Chabad of Uptown

05/01/2026

LADIES SEFIRA PAINT NIGHT!
A beautiful afternoon of creativity, connection and meaning at our Women’s Sefira Paint Night.

During these special weeks of Sefiras HaOmer, we focus on refining the seven middos, the inner soul traits represented by the Sefiros. Together, we explored that message not only through discussion, but through color, texture and art, creating pieces that reflected the Sefiros we examine during this meaningful time of year.

A special thank you to the talented Jessica Pfrenger for guiding everyone with such creativity.

The evening was filled with delightful conversations, light bites and the joy of women coming together to learn, create and be inspired.

03/27/2026

Yesterday, in the Office of the Governor Greg Abbott, I had the privilege to join my fellow Chabad Rabbis & Rebbetzins of representing Chabad of Texas across the state in honor of Education and Sharing Day.

One of the most meaningful moments for me personally was presenting Governor Greg Abbott, on behalf of my father, Rabbi Shimon Lazaroff, head rabbi of Chabad of Texas, with a custom siddur opened to Modeh Ani; the first prayer a Jew says each morning, beginning the day with gratitude.

It felt especially powerful just before Shabbos Hagadol and Pesach. As we prepare for the Seder and the mitzvah of V’higadeta l’vincha, telling the story to our children, I was reminded that the heart of Judaism is not only what we believe, but what we pass on.

The Rebbe taught that education is about far more than information. It is about shaping character, values, and purpose. As we clean our homes for Pesach, may we also fill our hearts and the hearts of our children with gratitude, faith, and the joy of being Jewish.

Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Chaim and Chanie Lazaroff

03/06/2026

02/13/2026

Today, 26 Shvat 5786, marks a milestone for us: 20 years, two decades, since our first Jewish program in an established Uptown location.

After a meaningful and successful Rosh Hashanah in 2005 at the Houstonian Club and Spa, we began searching for a permanent presence in the Uptown neighborhood. In 2006, we moved into what was once the Post Oak Gallery, a “little shul that could,” filled with big dreams and warm souls. In 2007, we relocated to a storefront at Pavilion Mall on Post Oak, and then, in May 2009, we merited moving into our current home on Bettis Drive.

Over these two decades, we have shared so much life together: countless beautiful community events, simchas, Yom Tov celebrations, and also the more difficult moments, standing together through passings of loved ones and annual yahrtzeits. Through it all, it has been a privilege to grow alongside you and to provide consistent, meaningful, and uplifting Jewish programming for our community.

This year brought an additional brachah (blessing). Since January 2025, the arrival of the Cohens has significantly expanded our impact, and we are deeply grateful for the strength, heart, and dedication they bring to our community every day.

And most importantly, we want to thank each and every one of you, our dear community and supporters, who make Chabad of Uptown the warm, magical, and special place it is: from babies to seniors, from young professionals to young families, and everyone in between.

There is something especially fitting about reaching this moment in Parshas Shekalim. The Torah asks each Jew to give not a full shekel, but a half, teaching that no one stands alone as a complete story. Each person is indispensable, yet each person is also meant to be part of something larger. A half shekel only becomes meaningful when it is joined with another half, and that is how the communal offerings were brought: not by isolated individuals, but by a people acting as one. Even today, when we replace the half shekel with tzedakah, the message remains the same: we sanctify our work and our lives by setting aside for Hashem, and we renew our commitment year after year with fresh energy. The half shekel also carries a promise across time: it helps repair what was, strengthens what is, and prepares the blessing of what will be. That is what a community does when every person counts, and every person contributes their half.

Please join us this week for a special Shabbos Mevarchim & Shekalim Kiddush and Farbrengen, celebrating 20 years of Chabad of Uptown!

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Chaim & Chanie

02/13/2026

Chabad of Uptown hosted a Tu B’Shevat women’s event that brought together close to 45 women for an evening of learning, creativity and connection. The Feb. 1 program focused on making floral art focaccia from scratch, using vegetables and herbs as design elements, alongside a discussion of Tu B’Shevat and the significance of the seven special fruits of Israel.

The Jewish Herald-Voice - Houston's Jewish Newspaper

12/16/2025

My nephew was shot in the Bondi attack. We’re still celebrating Hanukkah | Opinion | Houston Chronicle
Even though we are still in shock, and even though we are still mourning, we know that the only response is to expand our light.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/nephew-bondi-attack-we-re-still-celebrating-21245065.php

By Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff

This week, Jews across the globe celebrate Hanukkah. The central message of the holiday is that light will always overcome darkness, that good will prevail over evil. For the past 23 years, I’ve shared this message at Hanukkah celebrations, menorah lightings, and holiday parties across Houston. This year, I realized just how potent that message truly is.

