From Motels to Permanent Home

The following was written by David Korobkin, a marketing strategist in Los Angeles:

Most Jewish families living in the remote towns, in and around San Clemente, believed that they were the only Jews in the area.

San Clemente, California – a quaint beach town, known for producing an abundance of top-ranked surfing competitors – is at the coastal border of Orange and San Diego Counties.

Nine years ago, the beliefs about other Jewish families here, began to change. Rabbi Mendel and Tzippy Slavin moved to San Clemente to open a Chabad House. They sensed a disbursed Yiddishkeit here and had faith that there were many Jewish families nearby.

The Slavins worked day and night to identify and connect to Jewish families, most of whom were unaffiliated. All of us reached out to our community, one by one, and spread the word about our local Chabad House.

We have held services at local motels’ conference rooms for nine years. As word got out, we now have over a hundred attendees for the High Holidays services. Some of these families attend services at Chabad regularly, some occasionally and some provide critical financial support.

Soon, we will be moving into our own beautiful and highly visible building. Rabbi Slavin’s unrelenting commitment and persistence drove the successful fundraising efforts.

It is a miracle that the Slavins moved to what was believed by most Jews to be a desert of Yiddishkeit. The sandy beaches here serve to remind us of the deserts of Egypt. We wandered in the sands of San Clemente for nine years – some say it felt more like 40 – to wherever we could accommodate our congregation. We have finally arrived at our homeland, Eretz San Clemente.