Chabad of West Boca Raton

The Chabad of West Boca Raton is a safe haven for Jewish people in South Florida. With the Jewish population rapidly expanding and growing in Boca Raton, especially out in West Boca Raton, Rabbi Zalman and Chani Bukiet decided it was best to create an establishment where the community could continue to grow and celebrate Judaism. Overall, they strived to “strengthen Jewish identity in the area.” This Chabad offers a safe place for learning and worship and centers a lot of its focus on the youth in the area. 

The Chabad of West Boca Raton was a recent addition to the community having only finished construction in 2016. Considering the area is flourishing and more and more Jewish people are migrating across South Florida, there is a demand for more places of congregation for the Jewish community. The Chabad of West Boca is located on state road 441 between Glades and Yamato. 

The main focus of the Chabad of West Boca Raton is to incite learning and “expand the mind” as it relates to Judaism. Rabbi Zalman and Chani Bukiet felt inclined to create an environment that is centered upon creativity and exploration while focusing less on one's background, meaning that many non-Jewish people in the community are served as well. All around the Chabad is a comprehensive and inclusive space for the people of West Boca Raton.

Chabad-Lubavitch began around 250 years ago, with a goal of aiding and assisting communities around the world as well as educating and spreading “spiritual and physical needs” for all. Chabad-Lubavitch is an inclusive movement for everyone regardless of affiliation. Rabbi Zalman and Chani Bukiet expanded the movement and brought Chabad-Lubavitch to West Boca.

American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. “Orthodox Judaism.” Lubavitch and Chabad, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/lubavitch-and-chabad.

This site is a vital building block in my research about Chabad-Lubavitch. It provides very useful background knowledge on the movement and offers historical knowledge on how the movement came to be. Using this source will help me understand the historical standpoint of the institution that I chose to base my project on, especially since I am not Jewish myself and have much to learn on the subject. This source seems all around trustworthy and credible for speaking about the matter considering it is the most encyclopedic source on the internet in regards to Judaism. It includes many primary sources. I most likely will use this source in my research paper to enhance my credibility on my background knowledge of my institution.

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Chabad of Florida, https://www.chabadofflorida.com/. 

This source discusses the Chabad resources for my area/state specifically. The Chabad of West Boca Raton is in Florida, so using this source I'm able to find similar resources throughout the state that offer different programs and services. This source enables me to compare Chabad's similar to the one I am researching. This may not be as useful to my research as the other sources, but it is useful in the fact that I can compare and overall discover more resources in my area. I most likely will not use this source as much, but it is credible.

I accessed this source through Google.com where I used keywords Jewish, Chabad, and Florida.

Chabad of West Boca Raton. https://www.chabadwestboca.com/.

This website is the basis of my research and is the fundamental element into why I am researching this topic. When given the task to locate a historical landmark and discuss its history, I traveled back to my hometown where many of my peers, neighbors, friends, etc. are a part of the Jewish community. With this I figured choosing the Chabad of West Boca Raton would be a great way to learn about a vital part of my community back home. This source provides much detail about the origins of the Chabad of West Boca Raton and provides the information needed to discuss the main elements to my project. This source is trustworthy because it was created by the founders of the institution and overall is trustworthy and credible. This source is vital to my research. 

I retrieved this source from Google.com using the search terms Chabad and West Boca Raton.

Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center. About Chabad-Lubavitch - Chabad.org. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/36226/jewish/About-Chabad-Lubavitch.htm

This source, along with my first source from the Jewish Virtual Library, provides key background knowledge into the historical standpoint of Chabad-Lubavitch. Since my research and landmark I chose is based around a Chabad, it is vital to learn about the roots of the movement and where similar institutions came from. This site more specifically focuses on just Chabad-Lubavitch in comparison to the Jewish Virtual Library. This source appears to be credible; however, I don’t clearly see any primary sources listed and it seems this website may be more catered towards the community being able to discuss and talk with one another. Either way I will most likely use this source in my research paper. 

I similarly accessed this source from Google.com where I used the term Chabad-Lubavitch.

“Who Are Jews? an Overview of Jewish History from Ancient Times on, and the Origins of Antisemitism.” UW Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, 3 Oct. 2022, https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/who-are-jews-jewish-history-origins-antisemitism/. 

My other sources primarily pertain to the history and being of Chabad-Lubavitch, so I chose this source that discusses the history of Judaism as a whole to stray away from the specifics and learn about the general history of the religion that is related to Chabad-Lubavitch. This source gives background knowledge on how Judaism came to be and its origins. This source is helpful for my research because it provides the fundamental base for learning about Jewish people. This source seems credible, but I do not see any primary sources. I probably won't use this source as much as others in my research, but it will provide vital foreground knowledge.

I obtained this source from Google.com using keywords Jewish and history.