Upon Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz’s arrival in Boise, Idaho, 18 years ago, a local Jewish professor insisted that he and his family attend a rodeo.
“He called one day and said, ‘I got you tickets. Let’s go!’ ”
“My wife and I reluctantly went,” says the rabbi, “and we saw horses and bulls jumping around, people falling off and getting on, referees blowing whistles and scoring … I had no idea what was going on.”
Welcome to Idaho, which according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is leading the country in population growth for the fifth year in a row. In 2021, 53,000 new residents moved to the state, increasing the population to nearly 2 million.
People have long moved to the state for its majestic nature, low crime rate, and low cost of living, with many more doing so in recent years when the coronavirus pandemic enabled more people to work remotely.
Jews have also been a part of this influx, says Lifshitz, who directs Chabad-Lubavitch of Idaho with his wife, Esther, estimating that 1,500 to 2,000 Jews now live in Boise, the state’s largest city. He estimates that another 1,000 to 2,000 Jews are scattered around the rest of the state. Every summer, Roving Rabbis spread across the state’s small towns, searching for and connecting with Jews.
“Probably, more Jews moved to Boise in the last couple of years than in the previous decade,” continues the rabbi. He noticed them coming from California, Seattle, Washington state, and even New York and Washington, D.C.
Because the area lacks basic Jewish necessities such as kosher-food stores—the rabbi arranges regular shipments of meat and dairy products—and there is not yet a day school, Jews who move to Boise do not typically prioritize their Jewish practice.
However, Lifshitz has been working hard to change all that, and last month, he oversaw the groundbreaking for the expansion of the Chabad center that will include Idaho’s first mikvah, a children’s library, the state’s first kosher commercial kitchen and space for CTeen activities for Jewish teenagers, which launched a local chapter this past year.
Dan J. Berger, an Israeli American who chairs the building committee and says he found his authentic Jewish home after moving to Idaho, is an example of Jews relocating to the state.
He told Chabad.org, “I left the East Coast to go on a road trip to pass the time during the first wave of Covid. What I didn’t realize is that I was actually following my spirit, which led me to Idaho. Chabad has been a key part of my integration into my new home. It has given me the spirituality I was seeking, but more so an authentic community of people who share the same values.”
‘One Step Closer to a Fulfilling Jewish Life’
Lifshitz purchased land for the mikvah shortly before the coronavirus pandemic, and construction began in July.
Rabbi Gershon Grossbaum, a mikvah expert, and others advised on the project and were flown in from all over the country to ensure it would be built to the highest standards.
Idaho’s Jewish community is isolated; the nearest Chabad center is in Salt Lake City, Utah, five hours away. Jewish women have had to take the trip to Salt Lake City to use the mikvah—about 12 hours of traveling time roundtrip, including stops. It is a one-hour plane ride, but flights are infrequent and traveling there often means staying the night.
Some of the main sponsors of the mikvah are not from Boise. Both this and another new mikvah in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, are dedicated to the memory of Yossi Kohn, a 22-year-old yeshivah student from Cleveland who was studying in Israel last year and was killed in the tragedy in Meron on Lag BaOmer. His family is pitching in to help raise funds.
Many non-Jewish dignitaries in the state attended the groundbreaking, including Boise’s Mayor Lauren McLean, U.S. Congressman Russ Fulcher and the state’s attorney general, Lawrence Wasden. Lifshitz remarked that it was heartening that so many non-Jews participated in commemorating the establishment of a Jewish spiritual landmark, noting that there is a very active non-Jewish religious community around the state, and he maintains good relations with them. In addition, the rabbi is often invited to speak to groups of non-Jews.
When Lifshitz first relocated to Boise, there was no minyan, even on Shabbat. Now there is a Shabbat minyan and a summer camp for children. And there’s still much work to be done, including establishing the state’s first all-Jewish cemetery.
Avital Amsellem, an Israeli who moved to the state with her family, has benefited from Chabad’s activities, telling Chabad.org, “As someone that came from Israel where it’s so easy to practice Judaism, living in Idaho has been a challenge for us.”
However, she continued, “With the great support of Chabad, providing kids’ Jewish education, facilitating the holiday services, and now the exciting news of the fund for the first mikvah, we are one step closer to a fulfilling Jewish life in Idaho.”
Join the Discussion