Chabad Brings “Audacious Hospitality” to Fredericksburg, Virginia

Dr. Neil Green has lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia for a long time.

The well-regarded radiologist has worked in the local healthcare community for more than 25 years. A passionate and proud Jew, Green always sought to connect with the Jewish community and welcomed opportunities to learn more about his heritage.

Fredericksburg’s Jewish history is as long and storied as the city itself. Jews have lived here since before the American Revolution. They played a notable role rebuilding the city after it was devastated during the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862. Today, hundreds of Jewish families call the city home, and hundreds more Jewish students attend the University of Mary Washington—named after George Washington’s mother, who lived here. The close-knit Jewish community, where parents volunteered to teach each other’s kids their Bar and Bat Mitzvah Lessons, was a happy environment for the Greens. “No formal rabbinic leadership meant services and life functions were led by dedicated lay leaders who rose to each occasion,” Green said.

When the eldest child of Neil and his wife Cindy went off to study at Elon University, he met Rabbi Mendy Minkowitz. Soon the Greens and their children became familiar with Chabad’s offerings. Eventually, their oldest transferred to Virginia Tech, and a second child began attending the University of Virginia. “Chabad was always there for both of them.” 

Now, Green looked for a Chabad that could give him what he sought.

“Over the years, I developed a desire to learn more about the wisdom found in our rich Jewish texts but couldn’t find any expertise locally,” Dr. Green told Lubavitch.com. “We are—after all—called the ‘People of the Book,’ and I wanted to learn more.”

Green and a friend began driving the hour each way to and from Chabad-Lubavitch of Northern Virginia in Fairfax, VA, where they joined Chabad’s Jewish Learning Institute classes. “The class was excellent—and the hour-long car ride with my friend was equally enjoyable, as we discussed what we had learned on each trip home,” he said. Still, it was far from convenient, especially when the DC-area traffic interfered. “Sometimes with traffic we wouldn’t get home until very late at night on a weekday,” Green said.

Earlier this summer, Dr. Green got a call from a friend. Chabad would be coming to town. Developer Larry Silver—and parents of University of Mary Washington students—had asked Chabad of Virginia, led by Rabbi Yossel and Nechomi Kranz, to invest in a Chabad on Campus branch at UMW. Rabbi Shaya and Mushky Gourarie answered that call. The young couple moved to town to lead the Maxine and Carl D. Silver Jewish Center built by Silver to honor his parents. The center would now become the latest of the hundreds of Chabad on Campus branches around the world. 

Dr. Green’s friend told him that the Gouraries were interested in meeting local Jews. Neil and Cindy attended their first event—a Lag B’Omer barbecue—and quickly became regulars at Chabad events, including monthly community Shabbat dinners, Shabbat services, kiddush luncheons, and weekly Torah classes. “Rabbi Shaya brings a level of Jewish teaching and a wealth of knowledge that we have not seen locally,” Dr. Green said.

Now Dr. Green still has those engaging post-class discussions with his friend, but they no longer have to worry about traffic during their five-minute drive home.

“The feeling of audacious hospitality that I felt the first time I walked into a Chabad is present here too,” Green said. “This fall when the UMW college students return from break, I hope that they have the same sense of warmth, family and connection. I know Rabbi Shaya has many other activities in the works for them.”