Couple brings Chabad House to Winter Garden

As followers of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the leader of the Chabad movement and one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century, Rabbi Mendy and Sheina Konikov always have wished to open a Chabad House of their own, somewhere Jews in the community could feel at home. 

And today, they are doing just that. 

“We thought about moving to many different places,” Mendy Konikov said. “But we ended up moving here (to Winter Garden). We thought it’d be a very suitable place; a place that really needs some type of Jewish infrastructure.” 

Mendy Konikov grew up in South Orlando with his parents who run their own Jewish organization in Dr. Phillips. 

But he started traveling around the country to study, and when he was in New York, his life changed when he met Sheina. 

Sheina Konikov grew up in England but attended college in New York. 

“We got set up by a matchmaker,” Sheina Konikov said. 

They dated and got married, living in New York for another two years until Mendy Konikov’s parents suggested the couple move to Winter Garden to start a Jewish organization. 

With no permanent Chabad in Winter Garden, the couple took interest in the suggestion and made it happen. 

They made the move five months ago. 

“We hit the ground running,” Sheina Konikov said. “We started things the second we got here.” 

The Chabad House offers adult and children education, women’s events, teen programs and more. 

“We try to target every age group and to just offer something for everyone,” she said. 

The Konikovs also offer Hebrew school once per week for two hours to children, teaching them to read and write Hebrew as well as what it means to be Jewish today. 

“We try to make it as exciting and fun and interactive as possible,” Sheina Konikov said. “We actually have an amazing curriculum. The kids walk out with personalized items every week.”

Chabad also offers Mommy and Me events, where moms can get to know one another while children can have fun and play. 

“It’s mainly for the moms to have some support,” Sheina Konikov said. “We always discuss parenting tips and other things like that, just providing support and friendship for each other.” 

The couple also offers a Bat Mitzvah club for girls ages 11 to 13 to learn about being a Jewish woman. 

“We go through different heroines of the past and kind of take a lesson from each of them,” Sheina Konikov said. “We have a craft, we have something yummy to eat and it’s just a fun way for them to kind of explore this new chapter in life as they get older, before they hit their teenage stages.” 

The couple also meets one-on-one with families to learn about Chabad. 

From Mommy and Me events to Shabbat experiences, there is something for everyone. 

“We had a women’s event and people were blown away,” Mendy Konikov said. “Someone who actually came for the first time said she feels like she now found her family.” 

And that’s exactly their goal. 

“We would love for everyone to know that this is a home for all Jews in the area and this is a home where everyone can feel like family,” Mendy Konikov said. “We’re really just here to give Jews that home.” 

To them, this isn’t a job, it’s their purpose. 

“It’s not a nine-to-five job,” Sheina Konikov said. “It’s our life and we feel like this is what we’re here for. This is how we want to be spending our time.” 

In the past five months, the program has increased in members tremendously. 

The Konikovs held a Hanukkah event in downtown Winter Garden with about 300 people in attendance. 

In the future, the couple hopes to expand their programs and find a permanent infrastructure to run their programs out of, as they’re currently serving the community from their home and their community’s clubhouse. 

“It’s working well for now, but we’re maxing out,” Sheina Konikov said. “We feel very, very humbled. We’re lucky to have a part in this, you know, it’s really everyone in the community that’s doing it; They’re getting together and doing this, so we’re just lucky to be a part of it.”