Almost two years after Chabad of Bethesda announced that it was purchasing a neighboring property on Goldsboro Road and beginning a synagogue expansion, the second phase of the project is getting underway, with the goal of creating a new educational space in an important time.
The synagogue has been located at the Goldsboro location since 2017 and completed one phase of its expansion plan in 2019, which was the construction of the sanctuary on the property, and was forced to begin phase two in April, earlier than expected due to a boon in popularity.
“We have experienced tremendous growth in recent years in terms of the programming that we are doing, the enthusiastic involvement in the community. It hit a strike point that has forced us to move at a faster clip in terms of growing the physical home of our community,” said Rabbi Sender Geisinsky, co-director of Chabad of Bethesda.
Geisinsky said they thought that with the initial sanctuary expansion that they’d be set for several years, but the addition of 150 families over the last six years changed those assumptions.
Chabad does not use a dues system, and membership is derived from the synagogue’s internal engagement metrics.
“We actually had a significant uptick in terms of communal involvement right through COVID. I think part of that had to do with the fact that we were particularly committed to growth at a time when people perhaps need community more than ever,” Geisinsky said.
Geisinsky said that because of the need for expansion he and his wife, Nechama Geisinsky, the other co-director, and their children would need a nearby place to live. The Chabad center is initially the home of the rabbi and their family until it becomes built up.
By good fortune, the owners of a neighboring property informed the Geisinskys of the upcoming sale and the synagogue was able to close on the home.
Now, with the family having moved out, the plans have been able to move forward and fundraising on the project has begun, along with initial work on building plans.
“What is now left to do is to bring this whole long project to its amazing conclusion — to build the annex that would allow for the expansion of the synagogue with the preschool, the Hebrew school, library, classrooms, offices, teen lounge, etc.,” Geisinsky said.
The synagogue has already raised $171,514, which accounts to about 38% of their $450,000 goal, and presents the next big hurdle in getting the project completed, along with acquiring building permits and getting all the necessary approvals.
Geisinsky said that the residential area of the old property will be knocked down and replaced with an educational center and that they have preliminary approval from the county and state for their plan.
“We anticipate that this will probably still take about anywhere between five to 10 months before we put a shovel in the ground,” Geisinsky said.
The expansion to create a new educational center has taken on even more importance since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and the rise of antisemitism around the world and the U.S. over the past year.
Geisinsky said there is a sense that many younger Jews are looking for answers and that, to combat a growing darkness, you must provide light.
“Many of our own Jewish community, but especially the younger generation, seems to not have that same sense of clarity, not just about Israel, but about Judaism, and has left us, to a certain degree, asking a lot of questions and not necessarily having all the answers,” Geisinsky said.
He added that now is the time to be a resource for people and to find a way to give the next generation a pride and love for Israel and their own Judaism.
Geisinsky said that he felt a reason for Chabad of Bethesda’s success during COVID was because they did not give in to despair and instead expanded what they were providing because people desperately needed that, which is a resonating message.
“People need this in their lives, they need this spiritual light. This is the light of the joy of the community, to be able to get through this, the Hebrew school, whatever it is, the message has to be a positive and an exciting one. You can’t just teach children. You need to make sure that they are excited and feel connected to their duties,” Geisinsky said.
