Our family arrived from Russia to France in 1947. I [Chani Lipsker, Chabad emissary in Miami since 1969] was born the next year, second of five children. When I was six, we moved to Crown Heights to be with the Rebbe. The highlight of every week was attending synagogue on Shabbat, and when there was a farbrengen with the Rebbe, I and other girls my age would stay for the duration. We sat for hours, observing, listening, and absorbing the Rebbe’s energy, words, and wisdom.
Upon graduation, my mother wanted me to visit her parents, who lived in Paris, serving as the Rebbe’s emissaries. Yet, my father was not excited about a 17-year-old girl traveling so far on her own. We consulted the Rebbe and he gave me his blessing for the trip, on condition that it included a stint at the Chabad girls’ school, Bet Rivkah in Yerres, just outside of Paris.
Transformational
My trip was transformational. I realized I was living as a privileged American girl. My family didn’t lead a luxurious life, but some of the girls in Yerres were the children of Holocaust survivors, or from broken homes, with so much pain in their lives – and still they were happy and smiling. Being around them was humbling. They taught me what was truly important in life, and they helped me gain a broader perspective. That summer, I grew up.
A few years later, I was married and teaching in Crown Heights while my husband studied Torah full time. We had hoped to continue this arrangement but, after about a year, the Rebbe told us to start looking for a position in the field of Jewish outreach – as his emissaries.
Word got out, and several such opportunities were proposed to us. We prepared to present them to the Rebbe at our next private audience. My husband, Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar, was twenty-two and I was twenty years old, and we were facing a monumental decision: Where would we be spending the rest of our lives?
A Soldier
Before meeting with the Rebbe, my husband of one year told me: “Chani, I know you like to talk, but when we stand in front of the Rebbe, we have to listen and accept what he says, without comment. A chassid is supposed to be a soldier.”
Before our meeting, we stopped at my parents’ home and I confided to my mother, “Ma, I’m so nervous.”
“What’s there to be nervous about?” she reassured me. “You’re going to the Rebbe; he is a Rebbe but he’s also a father. If you feel you need to express yourself, then tell him whatever is on your heart. Say exactly how you feel.”
I was getting mixed messages but decided to listen to my husband. We entered the Rebbe’s room and put our note on his desk. My husband was as white as a sheet. The Rebbe carefully read our note, and looked up with his answer. He directed us to go to Miami Beach: My husband would serve as the principal of the local Chabad school and I would be a teacher.
I’m Going with You
Today, Miami is a bastion of thriving Jewish life, but back then it seemed like a spiritual vacuum.
“Rebbe,” I said, without realizing I was now talking, “I want to go and do this shlichut, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to live up to representing the Rebbe. And it’s going to be hard for me to leave my family, friends and community. I don’t know if I can do it.”
The Rebbe sat up straight in his chair and outstretched his hand. “I am going along with you,” he declared with an expansive gesture. “But,” he added, “it should be with joy.”
His smile lit up the room and lit up our lives. The Rebbe’s words became a motto we kept from then on. Hearing that the Rebbe would be with us and that he believed in us was so uplifting. There was no longer any question whether we’d be successful.
We arrived in Miami in 1969 and began cultivating a community around the school. After twelve years, we were approached about a project in nearby Bal Harbour. There wasn’t any visible Jewish life there, but when a developer named Mr. Sam Greenberg began planning a large building in the area, the Rebbe had advised him that he would need a synagogue too. Now he was asking us to pilot it, and the Rebbe gave his blessings for success. “It’s the right thing to do,” he told us.
Continuing to Grow
The locals weren’t very welcoming. People would yell, “Go back to Israel! Who needs you here?” “We can’t play with you,” our children would hear. “Our father doesn’t like Jews!”
But with Hashem’s help, the Rebbe’s blessings, and a great team of fellow Chabad emissaries, our community continues to grow exponentially. Since the Rebbe was never satisfied with the status quo, our work is never done. We keep on striving to accomplish our mission, and to impart a sense of Jewish pride to every Jew in our zip code.
Despite the challenges – when it came to supporting ourselves, having children, health issues, and much else – we never felt dejected, and never felt alone. We knew that we had the Rebbe’s promise: “I am going along with you, but it should be with joy.”
Mrs. Chani Lipskar has served as a Chabad emissary in Miami since 1969, together with her husband, Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who passed away on May 3 (5 Iyar), 2025, at the age of 78. She was interviewed in her home in October of 2021 by JEM. Adapted and reprinted from melavamalkastories.com
