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Jewish Community News

News: February 2004

Alef Bet celebrates 10 years in South Bay

By Cecily Ruttenberg

Ten years after opening Alef Bet Judaica for business in a small Los Gatos strip-mall on Winchester Blvd., Nurit Sabadosh feels like she has proven herself a success. Not only did she launch her business with no previous experience, but she entered into a tough market with a dispersed Jewish community.

"The community, it's spread, mostly unaffiliated and hard to get into the market," said Nurit. "Then there's the stores in the synagogues. It's been hard. But 10 years we are here with the good support of good people. So many people said we need you."

Nurit moved to the Silicon Valley from Israel in 1981 with her husband Uri and her then 10- and 13-year-old children. Uri's expertise was in computers, and the family had moved to Silicon Valley to pursue his career.

Having worked as a teacher in Israel, Nurit began teaching Hebrew and Judaica at Shir Hadash and Yavneh Day School. After 11 years at the schools, "I felt I needed to do something different," she said. Nurit knew she wasn't interested in computers, and she was frustrated that bob and bob in Palo Alto was the closest Judaica store.

"I envisioned a place that would be a magnet for Jewish life. I wanted it to be a place where people could come and learn and ask questions and see beautiful things," she said. "I was hesitant and my husband said you won't know if you don't jump into the water."

With the support of her family, Nurit opened Alef Bet for business 10 years ago. At the time, Nurit's children were nearby and she counted on them for help. Her son, Ofer, had graduated with a degree in business accounting and her daughter Liat, was in advertising. The first few months she asked her kids to work the cash register. "I wasn't comfortable taking money from people because I knew everyone in the community," Nurit says.

Nurit invited the principals of Jewish preschools to hold their monthly meetings in her store. A young adult group also used to use the store to meet monthly with a rabbi. She wanted to make the store a part of the greater Jewish community.

"I think Alef Bet is really a place that I feel that I help the community," she said. "I think there is a need for Jewish life outside of the synagogue."

Looking to the future, Nurit hopes that the new Gloria and Ken Levy Family Campus, being constructed by the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, will increase Jewish activity in the South Bay and offer a strong central foundation of Jewish life. One of her greatest hopes for the new campus is the creation of a kosher café inside the building. "I can't tell you how many people call from different companies that come from the East Coast asking where is the restaurant that we can order kosher sandwiches for our meeting. It makes me feel sad and ashamed to say you have to go north to Palo Alto," said Nurit. "I'm hoping the building will be a symbol and then people will come closer around that symbol."

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