When Paul told the visiting students about his father’s situation, they arranged to visit him after the holiday. “According to the map, Kitengela seemed to be about a 50 minute drive away,” says Plotkin. The trip turned out to be twice as long as expected, with multiple twists and turns on rough dirt roads and prolonged delays for sheep crossings.

There is a “synagogue crisis” at large, and Chabad is not unaffected. Chabad rabbis and rebbetzins do draw crowds to their community events. Shabbat dinners and adult educational courses are well attended. Jews are engaging with us, and often in impressive numbers. But that’s not davening.

The High Holidays are a time dedicated to repentance and reflection. We’ve asked four Chabad leaders to share with us some of the regrets they feel as communal leaders, and what resolutions within the scope of their leadership responsibilities they’d like to make in the coming year.

Minnesota’s port city on the shores of Lake Superior is will soon have new Chabad representatives. Rabbi Mendy and Tirtza Ross and their two children will move shortly after the conclusion of the Sukkot holiday. Duluth’s Jewish population is small. Rabbi Mendy Ross estimates about 1,000 Jews living in the region. “But who knows? There could be even more.” But small is fine. “We’re not looking to attract thousands of participants to a big event."

This time of year, when people may feel more motivated to attend synagogue for High Holiday services, the mechitzah separating the men and women sometimes becomes a sticking point. The world is evolving with more equal rights for everyone. If Chabad would accommodate mixed gender seating, it would have wider acceptance. Why don’t you adopt this practice to better fit with the times?

This time of year, when people may feel more motivated to attend synagogue for High Holiday services, the mechitzah separating the men and women sometimes becomes a sticking point. The world is evolving with more equal rights for everyone. If Chabad would accommodate mixed gender seating, it would have wider acceptance. Why don’t you adopt this practice to better fit with the times?

Something has changed. In our minds, Yom Kippur has become complicated. The service doesn’t speak to us—the idea of sin no longer resonates. Praying all day in a foreign language seems alienating, fasting uncomfortable. And anyway, isn’t change something personal that can’t be scheduled, but has to happen on our own timetable?

What motivates young couples to pick up and move from their families and comfort zones to an unfamiliar place—without convenient access to Jewish resources—to build a community from scratch? It’s the Rebbe, they’ll all tell you.

When Paul told the visiting students about his father’s situation, they arranged to visit him after the holiday. “According to the map, Kitengela seemed to be about a 50 minute drive away,” says Plotkin. The trip turned out to be twice as long as expected, with multiple twists and turns on rough dirt roads and prolonged delays for sheep crossings.

Minnesota’s port city on the shores of Lake Superior is will soon have new Chabad representatives. Rabbi Mendy and Tirtza Ross and their two children will move shortly after the conclusion of the Sukkot holiday. Duluth’s Jewish population is small. Rabbi Mendy Ross estimates about 1,000 Jews living in the region. “But who knows? There could be even more.” But small is fine. “We’re not looking to attract thousands of participants to a big event."