This past Sunday, over three hundred people joined together to celebrate the Grand Opening Celebration of the Chabad Center of Sudbury. The stunning weather and beautiful outdoor setting helped set the tone for the beautiful event. Eleven years after the founding of the organization and three years after the building project was launched, the center was finally ready to celebrate with the community that helped make this project into a reality.
"I was wrong"
Nancy Schwartz chaired the event and spoke of her initial feelings eleven years ago of expected failure for this new Chabad Center in Sudbury, and now eleven years later, here we are celebrating with hundreds of people the opening of a beautiful new building to serve the growing numbers of families that come to Chabad . Nancy then passionately made the declaration that she jokingly said, you will never hear me say again, “I was wrong”!
Rabbi Freeman then spoke of his gratitude to the community and the many hundreds of people who helped make this dream a reality. He thanked the advisory committee, the many people who have gone the extra mile with so many details of the project, the neighbors for being so welcoming, Shayna the Co-Director, his children and all of the many people who contributed and help create the beautiful new center.
"A Freezing Night in 2006"
Rabbi Freeman then told the story of how on Jan 15th 2006, the very first night of his move to Sudbury, he woke up in the middle of the night freezing and shivering. He described how he couldn’t for the life of himself, figure out why it was so cold, and more importantly how they would ever handle such crazy cold weather.
When he got up in the morning he was still just as cold and baffled at just how freezing Massachusetts was. Yet then he went downstairs only to discover that he had left the front door wide open after bringing in all the boxes from the moving truck, and had allowed the chilling and biting wind to cool down and freeze up the house throughout the night.
He said that right away he realized two things, firstly Massachusetts is not as cold as he thought it was and secondly, the front door staying wide open on the first night was a reminder that their job in Sudbury was to create a space and place whose doors both figuratively and sometimes literally need to always stay open for the hearts and minds of the community that they seek to serve.
Rabbi Freeman then spoke about the philosophy of the Chabad Movement and the rapid growth that it is experiencing across the globe as its welcome and warm approach that is inspired by the vision of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, has created a joy and sense of belonging to the hundreds and thousands of people who are touched and inspired by each Chabad Center.
Following the sounding of the Shofar and some heartwarming melodies along with some live musical entertainment, six speakers arose to tell the story of Chabad of Sudbury and how it has impacted their lives.
Six Personal Stories with Chabad of Sudbury
Charlie Sherer a twelve year old student in the Chabad Hebrew School 
spoke of his wonderful educational experience at the Hebrew School and how it has made him appreciate what being a Jew is. Chloe Meyer a Junior in Southborough High School, then told her story of how she found Chabad through Google and then learned with Shayna, had a Bat Mitzvah and now helps with the Hebrew School each week and helps plan Chabad programs. Chloe also spoke of her summer experience with Chabad Teens Extreme Camp which travelled across part of America and did extreme sports and activities, and spoke of the many new friends she has made through this experience and her involvement in Chabad. Then Avi Lepsky a senior in Lincoln Sudbury High School spoke of his memories of Hebrew School in the Rabbi’s basement with three other students and how his journey into Bar Mitzvah and now as a High School student has been inspired, enriched and shaped by the Jewish values he has experienced and learned about at Chabad. Avi also spoke of when his Israeli grandmother spoke at his Bar Mitzvah of the special closeness that she felt to Judaism at his Bar Mitzvah, that she had never felt so much before, even though she lived in Israel. Avi then connected it to the special touch of Chabad that enables be to connect to the past and to each other while retaining and developing their Jewish identity.
Following the inspiring stories of the youth and their encouragement to others to participate and enjoy these programs, three adults shared their story with Chabad of Sudbury. Fran Levy, spoke of how she moved to Sudbury five years ago and started checking out local temples, and then one Saturday 
she walked into the second floor office that was then Chabad, and as she walked in she said “she knew she had arrived at her new Jewish home”. Fran spoke of how man’s steps are directed by G-d and how fortunate she considers herself to be a participant in Shabbat services and in the classes and programs that are put on by Chabad.
Then Mark Rosen of Sudbury who is fighting ALS, spoke through a computer and shared his initial tremendous skepticism at meeting the Chabad Rabbi, which he said is probably the story of everyone else, and then his subsequent deep and beautiful relationship that he has developed with the Chabad Rabbi that has enriched his life and helped him overcome his inner struggles regarding his Jewish identity and values. In Mark’s closing words “my Jewish identity is no longer split. While still secular and non-observant, those questions no longer concern me because of my affiliation with Chabad of Sudbury. I have never been prouder of my Jewishness to be associated with Chabad of Sudbury - my life is forever changed by my participation - and I will bet that so many of you feel the same way. I am honored to be a part of us; my life has been enriched as I now have a place to go to express my Judaism too”.
The last person to tell their story of Chabad of Sudbury was Rena Finder, the 
youngest survivor of Schindler’s List. Rena spoke of her relationship with the Freeman’s and Chabad which started when her husband was in the Wingate Nursing Home and how her husband and her loved the weekly visits, the Challah from Shayna and the beautiful and rich relationship that she now has with the Freeman’s. Rena ended her comments by saying that she now feels like she is a part of the Freeman and Chabad Family.
After the story of Chabad was shared greetings were shared by Len Simon a selectman from Sudbury, and a special welcome was made to State Rep Carmine Gentile who was also in attendance.
The Story in Short
The Freeman children, Chana, Levi, Zalman and Mendel then proceeded to tell the story of the purchase and development of the building from their perspective. What followed was a five minute story filled with humor and rich moments as they shared their perspectives of the ups and downs of the journey and of all the construction and zoning codes that they have now learned.
A Word from some Donors
Closing off this part of the program were Rick and Gabrielle Henken and Charles and Jill Katz who spoke of why they have supported Chabad and its 
growth in the community and why they feel that it is playing such a great and positive role in the Sudbury area. They spoke of how proud they are to be a part of the Chabad Center of Sudbury, enjoyed its classes and programs and how it has enriched their lives.
Following their remarks, Shayna Freeman presented both couples with a small token of appreciation for their tremendous support of the Chabad Center and ended off the formal part of the program with an invitation to the crowd to come and enjoy the new center and tremendous and rich array of programming for every age.
The crowd then walked over to the front entrance and watched the affixing of the Mezuzah on the front door and the ribbon cutting for the new building which was followed the singing of Siman Tov Umazal Tov.
Everyone then enjoyed a beautiful lunch that included a full Bagel Spread, a Sushi Bar, a Blintz Station and a Beverage Bar. People enjoyed walking through the building, meeting their neighbors and other families in the community and enjoying the special moment.
It was a tremendous celebration, but it is truly only the beginning of a whole new stage of Jewish life in Sudbury.
If you would like to make a special celebratory donation in honor of the opening and to help support the many programs that will take place in the new center, click here.
To see hundreds more pictures click here.