Rabbi, Family Lead Growing Movement

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Five years ago, when Rabbi Alter Korf and his wife, Chaya, agreed to leave family and friends in New York to open southern Pinellas County’s first Orthodox Jewish center, they were full of hope.

For the young couple with a baby and toddler in tow, theirs was not an unusual venture. As members of the Brooklyn-based Chabad Jewish movement, they were joining more than 3,000 couples – emissaries as they are properly called – who provide education, services and programs to Jews around the world.

The Korfs quickly established their Chabad Jewish Center, the organization behind the large Hanukkah celebrations at BayWalk and most recently at Straub Park. Offering programs initially in their home, they rented space for holiday celebrations. Three years ago they moved to a leased storefront at 6151 Central Ave., which they’ve outgrown.

A week ago, the organization bought property at 4010 Park St. N and announced plans to build a 12,500-square-foot facility that will house a synagogue, social hall, youth wing with classrooms and multimedia children’s library, a mikvah ritual bath, commercial kitchen and administrative offices. The estimated cost of the project, including land, is $2.7-million. Construction will begin as soon as enough funds are raised, Korf said.

“We chose Park Street for the simple reason that that plot of land was for sale, the good visibility and that it connects to many main roads in south Pinellas. Another key feature is that there is a large variety of housing close by. There’s also a hotel right around the corner for people who want to be close by for the High Holidays,” he said.

Nearby housing and hotel rooms are important since some Jews do not drive on the Sabbath or on religious holidays.

Korf said he had not expected the center to make such progress so quickly.

“Obviously, it was a dream to have a permanent site,” he said.

“I think that there’s a lot of divine assistance. I think it’s a true testament to the thirst for knowledge and for people wanting to connect to their heritage.”

It’s true of Kathleen Meindl and family. Meindl said she and her husband, Chris, had been searching for a way to reconnect with Judaism when they found the center on the Internet and contacted Korf.

“He was very welcoming. We went to the Rosh Hashana Jewish New Year services for the kids and they loved it,” said Meindl, 33, whose children are 9, 7 and 5.

She has rediscovered her faith, Meindl said.

“Both Rabbi Korf and Chaya teach the beauty of it. It’s like learning it all over again.”

Andrew Pozin, 46, owner of Sun-Glo Plating in Clearwater, hadn’t been affiliated with a synagogue for many years. Korf called him at his business and asked to visit, he said.

“You certainly can’t turn down clergy when they ask to come to talk to you,” Pozin said, who praised the Chabad movement.

“This is probably the best thing Judaism has going for it. They love every Jewish person, whether they are observant or nonobservant. They just love you because you’re Jewish.”

More than 1,000 people participate in the center’s programs throughout the year, Korf said. It offers weekly and holiday services, adult education classes, holiday programs, Shabbat dinners and a Gan Israel day camp. Programs are open to Jews of all backgrounds and affiliations.

“That’s one of the unique things about the Chabad Jewish Center, we’re prepared to meet people where they are,” Korf said.

The youngest of six children, Korf and his wife come from families committed to the Chabad Lubavitch movement, based in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

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 Lubavitch movement most recently was led by the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

“His passion was to embrace every single Jew regardless of where they lived and how many there are,” Korf said.

The emissary program grew out of that philosophy. Couples establishing Chabad centers in states and countries where there are none get financial assistance for a year. The Korfs, though, received no financial help since Florida already had numerous centers. There are about 115 centers in the state, with several in the Tampa Bay area.

Korf, 31, and his wife, 30, now have five children, daughters Mushka, 6, and Chana, 2, and sons, Mendel, 5, Moshe, 3, and Yosef, 6 months.