According to Chabad tradition, every Jewish home should also be a sanctuary. And by expanding San Francisco’s Richmond Torah Center, which is also their home, Rabbi Ahron Hecht and his wife, Sara, hope to welcome more community members and family members as well.
“Prayers, classes and Shabbos dinner are open to everyone right here in our home,” says Hecht. “When you come to our services, you literally become a real part of our family. Hospitality is an important part of our service.”
Hecht had two key reasons for moving Chabad’s Richmond Torah Center into a bigger house: The first is his continually expanding family — 10 children, with another on the way. The other is his expanding congregation, now comprising more than 30 members. Donations from congregants helped cover the down payment on the $500,000 center, which is located on 10th Street.
Outfitted with a larger venue, Hecht feels he can better fulfill Chabad’s outreach goals by inviting more Jews to join in. In what used to be a garage, the new Richmond Torah Center has a prayer and study room. The first floor holds an enormous kitchen, dining room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The second floor has three more bedrooms and three bathrooms. One bedroom will lodge guests who come for Shabbat service and dinner and — as driving is forbidden on the Sabbath — live too far away to walk home.
“Previously, my wife and I and our 10 children were living in a small, rented three-bedroom apartment,” Hecht says. “We prayed and held classes in a Judaic bookstore a few blocks away.
“After prayers on Shabbos, we walked with members of our congregation back to our house to eat. We lived like that for nine years. We moved because we wanted a big, comfortable place where Jews of all backgrounds could study, pray or just eat and chat about what it means to be a Jew.”
Sara Hecht calls the new center “one-stop religious shopping.” She especially likes the space because it has a large yard for the children. “We put in a playhouse, with boxes and boxes of toys.” Their previous home “didn’t have a garage or backyard. There was no play area. Now there is room for special programs for children while their parents are at services or classes. We’ll have children’s Shabbos services…combining stories and games with Jewish learning.”
Since classes are a major feature at the Richmond Torah Center, the extra space comes in very handy. The Hechts plan to reinstitute classes previously canceled for lack of room. Daily morning and evening classes range from study of the Zohar (Jewish mystical writings) to Chassidic mysticism, Torah and Jewish law and ethics. The center will also offer Jewish women’s studies and host guest speakers.
Daily services begin at 6:20 a.m.
Classes and Shabbat programs are open to all Jews, regardless of Jewish knowledge or observance level.
Congregant Sandy Gilford is enthusiastic about the new center, finding it “bright and inviting, with chandeliers and a lace curtain separating the men’s and women’s sections.
“I feel miracles happen all the time,” says Gilford, who has been with the center since taking a parashah (Torah portion) course with Sara Hecht eight years ago.
Aaron Seruya, a member of the congregation since its beginnings over 10 years ago, also welcomes the expansion.
“Now, many others can come to experience the warm feelings I have when I see the rabbi say a special prayer with his hands on the heads of his children as they wait in line for his blessing before the Shabbos meal,” Seruya says. “It’s one family value that is absolutely priceless.”