Chabad Jewish Center of Southern Oregon

12/23/2025

At 90%!!!! So close to our goal! only 2 hour left! Help keep our flame shining bright!! ChabadofAshlandofAshland.org/Matching

12/23/2025

We almost hit 40% of our goal
Thank you to all our partners !
Please donate today every dollar is currently being doubled!!
ChebadofAshland.org/matching

12/21/2025

Happening tomorrow!!

12/19/2025

Our Year-End Matching Campaign is live!! Every dollar is DOUBLED! keep Jewish life shining brightly in Southern Oregon. Now more than ever! ChabadofAshland.org/matching

12/16/2025

🕎 Medford Menorah Lighting 🕎
This Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 4:00 PM • Medford Center (near Tinseltown)
Music, hot latkes & donuts, and the lighting of a 10-foot menorah with Mayor Michael Zarosinski.
Rain or shine — held in a covered area.

12/14/2025

It is with very heavy hearts that we process the tragic news of the terror attack in Sydney, Australia, at Chabad of Bondi’s Menorah lighting — hatred once again spilling into a space meant for joy, freedom, and light. Eleven precious souls were taken from us. Among them was my colleague and friend, Rabbi Eli Schlanger הי״ד, who was brutally murdered at a public Chanukah menorah lighting in Bondi Beach, Australia. He leaves behind a wife and five young children.
Our hearts and prayers are with the Jewish community of Sydney during this painful and heartbreaking time. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who were murdered and our prayers for a full recovery to all who were injured. This tragedy has shaken us to the core.
Cowardly terrorists opened fire on hundreds of people celebrating the first night of Chanukah — a holiday whose very essence is the triumph of light over darkness. In this moment, we draw strength from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s timeless message: A small amount of light dispels much darkness.
We mourn. We grieve. And we stand firmly with the victims and their families. But we do not cower. The response of the Jewish people has never been to run and hide. We stand taller, live prouder, and shine brighter.
We will not retreat from our public expressions of Jewish pride. We will teach our children to be proud, visible, and unafraid. We will not whisper our values — we will gather, celebrate, and sing. If our Chanukah joy is diminished by fear, we grant the terrorists an additional victory. Terror seeks to provoke silence and fear; we must answer with faith, unity, and pride.
Please know: we have personally spoken with Ashland police department, who have assured me that today’s program will be fully secured.
This year, more than ever, it is vital that we attend public Menorah lightings and Jewish gatherings to demonstrate our resilience and strength. We will celebrate with extra joy — because this is how darkness is truly dispelled.
Photo: Rabbi Eli Schlanger הי״ד with his family, taken before the birth of their youngest child two month ago.

12/05/2025

A Timeless Lesson in Facing the Unknown

One of the most human moments in the Torah is Jacob preparing to meet his brother Esau after years of painful distance and unresolved tension. Jacob was scared. He didn’t know if Esau would attack, reject him, or shock him with something unexpected. That uncertainty feels timeless. We all know the knots in the stomach that come before a difficult conversation, a long-avoided reunion, or a moment where the outcome could change everything.

Jacob took a three-pronged approach. He prepared for conflict, he prayed, and he sent gifts as a gesture of peace. But the real story isn’t about strategy; it’s about emotional bravery.

Jacob was not a fighter. The idea of war terrified him, especially the potential cost to his family or the moral weight of harming someone even in defense. Yet he readied himself, because protecting loved ones sometimes means doing what feels unnatural but necessary.

His prayer came not from self-confidence, but from vulnerability. He worried he might not deserve help, but he spoke anyway. Authentic prayer doesn’t require perfection, it just needs honesty.

And the gifts? That could have really been an ego bruiser, being the one to bend first. But he chose peace over pride, communication over being “right.”

Jacob shows us what courage really is. It’s not the absence of fear, but acting while feeling it. Difficult moments ask for full hearts and balanced actions. Prepare for battle, ask for strength, and when possible, give first. That is how walls soften, families heal, and communities endure.

May we all choose the courage that unites and the humility that brings peace.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Avi

P.S Candle Lighting Times for Ashland: 4:21 pm

12/04/2025

The Menorah on the Ashland Plaza!
Lighting Dec. 14, 3:45pm

10/17/2025

Shabbat message
Dear Friends,
With the hostages coming home, we are reading, seeing, and experiencing their stories of immense bravery in the most horrific conditions. From refusing repeated calls to convert to Islam to bravely requesting (and receiving!) tefillin, they have shown us all the power of the Jewish soul and the potency that lies within the choice to remain masters of our own destiny.
There’s a powerful and timeless message in the early chapters of Genesis, one that speaks directly to this point. After Cain faced unimaginable guilt and loss, he could have withdrawn from the world. But instead, the Torah tells us that he built a city and named it after his son, Chanoch. In that simple but profound act, he showed that even in the face of tragedy, there’s a choice: to hide, or to rebuild. Cain chose life.
Interestingly, Chanoch comes from the same root as “chinuch,” meaning education. Building a city is one way to create a better world; educating the next generation is how we ensure it lasts. Real rebuilding happens not just with bricks, but with values—teaching our children to stand for light instead of darkness, compassion instead of cruelty, and hope instead of despair.
Throughout Jewish history, we’ve lived this truth. Even in our darkest moments, including the tunnels of Gaza, our response has never been to retreat. We gather, we comfort, we rebuild. Stronger, prouder, and more united than before.
Today, we declare: We will build, we will teach, and we will bring more light into this world. Because Am Yisrael Chai, the Jewish people live.
With heartfelt prayers for the ultimate rebuilding of our people and our land, with the coming of Moshiach.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Avi
P.S candle lighting today in Ashland is at 6:07pm

09/30/2025

⚖️ WHAT IS YOM KIPPUR ALL ABOUT?
What you should know about the holiest day of the year!

Yom Kippur begins tomorrow evening, Wednesday October 1st.

Learn more: ChabadofAshland.org/yomkippur

09/26/2025

09/17/2025