In a significant development for Moscow’s Jewish community, a new Chabad House and Jewish Community Center opened its doors in Zelenograd during this year’s Chanukah celebration. The inauguration, which took place on the fifth night of the holiday, marks a milestone for the thousands of Jewish residents in this science-focused district of Moscow.

Zelenograd, often called Moscow’s “Silicon Valley,” is one of the Russian capital’s twelve administrative districts and has emerged as a major technology and research center. Local Jewish residents expressed a growing need for a dedicated community center closer to home as the district expanded to include five large neighborhoods.

Responding to this community need, Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar appointed Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kleinberg and his wife to establish the new Chabad House. The Kleinbergs represent a new generation of Russian-born Jewish leadership – both grew up in Moscow as children of Chabad emissaries and were educated in the city’s Jewish institutions. “This appointment reflects a beautiful cycle of Jewish renewal in Russia,” Rabbi Lazar noted during the ceremony.

The new center, secured with support from local community members, will serve multiple functions, including regular prayer services, holiday celebrations, Torah study classes, youth programming, and community gatherings.

During the inauguration ceremony – attended by numerous local Jewish residents, along with Rabbi Mordechai Weisberg, Director of Moscow’s Jewish Communities and father-in-law of Rabbi Kleinberg – Rabbi Lazar affixed the mezuzah to the main entrance. Rabbi Kleinberg then lit the Chanukah menorah, symbolizing the center’s mission to increase Jewish light and pride in Zelenograd.

Photo credit: Levi Nazarov