Wandering Ceases for Jewish Group : Religion: After a decade in temporary places of worship, a small group of Hasidic Jews finds a home in Laguna Beach.

LAGUNA BEACH — As if wandering in search of the Promised Land, they spent a decade worshiping in place after place--in a school room, an office, a home and, for the past four years, a garage.

But this month, a small group of Orthodox Hasidic Jews finally opened this city’s first chabad, a religious center they say is drawing worshipers from throughout South County.

The liberal enclave of Laguna Beach--which is populated with pony-tailed Hare Krishnas who chant along city streets and a group of gay and lesbian Jews--may seem a strange spot for conservative Orthodox Judaism to take root.

But members of the chabad say it has.

And they are hoping the new synagogue, which plans to expand its preschool and Hebrew school programs, will prompt other Jews to step forward and reclaim their faith.

“They can say, ‘Wow, I’m Jewish and look what we have here,’ ” said Perel Goorevitch, whose husband, Rabbi Elimelech Goorevitch, heads the congregation. “Finally, they can say, ‘Hey, this is our building. This is where we belong.’ ”

David and Lynn Schmidt are one couple whose lives have already undergone a transformation since they began meeting in the rabbi’s garage three years ago.

Now, David Schmidt, who runs a nationwide executive search firm from downtown Laguna Beach, wears knotted wool strings dangling from his waistband to remind him of the 613 commandments he observes as a Hasidic Jew.

“I look at these and remember you’re supposed to do business with integrity,” he said, fingering the strings, called tzitzits. “In the rough and tumble of daily life, you can forget what you’re supposed to do.”

And Lynn Schmidt keeps a kosher household, driving to Los Alamitos or Los Angeles to buy her meat. She shrugs off the effort, describing it as insignificant compared to the benefits she has reaped.

“Judaism has brought so much order to my life,” she said. “I don’t question anymore if what I’m doing is right.”

The view is a shade murkier from the vantage point of the Schmidts’ 17-year-old daughter, Hillaire, who dropped by the synagogue’s recent open house and then bolted to watch the sunset and hang out with friends.

“I spend Shabbat [the Sabbath] with my family and I respect everything they do,” she said. “But growing up in this society and going to Laguna Beach High School, it’s very difficult.”

Members of the new religious center, a converted bank building at the edge of a shopping center, say they welcome all worshipers and, in fact, many in the congregation are Reform or Conservative Jews, less restrictive brands of Judaism.

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Judaism has four modern movements. The Reconstructionist and Reform movements are in some ways the most liberal--both ordain gays and lesbians--while Orthodox Judaism is at the opposite end of the continuum. The Conservative movement falls in between.

A chabad can be established only by a rabbi who is a Hasidic Jew. Five of the Laguna Beach chabad’s 20 to 25 dues-paying families are Hasidic.

During the Sabbath, which runs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, Orthodox Jews do not work, drive, carry money, flip a light switch or even strike a match. Meals are prepared in advance.

If this sounds restrictive, Lynn Schmidt said she finds it liberating.

“It means on Saturday, not doing anything,” she said. “It’s the most incredible rest.”

Families walk to the synagogue, where black-suited men and conservatively dressed women sit separately during prayer and do not touch one another.

“They’re very, very intense,” said Barry Lew, a non-Orthodox member who helped organize the purchase of the building at 30804 S. Coast Highway. “On Saturday morning, you can see families with little children walking on Pacific Coast Highway.”

Members say the temple provides an environment where Jews can absorb their religion and observe its commandments at their own pace.

But some say the ways of Hasidic Jews are too restrictive to be welcoming for some other Jews.

“They’re going to have to do something very positive because, traditionally, the Orthodox groups were not accepting of gays and lesbians,” said Harvey Liss, an Irvine resident who is a member of Kol Simcha, the Laguna Beach-based group of gays and lesbian Jews who meet in homes throughout Orange County. “Kind of like being the only black in a large white club, you may not want to do that.”

And one rabbi, who asked not to be identified, said Hasidic rabbis do not fraternize with other rabbis.

“They don’t recognize the rest of us as rabbis,” he said. “It’s easy for them to say they welcome Reform and Conservative Jews because they welcome my people and my money, but they won’t sit down with me at a board of rabbis.”

But Rabbi Goorevitch said he meets with members of the Orange County Board of Rabbis, the umbrella group for rabbis from the various branches of Judaism.

“We do meet with them,” Goorevitch said. “And we do cooperate, we definitely cooperate.”

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At their open house Tuesday night, members of the Laguna Beach group threw open the doors to their new chabad--which for the moment consists mainly of a large, carpeted room--and offered cake, chocolate-dipped strawberries, wine, cheese and crackers to visitors.

Children with balloons tied to their wrists scattered toys across the carpet as bearded men spun their dreams for the center. Jewish music blared from a large portable radio; a sign on the wall beamed, “Mazel Tov! We’re finally home!”

Some members said they have selected what is, in some ways, an unlikely spot for their religious center.

“If a group stood by a map and tried to pick out a spot in Orange County, or even in California, to try and start a chabad, Laguna Beach would be a very unlikely place,” Lew said. “It’s not quite the center of Orthodox Judaism.”

“In Laguna Beach, this is the most open and permissive example of American lifestyle that exists anywhere,” said Howard Jacobson, an Orthodox Jew who graduated from Laguna Beach High School.

Still, Jacobson said, he thinks they landed on target.

“The goal,” he said, “is to affect your surroundings, to affect the city you live in and to bring a greater degree of holiness to the community.”

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Permanent Home

After a decade of worshiping in makeshift temples, the Orthodox Jews of Chabad of Laguna are converting a former bank into their religious center. A look at some basic tenets of the faith:

* Philosophy: Based on principals of wisdom, comprehension and knowledge

* Beliefs: Strictly observe all traditional Jewish beliefs and ways of life; believe God revealed laws of Torah and Talmud directly to Moses on Mount Sinai

* Traits: Known for ecstatic singing and dancing, strict dietary and behavioral rules

* Sabbath: Day of rest; nothing is done that creates energy, including work, driving, cooking

* Prayer: Three times daily, in morning, late afternoon and after sunset

Source: Times reports