Chabad Jewish Center in Laramie to Enhance Jewish Life in the Gem City
Rabbi Yaakov and Malkie Raskin found Wyoming’s second Chabad Jewish Center, serving the Jewish communities in Laramie and Cheyenne as well as Jewish students and faculty at UW
Rabbi Yaakov and Malkie Raskin have moved to Laramie to found Wyoming's second Chabad Jewish Center, this one serving the southeast Wyoming Jewish community.
For more than 70 years, Chabad representatives have visited Laramie — sent by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. When Rabbi Zalman and Raizy Mendelsohn established the Chabad Jewish Center of Wyoming in 2007, they began to make the six-plus-hour drive from Jackson Hole to visit Laramie and Cheyenne several times a year, developing friendships with many Jewish community members, who often expressed how meaningful it would be to establish a full-time Chabad presence in southeast Wyoming.
“After more than 70 years of Chabad visits and connection with Larmie’s Jewish community, we’re excited to welcome Rabbi Yaakov and Malky Raskin to found the city’s first Chabad Jewish center,” said Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn. “It’s heartening to hear how much the city’s modest, but proud Jewish community looks forward to welcoming them.”
While Laramie doesn’t currently have its own synagogue, the Laramie Jewish Community Center gather periodically for holiday services in borrowed space, and they’re rolling out the red carpet for the town's new rabbi.
"I moved to Laramie in 2018 from the Jewish community in Long Beach,” said Simcha Pollard, a professor of economics. Coming from a community with a much more robust Jewish presence, Pollard was thrilled to meet the Raskins, and overjoyed when he learned they had committed to move to Laramie. “The excitement I felt last year during Rabbi and Mrs. Raskin's visit to Laramie was not comparable to the joy that was realized when they told me they were to move here as full-time Chabad-Lubavitch ambassadors.”
The Raskins recently have set up a Chabad Jewish Center within walking distance from the University of Wyoming, and look forward to welcoming Jewish students, faculty, and Laramie’s residents to their newly-formed Chabad Jewish Center.
“When Malkie and I first visited, we were taken by the natural beauty and scenery, as well as the welcoming community,” Rabbi Yaakov Raskin said. “We look forward to joining Chabad in the Cowboy State and serving southeast Wyoming’s diverse and proud Jewish community.”
The Raskins bring extensive experience in Jewish communal leadership in large and small communities, as both have spent significant time interning with Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries around the world. Rabbi Yaakov studied in rabbinical schools in London and Manchester, England, as well as Kiryat Gat, Israel before being ordained at the West Coast Rabbinical Seminary. He served in leadership and counseling positions as a student rabbi in Istra, Russia; Winnipeg, Canada; and Salford, England.
Malkie studied in primary and high schools in Detroit, Michigan, before going on to Beis Chaya Mushka Seminary in Montreal, Canada. She served as a youth leader and educator in cities including Fairfax, Virginia; Tenafly, New Jersey; West Bloomfield, Michigan and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Raskins will wear many hats, as Rabbi Yaakov Raskin plans to offer chaplaincy services for the city’s hospitals, police and fire departments, local schools, and nearby Warren Air Force Base. They will also be opening a library of Jewish books for all ages and stages.
“Living in Laramie is a unique opportunity to meet and serve Jewish people from all walks of life,” said Malkie Raskin. “From professors to patients, from students to seniors — all are welcome at Chabad.”
The Raskins will also be servicing nearby Cheyenne — Wyoming’s capital city — which boasts the Mount Sinia Congregation, who are excited for the Raskins to complement their century-old Jewish presence. They also plan to provide Jewish resources for visitors and vendors at Cheyenne’s annual Frontier Days.
This past Chanukah, Rabbi Yaakov Raskin joined Rabbi Zalman Mendelsohn at Wyoming’s State Capitol for the public menorah lighting, where he presented Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon with a silver tzedakah charity box and formally announced the opening of the Chabad Jewish Center of Laramie to thunderous applause from those gathered from across the state for the event.
“We’re looking forward to getting to know the community in our new Wyoming home,” Raskin said. “And it’s heartening that they’re looking forward to getting to know us as well.
Find out more at JewishLaramie.com, email rabbi@jewishlaramie,com, or call 307-920-2613.