This week was very special. We celebrated the groundbreaking of the Chabad Jewish Community Center in Sioux Falls, and it was deeply overwhelming in the best way. I think I speak for many of us when I say that despite all the hard work, hopes, prayers, and support, Tuesday afternoon still felt surreal and miraculous. Here are some pictures, and soon we will share the complete media coverage.  

We could never have reached this milestone without the generosity and support of friends in Sioux Falls and across the country who value and appreciate the work to strengthen Yiddishkeit in South Dakota.

It brought to mind the opening words of this week’s Torah portion, Eikev: “If you will heed these… G-d will keep the covenant for you, as well as the kindness that He swore to your forefathers. He will love you, bless you…” followed by many blessings.

The commentaries explain that the word “Eikev” is used here because it symbolizes even “these things” that are often overlooked. The Torah is teaching us to give special care and participate even in those mitzvahs which some may ignore. 

As the Rebbe taught, no Jew is too far and no community is too small. On Tuesday, we saw that come alive. 

Perhaps there was no greater moment of joy and pride at the groundbreaking than the children who helped lead the event. Alongside the adults shoveling dirt, some 20 children from our Camp Gan Israel proudly turned over earth with their own shovels, decorated with their Judaic art. They are our future.
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Thank you to everyone who joined us in person, and to all who have already contributed. We will soon be launching a campaign to raise the remaining funds needed for this project, and I will be reaching out personally with more information and materials in the weeks and months ahead. If you would like to support this effort, or know someone who may be interested, please contact us today.

As we gear up to break ground for a beautiful campus for the South Dakota Jewish community, some wonder about our proposed community center, or if a permanent space is even needed at all? The Jewish population here is small. As one friend put it, “tiny is too big a description.” Published data (though inaccurate!) sometimes estimates the Jewish population of South Dakota at 250–500. While we’re not quite that small, we are still few in number and even smaller in percentage.

The story of South Dakota Jewry may very well have its first roots in this week’s Torah portion. In his parting words, Moses urges the people of Israel to always remain loyal to G-d, reminding them to live up to their Divine mission, even when amongst nations far more numerous. He says, “For you are the least of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7).
Here in South Dakota, we understand what it means to be the smallest of all peoples. Most of us are the only Jew in our workplace, the children the only Jew in their grade at school, and I’ve often thought of this verse when reflecting on our role here.

As Moses said, the Jewish people have always been a small group. That might prompt some to wonder what our purpose is and how we can accomplish it. Even if we survive, how can we have a meaningful impact?

The Rebbe addressed this question with a powerful analogy. He explained that science has demonstrated that quantity is not always the deciding factor. The question is whether we can unlock the quality energy and potential that exists within us. Just like an atom, though tiny, can release immense power when its latent energy is tapped, we too carry within us incredible spiritual energy.

In nuclear fission, power is released by breaking the atom into smaller components. Spiritually, this means breaking our egos to allow our Divine essence to shine. The more we master this “spiritual technology,” the less we need to be concerned by small numbers.

This is true for us as a people, that we should not define ourselves as “a minority,” but recognize the value, potential, and benefit we bring to society by living as G-d intended: being a light to those around us and adding goodness, kindness, and spirituality. It is also true for each of us as individuals. As the Rebbe taught, “No community is too small, and no Jew is too far.” We each have a mission, a mandate, and unlimited potential to succeed and achieve it.
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Within each of us lies the power to impact the world around us for the good, one step at a time. As a community, we may be small in number, but we matter, and our spiritual needs matter. So together we are building something lasting and meaningful, a beautiful Jewish Community Center that will serve our growing community for generations to come. We look forward to celebrating this big monumental step with you on Tuesday at 2:30.

This Shabbat falls on the day before Tisha B’Av, when we commemorate the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem and express our deep yearning for the time when we will return and rebuild the Third Temple. This hope and belief has been part of the Jewish soul since the moment of destruction. And throughout nearly two thousand years of exile, persecution, inquisitions, blood libels, pogroms, the Holocaust, Nazism, and Islamist terror that have afflicted our people, we have remained strong and resilient.
The focus on rebuilding, rather than just grieving and mourning the destruction, comes from G-d Himself. In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet is instructed to describe the Third Temple in all its detail. Known as Ezekiel's Temple, the prophecy lays out with great precision the architecture and dimensions of the future Beit Hamikdash.
The Midrash describes a conversation in which Ezekiel asks G-d, “Why are You teaching the people of Israel the laws of the Temple, the design, its entrances and exits, if they are not building it now?”
At the time, the Jews were in exile. Foreign rulers and adversaries had taken over their land and holy site, forbidding them from even entering it, let alone rebuilding. What was the purpose of learning about these ideas Ezekiel wondered?
G-d replies, “Should the building of My House be cancelled because My children are in exile? Go and tell them to study its form in the Torah. When they read about it and study it, I will consider it as though they are actually building it.”
This is not just a second-best option and it’s not simply a preparation for the future. G-d is revealing a deeper truth: when we engage with something deeply, when we study the details of the Temple and immerse our minds and hearts in it, we are transported to that reality. Even though we are physically still in exile and without the Beit Hamikdash, we can live emotionally, mentally, and spiritually in a state of redemption and rebuilding.
Even today, as adversaries continue finding new ways to attack us, whether through violence or by twisting “moral conscience” against the Jewish people, we can stand firm in our conviction. If we truly desire, we can live with a sense of freedom and redemption, and the peaceful wholesomeness it brings us and those around us.
We also build in a physical sense. Jewish communities, synagogues, and schools are blossoming across the world. This has always been the true Jewish response to destruction and death: rebuilding and birth. Thanks to your support, that is exactly what we are doing here in South Dakota.