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 1994 - Rabbi Sholom and Dinie Ciment arrive in Boynton. They join thousands of emissaries -Shluchim of The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson who will devote their lives to The Jewish people. Their journey begins. They know not a soul. Undeterred, these pioneers begin implementing their life-long training as disciples of their Rebbe.
Chabad-Lubavitch of Greater Boynton – Beis Menachem, the sole traditional Jewish presence within a 15 mile radius begins to take shape amidst the under-developed, hundreds of acres of empty pasture land called Boynton Beach.
1999 - 2002 Galvanizing 5 years of ground work, Chabad purchases 2.5 acres, later followed by the adjacent 2.5 acres. Ground is broken in 2001. Ribbon cutting on the first phase of The Rae & Joseph Gann Campus for Living Judaism.
2003 -04 As phases 2 & 3 of the campus are under construction, Chabad partners with an area developer to build exclusive “kosher” homes around the soon to be completed 20,000 square foot campus. A national advertising campaign showcases Chabad’s fledgling community; its flagship institutions and new estate homes. This initiates an influx of hundreds of young families, and newly retired couples, to settle round Chabad’s Campus for Living Judaism.
2005 – Chabad’s resplendent synagogue, Award winning Pre-School, and breathtaking Womens Mikvah are completed. An Eruv, eventually 25 square miles in size, enhances Shabbat observance for tens of thousands.
2007 - 09 Rabbi & Mrs. Yossi and Shainy Raichik are hired as Chabad’s adult education and youth directors. They are charged with opening the satellite Chabad center in West Boynton. For this new frontier, Chabad of West Boynton purchases a 5 acre campus on Boynton Beach Blvd amidst the booming development in the area.
2010 - 11 – The Greater Boynton Community Kollel is inaugurated, staffed by eight Rabbis and lay leaders. The JECC Pre-School is awarded its first, of three consecutive 5 star ratings by Palm Beach County. Mei Menachem Mikvah welcomes its 2,500th visitor.
2012 -13 - From a starting nucleus comprised of The Rabbi, Dinie and then 1 year old son Mendel, 18 years and tens of thousands of Jews later, this central Palm Beach County region has been forever altered, with many future generations of enduring Judaic life on its G‑d blessed, promising horizon.
Tonight we officially mark the debut of this traditional Jewish community into the family of significant Jewish communities around the United States and the world. Having shouldered its birth, nurtured its growth and fueled its development, a small army of angels – Chabad’s partners and friends – will meaningfully celebrate an evening 18 years in the making.
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