CV Chabad Acquires New Center

In the eight years since the Chabad Jewish Center of Castro Valley has opened its doors, its programs have grown by leaps and bounds. 

To accommodate its ever-growing crowds–recent Chanukah celebrations have attracted 300 attendees–the congregation has purchased a spacious 4,000-square-foot facility at 21666 Redwood Rd., right off the I-580.

According to Rabbi Shimon Gruzman, who leads the center together with his wife, Chanie, the new center will house their sanctuary, Hebrew school, youth and cultural events, and eventually Chabad’s preschool, which opened in 2013.

The rabbi says that the new center will allow them to expand many of their existing programs, which were limited by lack of space in their current rented facility. “Our Passover Seders, our holiday celebrations, our events, will all be that much larger and that much more inclusive.” 

Located entirely on street level, the new Chabad center has ample parking and is easily accessible for people with mobility challenges. 

The rabbi says that the center will also house a new Judaic library, with titles for both children and adults, which will be a serene space for reading, contemplating, and connecting. 

Although the move into the new center will not be immediate, the rabbi invites the wider community to celebrate the move with a lechaim at the Shavuot morning Dairy Buffet  on Sunday, June 5, at the current synagogue, at 20912B Redwood Rd.

Shavuot, which marks the revelation at Sinai, is celebrated by a public reading of the 10 Commandments from the Torah scroll and dairy feasting. Sunday prayer services begin at 10 AM, 10 Commandments will be read at 11 AM following by a dairy buffet.