Meet the Waks Family

Rabbi Didy and Devorah Waks and their two children, Mendel and Yetta, moved to Clinton, NY, to establish a Chabad Center to serve the Jewish community of Hamilton College and the greater Utica area. Many blessings have come their way since then, including the addition of Nissi and Ari to the family!
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Rabbi Didy grew up in Melbourne, Australia and is the 11th of 17 children. He studied at Yeshiva College Melbourne, the Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand, and yeshivot in Israel, Argentina and the United States. For several years during and subsequent to his rabbinical studies, he conducted youth programs and helped supervise summer camps, where he was responsible for curriculum development and staff supervision. From September 2011 until September 2014, Rabbi Didy served as the youth and teen director at the Palm Beach Synagogue in Palm Beach, Florida.

Devorah Waks was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Beth Rivkah School, continuing her studies at Ohel Chana Seminary in Melbourne, Australia. She has been a program director and teacher at primary schools and has run summer camp programs in several states. Since 2009, Devorah has been an educator and program coordinator at the Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn. From September 2011 until September 2014, Devorah served as the youth director at the Palm Beach Synagogue in Palm Beach, Florida.