“Caring for eve

ry Jew is most

important

to us,” says Nos

son. “We want

to serve

every Jew in a

way that’s mo

st mean-

ingful to him or

her.”

Despite the f

act that there a

re 10,000

Jewish people

living in these

areas –

representing te

n percent of th

e total

population – th

ere are no syn

agogues

or Jewish educa

tion and scarce

Jewish

activity within th

e community. T

he Pot-

ashes expect to

spend much

of their

firstfirst year here

meeting peop

le and

learning about

what is most

lacking

here so they ca

n tailor their pro

grams to

suit the needs

of the Jewish

commu-

nity. Havin

g always been

a part of her pa

r-

ents outreach

work in the R

ichmond

District of San

Francisco, Cha

ya, 22,

says that ass

uming the rol

e of a

Chabad emissa

ry “was a natu

ral deci-

sion.” “I have

been stuffing e

nvelopes

and helping ou

t in my parent

’s office

since I was yo

ung. I’m very gr

ateful to

have the oppo

rtunity to move

back to

my home city to

further Jewish

life.”The

couple’s long te

rm goals includ

e build-

ing a Jewish c

hildren’s librar

y—a first

for San Francis

co—establishin

g a com-

munity of you

ng adults in

Haight

Ashbury and lau

nching a visitat

ion pro-

gram for senior

s.

Haight-Ashbu

ry in San Franc

isco was

ground zero of

the countercult

ure move-

ment in the 19

60’s when the

neighbor-

hood threw its a

rms wide open,

embrac-

ing the hippies

and flower childr

en of the

Summer of Lov

e. But today, the

gentrify-

ing neighborhoo

d is home to a

thriving

young commun

ity.

This month, R

abbi Nosson an

d Chaya

Potash will ope

n a Chabad C

enter in

Cole Valley to s

erve the Jewish

popula-

tion of Haight-A

shbury and nei

ghboring

Inner Sunset,

and Twin Peak

s. “Even

today, there a

re some linge

ring anti-

establishment

sentiments in

Haight

Ashbury,” says

Rabbi Potash, 2

5. “But

the hippie move

ment was brou

ght on by

a spiritual thirst.

We’re looking f

orward to

providing a Jew

ish perspective

and cre-

ating a vibrant

Jewish commu

nity here. “

The four neigh

borhoods are a

study in

diversity. Cole V

alley’s residents

include

many families

with kids, wh

ile Inner

Sunset has a h

igher concentra

tion of se-

niors. In Twin

Peaks, resid

ents are

mostly middle

aged, single Je

wish resi-

dents. With tre

ndy stores in a

vibrant,

modern town c

enter that still r

etains an

endearing boh

emian ambien

ce of its

past, Haight-Ash

bury today is a h

ub for a

thriving younge

r demographic

CHABAD TO O

PEN IN HAIGH

T ASHBURY

A native of England, Rabbi Potash,

25, is the brother of Gedalia Potash,

rabbi of Chabad of Noe Valley.

Chaya Potash, 22, is a native of San

Francisco.WhyWhy did the Potashes choose Cole

Valley? “We realized there’s not

much Jewish life in the area of Cole

Valley, Haight-Ashbury, Inner

Sunset and Twin Peaks,” Rabbi

Potash said. “We decided to jump in

and find out what the needs are of

JewishJewish families in the area.” To pur-

chase tickets for the wine tasting, or

for more information about Chabad

of Cole Valley, go to

http://www.chabadcv.org or call

(415) 598-8718

Rabbi Nosson Potash and his wife,

Chaya Potash, have founded

Chabad of Cole Valley, a new

Chabad house in San Francisco.

Chabad of Cole Valley is located at

330 Parnassus Ave. As a way of in-

troducing themselves to the neigh-

borhood, the Potashes will host a

kosher wine tasting 7 p.m. Thursday,

March 31 at City Forest Lodge, 245

Laguna Honda Blvd., S.F. In addition

to selections from Herzog Wine Cel-

lars, Hagafen Cellars and Four

Gates, vintner Jeff Morgan will pour

samples of his Covenant Wines. The

Kitchen Table restaurant will provide

hors d’oeuvres.

CHABAD OF COLE VALLEY OPENS IN SF