On Sunday, the world heard news about the horrific terror attack in Sydney, Australia, where fifteen people were murdered and dozens more were injured. For many in the Jewish community and in Houston generally, the news was devastating. But for my family, the news was personal. My nephew, Leibel Lazaroff, attended the event and was critically injured. A 20-year old who had just received his rabbinical ordination, my nephew had arrived in Sydney less than six weeks ago for a year of community outreach and practical rabbinical training. We are reciting chapters of Psalms hourly as a way to pray for him to make a full recovery.

Since the news broke, people have been asking if Chabad will be cancelling our menorah lightings and events this year. There is a temptation, after violence like this, to retreat, to cancel events and to lower our profiles. While this is understandable, our answer to the people is a resolute: No. We will not be cancelling our events this year.

The Chabad centers across Texas are of course taking every security measure necessary to ensure our events are safe, and we are working closely with law enforcement and professional security teams. Of course, we are still processing Sunday’s events and we are still in a state of shock. However, our response can’t be limited to just mourning or grieving.

In response to terror and hate, the response — since the days of the Maccabees — has been to stand taller, spread more light, and not back down. In the face of oppression and tyranny, our ancestors in ancient times didn’t accept the status quo or make themselves smaller, they stuck to the truth and with G-d’s help, defeated a much larger force of negativity and oppression.

One of the victims of the attack was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi and a leader in Australia’s Jewish community overall. Last Hanukkah, as antisemitism surged, Rabbi Schlanger answered the question that many were asking: How should we respond to all the hate? In a message sent to his community he stated: In the face of darkness, the way forward is the same. Be more Jewish, act more Jewish, and appear more Jewish.

What he meant is that when our identity is threatened, we can’t let the forces of darkness win. We must continue to shine our light.

But we take this one step further. The order in which the menorah is lit shares an important lesson. On the first night of Hanukkah, we light just one candle, adding an additional one until all eight are lit on the final night. We learn from this that it’s never enough to just spread light — we must always be growing the light, too.

So to the Jewish community who are still reeling, the best way I know of to react to this awful act of senseless violence is to rely on the deep and beautiful traditions that have been passed down to us. Light a menorah this Hanukkah. Attend a menorah lighting. Show your Jewish pride. And if you know someone who has nobody to spend Hanukkah with, invite them to your house and brighten their day.

To our allies and friends in Houston, we have the same message. When darkness rears its ugly head, be a force of light. Too many in the sphere of public discourse are downplaying the attack or even celebrating. I encourage each of you to be a voice of kindness and moral clarity — values that have sadly become all too uncommon in our modern society. Whether on social media or in the course of day to day life, be the shining example of the values upon which our society is built.

The lesson of the holiday — that darkness in all its manifestations can be overcome by just a little light – is ultimately what the menorah symbolizes. This year in Houston, we will light menorahs publicly, proudly and even more visibly. Even though we are still in shock, and even though we are still mourning, we know that the only response is to expand our light. Not because it is necessarily the safe or easy option. But because shrinking, hiding or turning inward is antithetical to what the holiday we are celebrating stands for.

Hanukkah teaches that darkness is real. It also teaches that light is a responsibility. May the light prevail this Hanukkah.

Chaim Lazaroff is rabbi and director at Chabad of Houston.

Chabad Jewish Student Center at Texas A&M University

12/12/2025

At our 19 Kislev musical farbrengen, members of the Houston Symphony, Sergei Galperin on violin and Sasha Potiomkin on clarinet, filled the room with stirring niggunim on the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. Midway through the evening, Sergei shared that playing at a Chassidic gathering carried deep personal meaning for him. He is a great nephew of the legendary chossid and askan Reb Mordechai Dubin.

Reb Mordechai Dubin was a towering Jewish leader in inter war Latvia, a statesman and communal powerbroker who used his access and influence to help Jews wherever they were in need. He was instrumental in the Frierdiker Rebbe’s liberation and was known for commanding respect without demanding it, always acting with courage, dignity, and responsibility. Yet his own story ended in tragedy. His family was destroyed by the N***s, and years later he himself died destitute and alone in Soviet captivity, a victim of the same Communist regime he spent his life resisting.

That tension between greatness and struggle is a recurring Jewish story. It is the kind of story that defines both this week’s Parsha and the festival of Chanukah. Vayeshev means settled, yet nothing about the story that follows is settled at all. Chanukah teaches the same truth. Light most often emerges in moments of darkness, transition, and upheaval, when one flame refuses to be extinguished.