South Dakota emissaries: Rabbi Mendel and Mussie Alperowitz, with their two daughters (Chabad)
SIOUX FALLS — Chabad will open a Jewish center in South Dakota, meaning it will now have a presence in all 50 states.
The announcement of the center in Sioux Falls was made Sunday, Nov. 27, at the final banquet of the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries in New York City to a crowd of 5,600 rabbis and guests from 90 countries.
The center is set to open this winter under the direction of Rabbi Mendel and Mussie Alperowitz, currently of Brooklyn, according to Chabad.org.
Chabad-Lubavitch has been serving Jews in South Dakota for more than half a century, since the establishment of Roving Rabbis, which dispatches young rabbis and their wives to small and isolated communities in the US and around the world.
The number of Jews residing in South Dakota is estimated to be about 400, but Mendel Alperowitz estimates it may be as high as 1,000, with many arriving in recent years to work in the state’s growing financial and health care industries, according to Chabad.org.
Though they will be based in Sioux Falls, the couple plans to travel to other Jewish communities in South Dakota and visit Jewish individuals throughout the state, including prisoners.
There are two Reform synagogues in the state, Mt. Zion in Sioux Falls and the Synagogue of the Hills in Rapid City. Neither has a full-time rabbi.
