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Hasidic movement
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- It seemed fitting that one of the first celebrations planned by the new Chabad of St. Petersburg, an Orthodox Jewish group, should take place on Purim, a holiday that commemorates Jewish identity and survival. Organizers say the new community is the sole Orthodox Jewish institution in southern Pinellas County. Part of the New York-based Hasidic movement, it is most easily recognized by the clothing of male members who have full beards and usually wear black hats, white shirts, black pants and long black black coats. Rabbi Alter Korf, who will head the new center with his wife, Chaya, said the main goal of Chabad of St. Petersburg, which does not yet have its own building, is to reach out to the Jewish community, particularly those who are not affiliated with any temple or synagogue. He said outreach efforts will include offering Jewish education and holiday programs to adults as well as children. Korf, 27, said he is undaunted at the prospect of founding a new Chabad center, one of more than 3,000 around the world. He and his wife recently moved to Florida from Brooklyn, N.Y., with their daughter, Mushka, who is 21 months old, and son, Mendel, 9 months. "I don't look at it as starting a community. I look at it as that we want to embrace every single Jew. We want to embrace every single person in the joy and beauty of Judaism," Korf said from his Northeast St. Petersburg home. "That's one of our messages. Judaism is not a blind faith. Study it. Question it. Challenge it. We want to explore it together. . . . Anybody that wants to learn and wants to further their knowledge, we are there to coach them and to help them and to be a friend." Last Tuesday, about two dozen adults and children joined Korf and his family for a festive Purim program at the St. Petersburg Woman's Club. They celebrated with Israeli food and dancing. Children and adults made crafts, including cards for the Israeli Defense Force. They also listened to the reading of the Megillah or the scroll of Esther, which tells the Purim story of the deliverance of Jews in ancient Persia. Yeshiva students Zalman Lubetski and Dovid Friedman from Miami Beach were among those present. Lubatzky, assigned to read the Megillah, bowed and swayed rhythmically as he read the half-hour-long story in Hebrew. It was the first holiday program presented by the local Chabad that Andy Zeidner, his wife, Marie, and daughter, Alexis, 9, had attended. As is customary for Purim, they wore costumes. The Zeidners have become attached to the Chabad. "We attend a class with the rabbi on Tuesday night," said Mrs. Zeidner, who was raised as a Christian and is preparing to convert to Judaism. Her husband, who was born in Jerusalem and grew up in a secular family, said he was pleased to learn of the center's classes. Madeira Beach residents Steve and Ann Rayow also attended the Purim celebration. They are members of the county's only other Orthodox community, Young Israel/Chabad of Pinellas County in Palm Harbor, led by Rabbi Shalom Adler. "We are going to support both rabbis' efforts," explained Steve Rayow, captain of Dolphin Watch Sightseeing Tours. "We've had a longstanding relationship with Rabbi Adler and we're not going to discontinue that relationship." Rayow said the St. Petersburg center was started because several people had expressed an interest in having an Orthodox community in the southern part of the county. He said he hopes Korf and his family will stay. Korf, the youngest of six children, said both he and his wife come from families committed to the Chabad Lubavitch movement. Lubavitchers are part of the Hasidic (pious) branch of Orthodox Judaism, while Chabad (pronounced hah-bahd) is a Hebrew acronym for wisdom, understanding and knowledge. The Hasidic movement, which itself is made up of several groups, had its start in the 18th century on the Polish-Russian border. Chabad Lubavitch has its world headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The word Lubavitch comes from the town in Russia where the group, which describes itself as a philosophy, movement and an organization, originated. Though the Hasidic movement of which it is a part often is described as ultra-Orthodox, Korf dismisses such categorization. "We, as Chabad, we try not to use the labels, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox," he said, referring to the three main strains of Judaism. "We don't like it. It just creates division." Still, there are some things that set Hasidism apart. A photograph on a wall at Korf's home shows an annual gathering of hundreds of Chabad Lubavitch leaders, including Korf, each similarly dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, black hat and wearing a beard. "The dress is not so much a religious observance as it is a tradition," Korf explained, adding that the custom is based on the 18th century clothing of his ancestors. Chabad Lubavitch also has drawn attention because of its most recent and revered leader, the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. He died in June 1994 at the age of 92 after leading the group for 44 years. A charismatic leader, he was the inspiration behind the group's post-Holocaust revival. Some followers even believed that Schneerson, who still is referred to as "the Rebbe" or leader, was the long awaited Messiah. "There was some talk that the Rebbe was the Messiah," Korf said. "As far as the Rebbe was concerned, there was no endorsement of that notion." Hasidic groups, which live in tightly knit communities, generally are thought to be reclusive. Chabad Lubavitch, however, is different, Korf said. "It's not totally insular. Many of the communities are insular and try to keep to themselves just for fear of their faith being challenged. Chabad takes a different approach," he said. Typically, he said, the vast majority of Jews served by Chabads are non-Orthodox and oftentimes unaffiliated with any synagogue or temple. "We don't judge a person. We accept them the way they are. We offer them classes, exciting programs to help them to further their Judaism as they wish. We encourage them to take one step at a time and coach them along as they want to study," Korf said. Many Chabads do not offer services, he said, and focus simply on heightening awareness of Jewish holidays and customs. "A woman called me up. She wants a mezuzah (the cylinder that holds sacred passages and is affixed to the right doorpost of Jewish homes). So I went to her home, placed a mezuzah, we said a blessing together and I explained what a mezuzah is," he said. "One of the congregations here asked me to kosher their kitchen for Passover, which is what we will be doing. These are some of the things we do. Jewish life encompasses so much more than what goes on in a congregation." The rabbi, who has worked as an educational director for summer programs in New Jersey, with small Jewish communities in the Caribbean and as director of Chabad's Hebrew School Network in Queens, N.Y., said he and his wife are committed to their work in South Pinellas County. "We are here to stay, to become part of the community, to help serve the community," he said. "We didn't come here for a year or two."
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