By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Mendel and Rikki Hertz (nee Levertov) were announced as the newest Shluchim in the State of Texas where they will be establishing the newest chapter of Chabad in South Austin.
Austin has been the fastest-growing major metro in the United States for 9 straight years, from 2010 to 2019, the Austin Business Journal reported. 169 people added a day on average, including babies and newcomers are moving there.
“South Austin has few Jewish organizations, and we are looking forward to providing Jewish opportunities to the hundreds of families (and growing) that live there,” Rabbi and Mrs. Hertz said.
Rabbi Hertz was born and raised in Chicago, where his father Rabbi Boruch Hertz leads Congregation B’nei Ruven and serves as the halachic authority for the Chabad community in Illinois.
He studied in Chabad Yeshivos in New York, England, and Israel, and received his rabbinical ordination in 2016. As an intern Rabbi, he provided educational programs and holiday events for Jewish communities around the world including Ukraine, Nigeria, and across the USA.
Mrs. Hertz was born and raised in Austin, where her parents Rabbi Yosef and Rochel Levertov have been serving as Shluchim. She studied in New York, continuing on to a teachers’ seminary in Israel. After receiving a degree in education in 2016, she accumulated extensive educational experience through her various work in Chabad schools and summer camps in the US and Australia.
“They will be focused on connecting with every Jew (in person or virtually) and providing new Jewish opportunities in the area,” the Levertovs said about the new Shluchim who were appointed by Rabbi Shimon Lazaroff, Head Shliach of Texas.
The Hertzes, who are settling in South Austin with their daughter, said that their goal is to “transform the landscape of Jewish life in South Austin for generations.”
Support their Shlichus at chabadsouthaustin.raisegiving.com
