planning and collaboration with the Israeli government and Chabad-Lubavitch leadership, the town of Ohr Chabad (“Light of Chabad”) will literally be on the map of Israel in the coming months, nestled in the beautiful Yatir forest on the edge of the Negev Desert in southern Israel.
As Israel’s housing minister Yitzchak Goldknopf declared last month in a pivotal meeting with the town’s founders: “You have been working on this for nine years already—that is long enough. Time to move in!”
The 30 families who will be moving to Ohr Chabad as it is being built from the ground up are a diverse group of Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidim with a shared mission: to establish a town where tourists from around the world can visit and experience Chassidic teachings come to life. The plans approved by the government include houses for community residents, a five-star resort and tourism center, a synagogue, a mikvah, study centers and guesthouses scattered throughout the community.
The half-English-speaking, half-Israeli-born community has spent the last decade connecting with one another, sharing ideas and building strong foundations for their future home.
Malky Shuchat and her husband, Sholom Ber, who just received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and is doing post-doctoral work in biomechanics, moved from Montreal to Haifa six years ago with the hope of eventually moving south to the fledgling community. “There is something unique in being part of building a new community,” Malky Shuchat tells Chabad.org.
“Our dream has always been to build a home in nature surrounded by many friends in a diverse and goal-oriented community,” she says. “Ohr Chabad is making this vision a reality.”
“Often people need to squeeze into existing communities to find their place,” she says. ”At Ohr Chabad, there is space for everyone because we are creating it together from the ground up. Everyone gets to show up authentically as they are, with their special gifts and interests."
Hoping to Embody the Rebbe’s Vision
As co-founders of the community, writer Bruria Efune and her husband, Rabbi Mendy Efune, who is a web and AI project-development manager, have been nurturing this dream for more than a decade, motivated by the vision and values of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. “In Ohr Chabad, the whole town will be a meaningful experience to walk through, and the whole community will be involved in bringing it to life,” says Bruria Efune.
“The location of Ohr Chabad is deeply intertwined with our mission,” she explains.
“Yatir, located near the Tamar region of Israel, is mentioned in the Bible as a city given to Kalev ben Yefuneh,” Efune continues. “It served as a city for the Levites, acting in a similar vein to a “City of Refuge,” a place of safety for those needing protection. However, in the times of Moshiach, the Rebbe taught that these very cities will become centers of rejuvenation through the Torah’s wisdom; and this is exactly what Ohr Chabad plans to be.”
“We hope to embody the Rebbe’s vision of these cities and create a space where people from all over can come and connect with the Land of Israel, experience the beauty of Chassidic wisdom, and leave feeling enlivened and refreshed,” says Efune.
The massive undertaking could not have succeeded without the help of various Israeli ministries, organizations and advisors who supported the community wholeheartedly along the way, she adds.
Establishing a new town in Israel includes many complex legal and bureaucratic steps. The OR Movement, an NGO that encourages and guides the development of new towns in Israel’s Negev and Galilee regions, has guided the community through the process for nine years.
"Since 2001, we have been privileged to work on the establishment of the new yishuv (settlement) in Yatir,” says Roni Flamer, CEO of the OR Movement.
“In this important piece of land that is beautiful, historically and biblically significant, we will build a magnificent town, a model of pioneering through this wonderful group of Chabad olim (immigrants),” continues Flamer. “This yishuv will be home to thousands of residents, with places of work in the fields of tourism, technology, education, and more. I am sure that it will greatly influence the movement of immigration to Israel in general, and the Negev in particular.”
The community has benefited from the guidance of Chabad-Lubavitch leaders in Israel. Its board of directors includes Rabbi Ariel Lemberg, chief executive of Agudat Chasidei Chabad of the Holy Land, Rabbi Zalman Gorelik, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Beersheva, and Rabbi Yaakov Mendelzohn of Chabad-Lubavitch of Arad and rav of the Tamar Regional Council. The board was established by Rabbi Yosef Y. Aharonov, director of Agudat Chasidei Chabad of the Holy Land.
“At Agudat Chassidei Chabad, we are surprised time and time again to see the enthusiasm of the founding families, despite the many difficulties that they have to overcome and prepare for,” says Lemberg. “We are moved to see their adherence to the Rebbe’s mission and their desire to see that the yishuv will not only be beautiful in a physical way but will also be a G‑dly place, with a strong spiritual foundation.”
‘Something Special to Be Part of’
Although the families currently live in different communities across Israel, they have already built for themselves a tight-knit community with weekly Zoom meetings, monthly gatherings and learning programs for both men and women.
In the coming months, families will move into prefab houses on the property to oversee the building of their future community, which is expected to expand one day to 500 homes.
For Ita Volman, a drama therapist who lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Shneur, an engineer and entrepreneur, the family feeling among community members has been the most exciting. “There is already a sense of connection and care, and we haven’t even moved in yet,” she says. “I am so excited to see how our community continues to grow together. It is truly something special to be a part of.”
“We joined Ohr Chabad because of the community,” Yonasan Sanford says of his family’s decision to move to Israel and begin a new life. Originally from Pittsburgh, Yonasan and his wife, Sara, always felt a pull towards the Holy Land; when they learned of Ohr Chabad, they knew it was time to make the move.
“It’s important for young families moving to Israel to have a real cohesive and supportive community,” he says. “Ohr Chabad has a built-in support system, and it feels as if we are already a family.”
A Comprehensive Torah-Based Environment
Not only will the resort center offer Torah classes, workshops and retreats, but guests will get to know the community’s families personally through Shabbat meals and community tours.
Michal Morgenstern and her husband, Ezzie, originally from the United States, are both civil-engineering project managers who met in Israel and are moving to Ohr Chabad from the northern city of Yavniel. They sit on the new community’s board of management, which comprises couples from the burgeoning town.
Michal says she is excited to develop Ohr Chabad’s education system, infused with the teachings of Chassidus. She hopes to help build an educational framework inspiring the Ohr Chabad youth to have an active role in developing and implementing Ohr Chabad’s vision.
“Tourists from around the world will ‘join the family’ while they are here,” says Morgenstern. “Visitors will experience the beauty of an authentic and intentional Chabad community from the inside.”
To learn more about Ohr Chabad, visit Ohrchabad.com.
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