By Judie Jacobson
HARTFORD – Representatives of the Stamford and West Hartford Orthodox communities traveled to New York City on Sunday, Nov. 24, to participate in the Orthodox Union’s (OU) Seventh International Jewish Community Home & Job Relocation Fair aimed at recruiting new families and individuals to move to their communities.

“Stamford has all the amenities that Orthodox families could want, including two orthodox synagogues, eruv, mikvah, a day school and four kosher restaurants. We’ve had a lot of young families move here within the last four-five years. We hope that some families come for a Shabbat, which is the best way to experience our community, and hopefully some of those people will eventually move here,” said Michael Feldstein, who represented Stamford at the fair.

According to Rabbi Tuvia Brander, spiritual leader of Young Israel of West Hartford, the West Hartford participation in the OU fair is part of a “much wider community-wide strengthening strategy to bring the next generation of committed engaged Hartfordites – focusing both on our community but also really working to bring people from across the Jewish spectrum.”

“For various reasons, including the high costs of tuition and housing in the New York City area, there is a growing cadre of Orthodox families exploring other locations throughout the country and Israel to establish their homes. We are pleased to have been able to assemble so many Torah communities and to enable them to showcase to these families the attractiveness and advantages of their respective communities,” said Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane.

“The enthusiasm shown by the representatives from Connecticut as they demonstrated the vibrancy of their community’s orthodox Jewish life was truly extraordinary,” said Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Allen Fagin. “As dozens of community fair participants crowded around their table, they had an opportunity to be introduced to a welcoming community which is rich in the infrastructure necessary for a full and meaningful Orthodox life.”

Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union (OU), serves as the voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. As the umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, the OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY, Israel Free Spirit Birthright, Yachad and OU Press, among many other divisions and programs. For more information, visit https://www.ou.org/.

Main Photo: Stamford residents (l t r) Elain Finkelstein, a Jewish community volunteer, Miriam Sperber, director of admissions at Stamford’s Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy, and Jonathan Makovsky, a local realtor, man Stamford’s booth at the OU fair.