Rabbi Zalman Levertov came to Phoenix in 1977 with 5,000 Purim bags. Chabad now runs more than 25 locations.

Fifty years ago, Arizona had no Chabad. It had about 35,000 Jews, by Rabbi Zalman Levertov's count, scattered across a state that was mostly desert and freeway, and no Chabad house and no rabbi whose job was to find them.

Then, in January 1977, a young rabbi from New York and his wife, Tzipi, who grew up in Argentina, arrived in Phoenix on assignment from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. They knew almost nothing about the community. Their first move was a mailing: more than 5,000 bags of Purim treats, sent to Jewish children all over Arizona. A month later they read the megillah at the Phoenix JCC.

Today Chabad of Arizona counts more than 25 locations and more than 55 rabbis. Levertov told Jewish News this year that "there's so much more work to do."

Levertov has said the job was personal before it was professional. His grandfather, also a Chabad rabbi, died in a Soviet prison while working for the previous Rebbe. In the mid-1970s, the grandson walked into Chabad headquarters and offered himself for service. The Rebbe named him the first leader of Chabad in Arizona, with authority to build statewide and choose his own staff.

1989: the Levertovs bought the Lincoln Drive building in Phoenix, still the headquarters. 2003: a Chabad center opened at ASU, under his mentorship. 2005: the Friendship Circle launched for children with special needs. 2009: Smile on Seniors started; Levertov admits it grew out of a mistake, when a senior asked for a Jewish calendar years earlier and nobody followed up. 2017: 21 centers statewide. 2020: the Jewish Care Network began bringing support, and Shabbos boxes, to people facing serious illness. 2021: a downtown Phoenix center and a yeshiva high school in Scottsdale. 2024: Chabad of Rural Arizona, a traveling program for Jews in towns too small for a center. 2026: two new centers for the 50th year, in Carefree and Maricopa.

The schools now include Cheder Lubavitch of Arizona, Beis Chana High School for Girls, Aleph Bet Preschool and the Yeshiva of Scottsdale, plus Camp Gan Israel every summer.

Six of the couple's seven children live in Arizona, and every one of them runs a Chabad center or a social welfare program. Rabbi Levi and Chani Levertov run Smile on Seniors. Rabbi Moshe and Sashie Levertov run the Jewish Care Network. Their daughter, Rivky Friedman, runs Camp Gan Israel. The Levertov name runs across the map: Rabbi Dov Levertov at Chabad of Phoenix, Rabbi Shlomy Levertov at Paradise Valley and JPhoenix, and Rabbi Mendy Levertov at Chabad of North Phoenix.

Ask Levertov what the philosophy is, and he keeps it short. In 2024 he told Chabad.org: "No Jew should be left behind. That's our philosophy." He likes to remind people that you don't need to be Orthodox to walk in.

The Golden Jubilee Unity Torah, being written in Israel, is set to arrive by Purim 2027. Dedications run from $50 for a letter to $85,000 for the full scroll. The Carefree center has a $150,000 fundraising goal; by early June, $51,000 had come in from 215 donors.

Fifty years after a mailing of Purim bags, the work is still the same: find the Jew who hasn't been found yet.

How we reported this: drawn from coverage in Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, Chabad.org, Lubavitch.com and Anash.org from 2008 to 2026, and Chabad of Arizona's own site. Most accounts put the Levertovs' arrival in 1977; one says 1976. Chabad Lubavitch of Arizona files as a church and does not publish IRS Form 990s. Rabbi Levertov was not interviewed for this piece; additions and corrections are welcome at [email protected]. The publisher is rabbi of Congregation Phoenix Torah in Phoenix.