Tefillin, a mezuzah on your door, Shabbat candles, handmade matzah for Passover and more — Rabbi Mendy Labkowski is here to help you make Jewish traditions part of your life, one step at a time.
You don’t need to know Hebrew or have a Jewish background to begin. Pick something that speaks to you and reach out — the Rabbi will meet you where you are.
Tefillin are two small black leather boxes holding handwritten verses from the Torah, worn on the arm and head during weekday morning prayers. Rabbi Labkowski will gladly help you put on tefillin — whether it’s your first time or your first time in years — and can help you get your own pair or have an older pair checked.
Ask the Rabbi →A mezuzah is a small handwritten parchment scroll of the Shema prayer, placed on the doorposts of a Jewish home. Rabbi Labkowski can help you get kosher mezuzah scrolls, put them up with the blessing, and have older scrolls checked.
Ask the Rabbi →Lighting candles shortly before sunset on Friday welcomes Shabbat, the Sabbath, into the home. The Rabbi and Chaya Mushka Labkowski are happy to help you begin, with the blessing and local candle-lighting times.
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On Passover (Pesach) we eat matzah, the unleavened bread of the Exodus. Rabbi Labkowski can help you get round, hand-baked “guarded” matzah (shmurah matzah) for your Seder, and guide you as you prepare your home for Passover.
Ask the Rabbi →On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we hear the shofar, the ram’s horn. Rabbi Labkowski blows the shofar at public High Holiday events in Buffalo and can help those who are homebound or in the hospital hear it too.
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During the festival of Sukkot, we eat in a sukkah, a hut with a roof of branches, and bless the palm branch and citron (lulav and etrog). Visit the sukkah at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life, or ask the Rabbi for help putting up your own.
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For the eight nights of Chanukah we light the menorah to celebrate light over darkness. Join a public menorah lighting in Buffalo, or let the Rabbi help you get a menorah and candles for your home.
Ask the Rabbi →Keeping kosher can start with one step. Rabbi Labkowski can explain the basics of the Jewish dietary laws, guide you through making your kitchen kosher, and point you to kosher food in Buffalo.
Ask the Rabbi →Whether you are curious about the weekly Torah portion, Jewish ideas or a question that’s been on your mind, Rabbi Labkowski offers personal one-on-one learning at your own pace.
Ask the Rabbi →Jewish life is marked by its moments of joy and of loss. Rabbi Labkowski is here for each of them.
Welcoming a new baby with a bris, a Hebrew name for a baby girl, and the ceremony for a firstborn son.
Bris & baby naming →Personal preparation and a meaningful celebration of a Jewish coming of age, at any age.
Bar & bat mitzvah →A traditional ceremony under the chuppah, and Jewish Marriage Prep for the bride and groom.
Jewish weddings →Compassionate guidance through the funeral, the week of mourning and every anniversary.
Funerals & mourning →Need a hospital, rehab or nursing-home visit? See chaplaincy & pastoral care.
Call, text or send a message and Rabbi Labkowski will help you take the next step.