From Party House to Chabad House

S. Cruz, CA — Previously known as a “party house,” the three-story home still attracts dozens of students on Friday nights. But while the former location of the campus Frisbee team had been known for its raucous events, now students show up to do a lot more than party. That’s because the house is now home to Chabad at the University of California at S. Cruz. And it has undergone more than just a physical transformation.

Talk about timing. Chabad moved in right before Pesach, and – thanks to the efforts of Rabbi Shlomie and Devorah Leah Chein – managed to pack in the students for Seder.

“We’re still unpacking, said Rabbi Chein. “But with the end of the school year, things are beginning to settle.”

Of course, the transition would not have been possible without the help of students like Eitan Nilsson, a senior from Contra Costa County, Calif. He said that during the move, he stopped by a home improvement store and bought about 36 packages of rubber tips for the chair legs so that the new floor wouldn’t get scratched.

“I cleaned them out,” said Nilsson proudly.

Chein excitedly detailed the benefits to the new 3,000-square-foot facility in a recent interview. The first floor boasts a living/dining area that can accommodate about 65 students, a lounge with a big couch and two bathrooms. In addition, there’s a deck and a commercial-sized kitchen.

“It’s a place where students can just hang out,” said Chein.

UCSC boasts a Jewish population of 20 percent of its student body – the highest percentage of Jewish students on the West Coast, according to Chein. This Friday night, they’ll be trying to gather at least 200 of these students for Shabbat 200, the annual Shabbat dinner event billed as, “an evening of spirituality, friendship, and schmoozing.”

And so Chabad offers something for everyone – the weekly Friday Night Live, with dinners that, as its Web site proclaims, “stuff the living daylights out of your stomach;” Café Soul, weekly kosher dinner and study-with-a-buddy program; Generation Connect, which pairs students with seniors in the community; Torah Takeout, where a student can reserve one-on-one time with the rabbi, who will come to discuss Torah together wherever the student may be; Women’s Circle and more.

The detached home’s finished garage serves as both a shul and a library.

The Cheins, along with their children – four-year-old Mendel, David, who is almost 2, and newborn Fayga – make their residence on the second floor, opting to live at the same location that the students use to gather. In truth, though, it wasn’t really a difficult choice.

“Our whole family is what makes Chabad Chabad,” said Chein very matter-of-factly. Family is what college students miss the most, he went on, and the Chabad House provides a family atmosphere. Students are always volunteering to take his children to the park, and there are more than enough who are eager to help cook Shabbat meals.

The rabbi, though, gives his wife all the credit when it comes to the delicious food. “The biggest attraction to Chabad,” he admitted, “is all due to her.”

Likewise, students line up to enjoy the meals. Chabad Student Club President Jordan Neyer, a junior from Los Angeles, goes to Shabbat dinner every week, for instance. In his role as president, Neyer serves as a liaison to the UCSC students.

“So I spend a lot of time with the rabbi,” he said.

He noted that while the Chabad house can accommodate a lot of people, it still has “that family atmosphere, which is nice.”

Space for All

A playroom and two guest bedrooms fill out the third floor of the Chabad House. Chein explained that, at UCSC, the extra bedrooms come in handy for students who will not carry items outside on Shabbat. Because of the distance between the Chabad House and the dormitories – the Cheins chose a location right next to the campus entrance, but the university it unique in having one mile of countryside between its front gate and the first campus building – some students opt to stay over at the Chabad house instead of schlepping back to their dorms or apartments.

“Our key thing is to be on a central thoroughfare to campus and near a bus stop,” said Chein. Based on that, the new location is perfect – about five buses stop right on the corner of the property.

Nilsson said that while the old Chabad house was homey, it was standing room only for dinners. He said he was surprised to see how big the new home was. In fact, he wasn’t sure he was at the right place until he saw a picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, on the living room wall.

“When I got there,” recalled Nilsson, “it was like a palace.”