Chabad Brings a Jewish Revival to West Adams

by Leibel Kahan – Lubavitch.com

Walking down a street in West Adams, California, on Purim eve, Rabbi Michoel Zajac spotted a couple wearing what looked like festive headgear. “Happy Purim!” he called out.

“Are you Jewish?” the woman asked. Rabbi Zajac, with his long beard, fedora, and jacket, nodded.

“I’m not Jewish,” she said, “but my boyfriend is.”

“Have you heard of Purim?” Rabbi Zajac asked him.

He shook his head.

“So what do you know about Judaism?”

“The only thing I really know,” the man replied, “is something I saw on TV a while back — a mezuzah.” He pulled out his phone and showed a photo of one on his doorpost.

He was practicing the only Jewish thing he knew.

For Rabbi Zajac, moments like these capture the reason he and his wife Hindy moved to West Adams several months ago.

Once home to a bustling Jewish community in the 1920s — including Beth Jacob, now the largest synagogue on the West Coast — the historic South Los Angeles neighborhood of West Adams changed over the decades as Jewish families moved to areas like Beverly Hills. For many years, West Adams didn’t have a synagogue or Jewish center of any sort. But recently, a new wave of younger families has begun moving in, including many Jews drawn by the neighborhood’s affordability and central location.

Since their arrival this winter, the Zajacs have connected with nearly 150 families, meeting them one by one — delivering Shabbat candles, challah, mezuzahs, and holiday kits. Rabbi Zajac holds Torah classes and study sessions, while Hindy hosts women’s events like artisanal challah bakes. Their first Chanukah and Purim gatherings drew more than 50 participants.

For longtime residents like Brandon Hirschberger, the Zajacs’ presence has made all the difference.

“When we first moved here eight years ago, we thought we were the only Jews in the area,” Hirschberger said. “It stayed that way for years — until Rabbi Zajac knocked on my door.”

Rabbi Zajac first introduced himself while Hirschberger’s father was in the hospital. “I saw him through the doorbell camera. I told him I wasn’t home, but I’d love to connect,” Hirschberger recalled. “Since then, he and Hindy have checked in regularly, invited us for Shabbat dinners, and helped create a real sense of community.”

Uria Elkouby moved to West Adams at the same time as the Zajacs — and they connected immediately. He now helps organize weekly barbecues and social events, bringing Jews from the community together. “I told the rabbi — I’ve got the space, I’ve got the grill — let’s do it,” he said. “Now it’s become a regular thing.”

“There are more Jewish families here than anyone thought,” Elkouby said. “People who felt alone, who didn’t even know their neighbors were Jewish — now they’re connecting.”

He sees something bigger on the horizon. “This place is really growing — it’s affordable, a good location — all it needed was someone to start.”

For the Zajacs, that means more doorbells, more conversations, more Friday night dinners — one mezuzah, one challah, one connection at a time.