Rabbi Chaim Lipskar moved to Brickell Avenue three years ago, amid the big building boom he hoped would bring hundreds of young Jewish families near downtown Miami.

''We knew that eventually, hopefully, with these buildings filling up, there would be enough for a community,'' said Lipskar, 26, who founded the Shul of Brickell, a Chabad Lubavitch congregation that meets on Sabbath and holidays in a Brickell Avenue office tower.

Chabad Lubavitch is one of the largest Hasidic movements in Orthodox Judaism, with about 4,000 centers in more than 50 countries. There are 60 Chabad centers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to the website www.Chabad.org.

Lipskar faced a big challenge when he and his wife, Deenie, then 22, moved downtown. They mostly found ''a few old Jews living on Brickell since the beginning of time'' and not many other Jewish people their age raising children, he said.

''It's a lot lower Jewish population than I thought when I moved here,'' Lipskar said. ``There was no sense of community. Everyone's their own island. People live next door to each other and never say hello. In Miami Beach, everyone knows each other on the block.''

Lipskar grew up in Miami Beach. His uncle, Rabbi Shalom Lipskar, is spiritual leader of the Shul of Bal Harbour and also founded the Shul of Downtown, which meets Monday through Thursday afternoons in a Flagler Street office building. Chaim Lipskar now runs the Shul of Downtown, where the temple offices are located.

After Chaim Lipskar worked as an apprentice rabbi at the Bal Harbour shul, he decided to strike out on his own near downtown Miami. He and Deenie ``made this a lifetime mission.''

Lipskar said that when he and Deenie arrived, ''there was barely a Starbucks'' south of downtown. Mary Brickell Village was under construction and the area showed great promise for attracting young Jewish professionals, the couple believed.

For about a year on weekends, the Lipskars invited Jewish neighbors over for dinner. No services, just food, conversation and time to bond.

Soon, the Lipskars and their friends began having children. Daughter Hindy Lipskar is now 2; her brother Eli is 1.

''We have in our community at least 25 babies since we became involved,'' Chaim Lipskar said. ``If you come to Brickell Key to look at the park, you'll see there are a ton of kids between the ages of 1 and 5.''

With children came a need for a permanent synagogue, one close enough for Orthodox Jews to walk to from home or work downtown, Lipskar said.

Three years ago, Lipskar rented space at the Hyatt Regency Hotel near Brickell Avenue for High Holy Days services. About 30 people came. This year, 200 attended services at the new shul, which opened in September 2007 at 1101 Brickell Ave.

There are no annual temple membership fees. The synagogue relies on member donations.

''We don't have the old shulgoers,'' Lipskar said. ``The average age is under 30.''

The shul is based on an Orthodox Jewish foundation. Men and women sit apart during services, separated by a row of potted plants. Some synagogue members, however, are Conservative, liberal Reform and unaffiliated Jews, Lipskar said.

The rabbi tries to keep an easy-going atmosphere attractive to younger people. There is little talk of politics, at least in public.

''There's always going to be somebody on the other side of the coin. Our job is to bring people in,'' Lipskar said. ``We encourage a lot of discussion about a lot Talmudic views and Torah laws. We try to shy away from any discussion that would push anyone further away.''

Aaron Winer, 32, an associate vice president at Morgan Stanley in Miami, became involved in the shul a few years ago, when he sought Jewish day care for his oldest child, now 5.

''I called the rabbi the same day he was having his baby,'' Winer said. ``We started chatting. He came to our house. I insisted we get together to pray on Friday nights.''

Winer said Lipskar ``has created a center for Jewish living in downtown.''

''He is a tremendous leader who was able to put together in a non-Jewish area, a large Jewish community,'' Winer said. ``He made a tremendous effort knocking on doors and spreading the word.''

That's the usual way Lipskar meets potential shul members. He said he looks for Jewish names on downtown doors.

''He has a great style,'' said public-affairs consultant Seth Gordon, who met Lipskar when the rabbi knocked on his office door. ``He walks into businesses and tries to draw you into his web.''

Gordon won't be attending shul, though: ``I'm Episcopalian.''

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@