Representatives of more than a dozen Jewish communities gathered in Houston last week for the Midwest Agudah Lay Leaders (M.A.L.L.) Conference. The conference brought together community leaders from cities served by Agudah’s Midwest Council of Synagogue Rabbanim to network, discuss their unique challenges, and share potential solutions. Judging from the feedback, the event was a resounding success, and, like past conferences, will hopefully be a powerful catalyst for innovative initiatives and collaborative efforts that have strengthened Torah communities in the Midwest and beyond.

Last week’s event was the first MALL Conference hosted outside of Chicago since its inception in 2014. “Attendees were visibly impressed as they toured the Houston Orthodox community and heard from various rabbinic and lay leaders,” said Rabbi Moshe Friedman, director of the Kollel of Houston, who helped plan the conference. “They appreciated the firsthand account of how the city has successfully grown into a flourishing Torah community and destination city.”

One of the most pressing issues for growing communities is the availability of housing. At a lunch session held at the home of Yakov and Frumie Polatsek, each community shared what they are doing to address this challenge. Rabbi Avrohom Jaffe, executive director of Agudath Israel’s Southern Brooklyn Community Organization, spoke about affordable housing, while Houston real estate developers gave a guided tour of the beautiful housing development adjacent to the Young Israel. Other session topics included political engagement, the challenges of growth, and security.

During a tour of YTE of Houston, students presented the visiting Agudah leaders with nearly $1,000 earmarked for rescue efforts for Ukrainian Jewry. The more than 400 students in the school were asked to bring at least $1 which was collected and then presented to the representatives. The students heard from Rabbi Yaakov Robinson, Menahel, Midwest Agudas Yisroel Council of Synagogue Rabbanim, and Agudath Israel of America’s Chief Operating Officer Rabbi Yitzchok Ehrman who had just returned from visiting the refugees in several European countries.

Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of state relations for Agudath Israel of America commented that “the real work began the moment the conference was over. The MALL participants were excited about working together with the Agudah and their local rabbinic and lay leadership to move forward on the many issues we discussed in Houston.”

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