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Rabbi Chaim Zippel writes notes in his Lehi home on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Zippel's home serves as Chabad of Utah County, a Jewish meeting place.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald file photo

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Rabbi Chaim Zippel reads the Chumash, a Torah in printed form, in his Lehi home on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Zippel's home serves as Chabad of Utah County, a Jewish meeting place.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald file photo

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Prayer books are stacked together on Rabbi Chaim Zippel's desk at his Lehi home on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Zippel's home serves as Chabad of Utah County, a Jewish meeting place.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Sylvia Lam and Vinh Nguyen celebrate Lam's heritage at the new Jewish Chabad of Utah County.

Courtesy Sylvia Lam

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Ari Adelberg and his family are excited to attend the Chabad of Utah County.

Courtesy Ari Adelberg

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Rabbi Chaim Zippel poses for a photo with his son, Toviah, in his Lehi home on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Zippel's home serves as Chabad of Utah County, a Jewish meeting place.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald file photo

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Rabbi Chaim Zippel poses for a photo in his Lehi home on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Zippel's home serves as Chabad of Utah County, a Jewish meeting place.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Everyone needs a place of belonging, of community, where they can feel a part. After years of hoping, members of the greater Jewish community in Utah County now have such a place.

In the first week of December, Rabbi Chaim Zippel and wife Esty moved to Utah County and established the Chabad of Utah County in Lehi. It is currently in their home.

For the first time, Jews of all kinds have a center, a gathering place to have meaningful experiences, to pray, to celebrate, to educate and be educated, and to get to know one another.

Rabbi Zippel is not new to Utah; in fact, he was raised here. Now he is following in his father’s footsteps. His father, Rabbi Benny Zippel, established the first Orthodox synagogue — Chabad Lubavitch of Utah — in Utah about 30 years ago.

“We hit the ground running,” Zippel said. That first week, Zippel and his wife opened their new home for a Hanukkah party and 40 people showed up.

“We expected a small gathering,” Zippel said. “Every single day we meet someone new.”

By the Jewish festival of Purim in March, there were 60 people at the Chabad.

There have long been Jews living in Utah County, but until now their options for worshipping included either traveling, such as to Salt Lake City, or seek services online. But there is one thing Zippel is sure about: Those of the Jewish faith and culture are moving to Utah County.

Sylvia Lam and her family moved to Saratoga Springs five years ago for new opportunities and to start a family. She and her husband, Vinh Nguyen, are originally from San Jose, California.

“Since moving to Utah County, our family has grown and we now have two children — our son is 3 1/2 years old and our daughter just turned 1,” Lam said. “We are a multicultural and an interfaith family. My husband was not raised religiously at all, but he is very supportive of raising our children Jewish and I am so grateful for this. He even reminds me when it’s getting close to the time to light our Shabbat (Sabbath) candles.”

Lam said helping her children know and understand what it means to be Jewish is very important to her.

“When our son was born, COVID made it difficult to find in-person activities and we were limited to virtual activities through PJ Library and other groups, which were very fun and helpful, but I still yearned for opportunities to connect and meet in person,” Lam said.

“After COVID restrictions were let go, we looked for resources and community events close to our home, but found that most activities were located in the Salt Lake City area,” Lam added. “With two small children, the commute made it very challenging to participate. Someone would fall asleep in the car and have difficulty waking up … or timing would just not work for us and our children’s meal or nap schedule in general.”

So for about three years, Lam and her family spent a lot of time online engaging in virtual Tot Shabbat services for children.

“I made friends in parent groups on Facebook and found a virtual study partner through Project Inspire to meet with weekly,” Lam said. “Our family would simply keep Shabbat and celebrate holidays at home together.”

“When I found out Chabad of Utah County was going to open here, I was very eager to get involved,” she added. “We are so grateful to have a Jewish community close to our home, activities to attend with others and the support of Rabbi Chaim and his wife Esty. They are both so welcoming, passionate and approachable. My son talks about his friend Rabbi often.

“I feel like this very important part of our life is finally here. Having this resource and community close to home has not only helped strengthen our faith and our identity, but also our family as a whole.”

Before, Lam and Nguyen felt like they were one of the only Jewish families in Utah County.

“But after getting involved with Chabad, we found there are so many of us here and that we’ve all been waiting for this to happen,” Lam said. “We feel so lucky to be a part of our amazing Jewish community here in Utah County.”

Ari Adelberg moved from California to Lehi last year and did not expect to find a Jewish community any nearer than Salt Lake City.

“As a middle-aged father of two, it was important to me to find a local connection to Jewish life, both for my children’s education and for my own spiritual well-being,” Adelberg said. “It was therefore an exceedingly pleasant surprise to learn that a Chabad rabbi had established a new community (kehilah) barely 10 minutes from own house.”

While there is a wide range of beliefs and rules on which most observant Jewish movements agree, there are nevertheless slight variations with each movement, such as the emphasis it may place on specific holy books over others, its attitude toward the modern state of Israel, its level of tolerance for infractions of religious law, its inclination to recruit outside Jews to its congregations, the stringency of the requirements it imposes for conversion, and the levels of engagement and contribution it expects from its members, Adelberg noted.

“I am new to Chabad, but I am discovering that it is the perfect fit for my family’s spiritual and educational needs,” Adelberg said.

“Chaim Zippel is the perfect rabbi to carry this spirit forward in the town of Lehi, whose current phase of rapid growth and blossoming mirrors that of Rabbi Zippel’s own young family,” he added. “His enthusiasm for Jewish spiritual vitality is infectious and always palpable in the gatherings he organizes for holidays, study sessions and other events. I look forward to continuing my family’s spiritual development under his guidance, and I hope to repay the movement’s blessings over time, in whatever contributions I can make.”

To find out more about the Chabad of Utah County, email rabbi@jewishutahcounty.com or call Rabbi Zippel at 801-674-4566.

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