Rabbi_Meir_and_Shaina_Rapoport.jpg
Rabbi Meir Rapoport and his wife Shaina Rapoport are opening a Chabad Jewish Center in Galloway to serve the Jewish student community at Stockton University.
(Submitted photo)
Rabbi Meir Rapoport and his wife Shaina Rapoport are opening a Chabad Jewish Center in Galloway to serve the Jewish student community at Stockton University. As part of their new roles as directors of the Jewish center, they will host religious services, educational programs, social programs, Sabbath and holiday meals, and more.
More than 20 years after his parents set down roots in Atlantic City and established a synagogue and many other services for the Jewish community, Rabbi Rapoport, who is one of 14 children, set out to follow in his parents' footsteps in expanding the vibrant Jewish life in Southern New Jersey.
Rabbi Rapoport's parents, Rabbi Shmuel and Tova Rapoport, were sent in 1984 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, to establish a Chabad-Lubavitch center for the community. The Rebbe, the most influential rabbi of modern times, sent thousands of couples, known as Shluchim (or emissaries), to all corners of the globe to engage with, and provide for, all Jews.
Rabbi Rapoport distinguishes himself through his love for music. He is a musician who inspires through song. Meir's Jewish studies and rabbinic internships have taken him to Ukraine, Peru, South Africa, Latvia, Mexico, Australia, Belgium, the Ukraine and Costa Rica.
Shaina shares her husband's passion for music, as well as art. Her desire to become a Jewish educator was instilled by her parents from an early age. Her father, Rabbi Yona Matusof was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and has been serving as a Chabad emissary with his wife Faygie in Madison, Wisconsin since 1980. Shaina worked for two years in Madison as a Hebrew school teacher and program coordinator.
After two years of coordinating Jewish holiday events at Stockton University on a volunteer basis, the couple became aware of the desire from the Jewish student community to have a full-time center where they could learn more about Judaism through social events and Jewish ceremonies.
"We look forward to using this opportunity to enhance Jewish life at Stockton. We hope that students find their own meaning in our work, be it spiritual or cultural. Our motto is 'Zero Pressure, Total Pleasure!'" said Meir. "For those looking for a unique experience or a home-cooked meal, our doors are always open," added Shaina.
Chabad on Campus is a rapidly expanding network of over 235 ambassador couples serving at Chabad houses at universities globally. It represents the largest network of full-time professionally staffed Jewish campus centers in the world.
For more information visit www.JewishStockton.com.
This item submitted by Lazer Cohan, WestRay Communications.