By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
Until recently, West Seattle had only a small but fragmented Jewish community. In October, a new educational center opened to help bring that community together.
The Torah Learning Center of West Seattle, under the auspices of Seattle Kollel, opened its doors to the public October 1, but has been steadily decorating its storefront location at 2707 SW California Ave. since. The center held a Hanukkah party and informal open house on Tuesday.
“We just want to get the activities going,” says Rabbi Richard Toban of the open house, “but we’re pretty much open now.”
Toban, who directs the center, lives in Seward Park but spends a few days of his week and the occasional Shabbat in West Seattle. He teaches and does outreach to bring new Jews into Kollel, but gets plenty of help from volunteers as well.
Though the facility is new, Toban and several members of the community have been holding events and classes for nearly two years. Originally a smaller group called WSAJE, the Torah Learning Center began as people felt a need for some kind of local presence without having to cross over the bridge into the city.
“West Seattle, being very unique because it was always cut off, has its own feeling,” he says, “There’s a feeling the Jews wanted to meet each other.”
Events were originally held at a seniors’ center and in people’s homes, but two separate issues pushed the search for a permanent facility. First, a few events had to be cancelled when the hosts were called out of town at the last minute. Also, with several families having small children, adults in the learning programs wanted to have Jewish education available to them as well.
“We were bouncing around, otherwise, to different places, so we looked, and just in time this place came up,” says Toban.
As part of the new location, they offer programs for children aged 5–7, and an older kids’ group for ages 8–12. The teaching focuses on making sure the kids have a good time, and if they learn something, that’s fine too.
“If they enjoy the learning, then they’ll want to be motivated to continue,” says Toban.
In addition, one Friday a month has been set aside for Shabbat dinner, and in February, a special Rosh Chodesh program will get
underway. “Rosh Chodesh is special for women,” Toban says. “Ivy, one of
the people involved, offered up her Jacuzzi.”
Regular classes on Tuesday nights will continue, and a Sunday group at Starbuck’s was started so people with children would have time for informal discussions.
Some of the classes include Hebrew reading and study of Torah texts with commentaries they have compiled.
Toban doesn’t want people to think that Kollel is just for observant Jews, however. “We have all types,” he notes, ranging from Reform to Orthodox and including some intermarried couples.
“People have a perspective of what to expect,” Toban says, when telling about one person who was reluctant to learn more about the programming. By opening his space, and allowing for different levels of comfort, the rabbi gave this person an invitation. “This is where I am. Come meet the people” Toban told him. Once he visited, Toban says, “He said ‘Sign me up!’”
Since they’ve moved into their building, members of the community have helped out with plumbing, electricity, painting, and somebody even donated a stove. They’ve also launched a Web site, www.wstlc.org, which will be updated once their Webmaster finishes his midterms.
“It’s all grassroots,” Toban says.
The Learning Center has about 1,300 square feet. A sitting room in the front will have couches for a cozy, coffee house feel, while meeting and classrooms are in the back. A working bathroom finally went in this week.
Currently, Seattle Kollel is acting as the main support system for the West Seattle branch. Rabbi Toban says that as the programs grow, he hopes people will start donating money to keep them going. He doesn’t want to refuse entry because of money. While they do charge for some programs and for the children’s school, they try to keep costs to a minimum. A lot of their expenses, however, have been picked up by Kollel.
Their biggest challenge so far has been getting the word out. They have an active list of over 200 people they’ve been in contact with, and send out regular emails to about 60 people. Toban hopes that publicity and word of mouth will bring in more.
Though he’s the man in charge, Toban calls West Seattleites Jamie Nugent and Ivy Truesdell the backbone of the project. Of Truesdell, he says, “She always wanted to have a community out there. She worked well for me and I worked well for her.”
And as they continue to grow, Rabbi Toban hopes they will be able to work for everybody.