Cover Story
THE JEWISH HOME
JANUARY 17, 2013
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parents identity with that of their new American culture, leading them to search for answers. “They find that their Jewish identity is being challenged here in America – something their parents didn’t have to deal with in the old world, and they’re not accepting American culture outright. They’re challenging and thinking and this draws them to Aish to find answers.” His goal? “Give them a Jewish perspective and information and let
them choose how deep or far they want to go,” through classes, Friday night dinners, summer trips to Israel and more. While few Chabaniks (representatives of Chabad Lubavitch) attend the AJOP convention, it would be impossible to ignore their success in reaching out to unaffiliated Jews in Southern California, where their efforts and programs have captured the interest of top stars and celebrities, as well as thousands of assimilated Jews. Rabbi Chaim Cunin, son of Rabbi Shlomo Cunin who heads all Chabad efforts on the West Coast, said that the entertainment and arts industry here is a reflection of people’s desire for inner depth. “It’s an expression of the neshama that has to be redirected into a holy, pure, proper place. “People here are searching. It
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can take them to unhappy places, but the search leads them to pursue the arts, creativity, the film industry – they’re really looking for something deeper. The creative energy that exists in this town underlies the inner search for deeper meaning in
role in world of Chabad outreach altogether.” Their college campus outreach also reaches thousands – over 25 full-time campus Rabbis and Rebbetzins currently serve on California campuses. On Purim alone, over
THE BIGGEST WEAPON WE HAVE IS THE FAMILY life.” While Rabbi Cunin wouldn’t give specific estimates on how many unaffiliated Jews are impacted by Chabad each year in SoCal, he did say that California is the strongest and largest Chabad center outside of Israel, and that California Lubavitch birthed nearly all the trademark Chabad programs, including the Mitzvah Mobile, the public Menorah lightings (one of the biggest which takes place at Universal CityWalk each year) and the Chabad House – the first was established in West LA in 1967. “First of all, in California alone, we have over 263 full-time emissaries, Rabbis and Rebbetzins serving communities large and small. Of those emissaries, 100 of them serve in Southern California. You can’t go more than half a mile in Los Angeles without bumping into at least one or more Chabad. In addition to theshluchim and Chabad centers in the LA community, Chabad on the west coast has served in a leadership
10,000 Jewish students came to a Chabad Purim party in CA, 70% of them from Southern California. “More people are comfortable at Chabad if they’re not ready for a formal kind of thing. In many cases it’s the first Jewish encounter for many kids.” Similar to Aish HaTorah of LA, whose goal according to Rabbi Jacobs is simply to give people an introduction to Judaism and place to explore and discover at their own pace, Rabbi Cunin said that he measures success in how many neshamos (souls) they are able to reach, at whatever capacity. “It might be one more child going to Jewish day school, or just being a shoulder to lean on for someone,” he said. While their numbers may be smaller overall than Chabad, the kiruv work done by JAM (Jewish Awareness Movement) has been proven effective in leading college-aged students to embrace full Jewish observance. With couples