It’s warm and comforting and when you live with minimal family, it’s nice to know that there are people myself and my wife can relate to in a Hamish way

Janet, myself and our 3 boys all moved from Northern NJ to Chapel Hill almost 26 years ago. Amazing how fast time has passed. The decision to move here came about due to the fact we lived in NJ. Who in the right mind would want to live in NJ. My wife forced me out of NY after we got married. North Dakota would have been better.

We picked this particular area after checking out other areas in NC. I felt we were a couple hours drive from both the beach and the mountains and Chapel Hill Durham had a lot of youth, music, food, and Jews

When we moved to the area there were no synagogues in Chapel Hill, so we joined Bethel. I was very happy to find an Orthodox service “downstairs” and participated from time to time with the group downstairs. Over the years Chapel Hill ended up offering Jewish services as well and my time was split between the two

Over the past 5 years I’ve become more involved in the OK for many reasons. It’s a very tight group, very open to new people. The group makes people feel welcome. If you are here for a weekend a year or two years, you are always welcome. We have a Gabbi, that only needs to hear your name once and he will never forget.

The food, the drink, the people, the community, that’s what makes the OK work. I am a long way from home, my kids have grown up and have moved all over the country. Family is far away; OK is a family.

It’s warm and comforting and when you live with minimal family, it’s nice to know that there are people myself and my wife can relate to in a Hamish way

I recommend the OK to all. NC was the greatest move. Definitely better than NJ

David SIlfen