David and Fern Grace wanted their daughter Mackenzie to know more about her Jewish roots, but their education options were limited in the small Jewish community around Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, Fla. Then they met Rabbi Mendy Bukiet, who asked if they’d be interested in sending their daughter to a Hebrew school if his Chabad-Lubavitch center opened one.
“We thought it’d be very nice if it’d happen, but who knew if it was going to happen,” recalls David Grace.
The couple’s skepticism proved unfounded. Chabad of Bradenton opened up a Hebrew school, and has counted Mackenzie as a student for the past six years. She’s now preparing for her bat mitzvah, and when asked if she enjoys it, Mackenzie provides an enthusiastic “yes!”
“It’s not just teaching in the classroom like in regular school,” says the 11-year-old. “You have a say in the class discussion. I like that everybody feels like a family there.”
Located between Tampa and Sarasota, Bradenton is the largest city in Manatee County, on Florida’s west coast. Lakewood Ranch is a planned community offshoot that launched in 1995 and has been growing steadily since. When Mendy and Chana Bukiet moved to the area eight years ago, theirs was the only traditional Jewish presence in the county.
Now fully moved in to a renovated 2,600-square-foot facility on a five-acre plot of land the Chabad House purchased last year, it still is.
“They make everybody welcome,” says Fern Grace. “They don’t make children or anyone else feel uncomfortable for the lives they lead outside of Hebrew school or synagogue.”
The center has come a long way from its beginnings in the Bukiets’ home. They had about 70 people at their first Rosh Hashanah service, and now pull in more than 200 for the High Holidays.
“When we first visited, we were surprised by the strong need for Judaism here,” says Chana Bukiet. “The people in the community are very interested.”
During their tenure, the Bukiets have operated out of six different locations, renting space in banks and schools.
“We’re keeping up with the tradition of being wandering Jews,” the rabbi jokes. “By having our own property we’re able to look into the future, and as the community grows we’re able to grow with it.”
The center hosts communal Sabbath lunches, learning programs, women’s groups and a summer camp. With 45 children this year, the Hebrew school continues to be one of its most popular programs.
“The kids have a blast,” says Steve Shapiro, a sixth-grade teacher at the school.
Five years ago Shapiro saw an ad in the local newspaper for High Holiday services at Chabad, and decided to give it a try. He had previously thought Chabad, and other Chasidic groups, to be rather insular, but soon changed his mind after meeting the rabbi and his wife. The first time the rabbi visited Shapiro’s home, Shapiro admitted that he didn’t live a very Jewish life. But Bukiet told him to celebrate what he does do, rather than focus on what he doesn’t. Now the rabbi refers to Shapiro as the Chabad House’s chazzan, while his wife Colleen looks forward to starting a children’s garden at the new center.
An annual Chanukah menorah lighting in Lakewood Ranch Square draws several hundred people, and for Shapiro, it’s symbolic of Chabad’s mission. The Bukiets are lamplighters, he explains, igniting a spark in every Jew; the fact that the new center adds a sense of permanence to the organization will only strengthen the effect.
“You really feel like you’re a valued part of the congregation,” agrees Barbara Schur, who began attending after years of involvement with Chabad of Sarasota, where she lives.
A retired librarian, Schur has embarked on a mission of her own: To build a library for the new center, which though just a shelf now, Schur hopes to see grow through donations.
Lauren (Leba) Howitt-Vallone, a founding member who lives in Sarasota, had previously been involved with a Chabad House in Rochester, N.Y., and in Sarasota. The Bukiets have worked tirelessly to “instill and nurture Jewish pride,” she states, recalling that when her granddaughters lived with her, the youngest was too young for Hebrew school, so Chana Bukiet started a Torah Tots program.
“That touched me personally,” says Howitt-Vallone. “They do everything with so much heart and enthusiasm. Chabad of Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch is truly an extended family.
“I was always Jewish, but I was kind of quiet about it,” she adds. “Now I’m really proud of my Judaism, and a lot of that is because of them.”
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