About

Chabad of Winter Garden offers a warm, inclusive, and inspiring Jewish experience for every Jew - regardless of background, affiliation, or level of observance.

Led by Rabbi Mendy & Sheina Konikov, Chabad of Winter Garden is dedicated to building a strong, vibrant Jewish community. Rabbi Mendy has led Jewish programs and community initiatives across the globe; from Iceland to North Dakota, from Cambodia to Egypt, bringing Jewish life, warmth, and connection wherever he goes.

At Chabad, every Jew is family. We offer engaging programs for all ages, including Hebrew School, Mommy & Me, Bat Mitzvah Club, Shabbat dinners, Shabbat prayer services, holiday celebrations, Jewish Learning Institute courses, & much more! These opportunities help individuals learn, grow, and connect with their heritage in a joyful and meaningful way.

Founded in 2025, Chabad of Winter Garden was established to meet a growing need for connection, warmth, and community in the greater Winter Garden area. The organization was created with a clear vision: to build a vibrant, welcoming home where individuals and families feel valued, supported, and inspired.

From its earliest days, Chabad of Winter Garden has focused on people first. With no barriers to entry and no membership requirements, the organization opens its doors to all, fostering an environment rooted in respect, care, and genuine human connection. Through thoughtfully designed programs, educational opportunities, community events, and acts of kindness, Chabad of Winter Garden seeks to enrich lives and strengthen the social fabric of the community.

As a young and growing organization, Chabad of Winter Garden is driven by passion, purpose, and the belief that a strong community is built through relationships. Entirely supported by the generosity of its partners and supporters, it continues to expand its impact while remaining deeply personal and family-oriented.

Chabad of Winter Garden looks toward the future with optimism and determination, committed to creating a lasting center of connection, learning, and belonging for generations to come.

Join us - and be part of something uplifting, meaningful, and truly connected.

The Philosophy

Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, a movement, and an organization. It is considered to be the most dynamic force in Jewish life today.

The word “Chabad” is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of chochmah—wisdom, binah—comprehension and da’at—knowledge. The movement’s system of Jewish religious philosophy, the deepest dimension of G‑d’s Torah, teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator, the role and purpose of creation, and the importance and unique mission of each creature. This philosophy guides a person to refine and govern his or her every act and feeling through wisdom, comprehension and knowledge.

The word “Lubavitch” is the name of the town in White Russia where the movement was based for more than a century. Appropriately, the word Lubavitch in Russian means the “city of brotherly love.” The name Lubavitch conveys the essence of the responsibility and love engendered by the Chabad philosophy toward every single Jew.

The Movement

Following its inception 250 years ago, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—a branch of Hasidism—swept through Russia and spread in surrounding countries as well. It provided scholars with answers that eluded them, and simple farmers with a love that had been denied them. Eventually the philosophy of Chabad-Lubavitch and its adherents reached almost every corner of the world and affected almost every facet of Jewish life.

The Leadership

The movement is guided by the teachings of its seven leaders (“Rebbes”), beginning with Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi of righteous memory (1745–1812). These leaders expounded upon the most refined and delicate aspects of Jewish mysticism, creating a corpus of study thousands of books strong. They personified the age-old Biblical qualities of piety and leadership. And they concerned themselves not only with Chabad-Lubavitch, but with the totality of Jewish life, spiritual and physical. No person or detail was too small or insignificant for their love and dedication.

In our generation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of righteous memory (1902–1994), known simply as “the Rebbe,” guided post-holocaust Jewry to safety from the ravages of that devastation.

The Organization

The origins of today’s Chabad-Lubavitch organization can be traced to the early 1940s, when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of righteous memory (1880–1950), appointed his son-in-law and later successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, to head the newly founded educational and social service arms of the movement.

Motivated by his profound love for every Jew and spurred by his boundless optimism and self-sacrifice, the Rebbe set into motion a dazzling array of programs, services and institutions to serve every Jew.

Today over 6,000 full-time emissary families (2,500 in the United States) apply 250-year-old principles and philosophy to direct more than 3,500 institutions (and a workforce that numbers in the tens of thousands) dedicated to the welfare of the Jewish people worldwide.