Giving Focus to a Scattered Community : New Center Lends Focus to Scattered Community

Lou Weiss was just a child when he got the notion to move to California. A Brooklyn native who grew up in the shadow of Ebbets Field, he longed to follow the Brooklyn Dodgers when they left for Los Angeles in 1958.

Weiss finally did so 20 years later, settling in Laguna Beach, where he quickly adapted to the laid-back lifestyle of coastal Orange County. But something was missing.

“I am the only person living in my immediate neighborhood who is Jewish,” the 47-year-old consultant said.

Because the Jewish community in Orange County is small and scattered, its members say, they often have difficulty meeting those with whom they have a common heritage. The need to bridge that gap was the inspiration for the Jewish Federation of Orange County’s campus, a converted warehouse in Costa Mesa with meeting and recreations rooms, a preschool, senior center and gift shop.

The center, five years in the making, will be dedicated this week during the High Holy Days, which begin at sundown today with Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins a period of spiritual renewal for Jews, ending with the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

The dedication of the campus during the holiest period of the Jewish year is charged with symbolism for Orange County’s Jewish community, which views the completion of the complex as a new beginning.

“Judaism has always been a communal thing, and that is why this campus is so important,” said Jerry Werksman, campaign chairman for the Jewish Federation. “I can’t quite explain it, but it is something spiritual.”

Jewish life in Orange County has never mirrored that in other communities, particularly in East Coast cities, Werksman said. There and in large West Coast cities, Jews have clustered in neighborhoods, bringing along kosher delicatessens and Jewish bakeries. The rich life along streets, such as Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, gives Jews the opportunities to meet and mingle outside the synagogue.

No such place has ever existed here. But organizers hope the completion of the campus will give the local Jewish population the sense of community it has longed for.

Situated in an industrial area near the John Wayne Airport, the Jewish Federation’s campus is a far cry from the bustling streets of the Fairfax District. On a recent afternoon, there is little sign of life outside the businesses bordering the building.

In contrast, the campus is busy. Chatter from the children in the schoolyard interrupts the silence. Parents pull up to collect their children. A few patrons are perusing the bulletin boards, which are overflowing with listings of events. The 350 spaces in the parking lot are full.

Though there are no residential nor major pedestrian areas near the campus, officials from the Jewish Federation said the site’s central location makes it easily accessible. In fact, a survey of the Federation’s membership in Orange County showed that 77% of the group’s members were within a 25-minute drive from the campus.

The site was not chosen for the sake of convenience, however. The 39,000-square-foot warehouse was given to the Jewish Federation by an anonymous donor in 1990 after the federation announced to its members that it was seeking a permanent home in Orange County.

The key to understanding the importance of the campus, said Weiss, is to understand that Judaism goes beyond prayers and rituals. One of the primary missions of Judaism, he said, is encapsulated in the Hebrew saying “ tikkun olam ,” , which translates to “repairing the world.”

With that in mind, the Jewish Federation has as one of its main goals to reach out to people across the world who are in need. It has raised funds for victims of the Laguna Beach fires, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Mississippi River floods.

Many think the creation of the campus will help to accomplish their mission of helping to heal the world because it strives to bring religious and non-religious Jews of all ages and races together.

“If you want to help people in need, it is simply easier if you are part of a group,” said Weiss.