Twelve years after the start of renovations, the expanded Chabad house will open for full service in the coming weeks, with a grand opening set for Dec. 7. Trojan Family Weekend marked the first use of the renovated synagogue.

The renovations include an expanded dining hall, synagogue, game room, library, bedrooms, commercial kitchen and roof deck. The student center will also be adorned with Stars of David, Hebrew writing, and Jerusalem stone — a type of stone commonly used in ancient Jerusalem structures. The new house will serve as a gathering space, dining hall and residence for students at USC. 

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About 14 years ago, it became apparent that the existing structure was too small to accommodate the needs of the Jewish community at USC, Rabbi Dov Wagner said. The house’s historical significance rendered initial plans to expand the front of the house unusable, so Dov and Runya Wagner, the founders and leaders of USC Chabad, set out to plan an expansion that would benefit Jewish students for years to come. 

“It’s a historic house. [The city] didn’t want us touching toward the front of the house,” Wagner said. “It took some time to think about things and figure out what was important to [the city] and what was important to us and how to come up with a vision that enabled both of them to coexist.”

The building required updates to bring it up to code, seismic upgrades, electrical work and a foundation replacement. 

The COVID-19 pandemic added challenges as construction was delayed. During the pandemic, Chabad was forced to gather outdoors during cold and rainy winters and even had their tent fly away, Wagner said. 

“There were a lot of hurdles to go through until we got up to actually building the expansion,” Wagner said. “About five years ago, we got to the point in construction where we moved everything out of the house, where we were actually building this part, and we’ve been doing everything in the backyard of our home.” 

The expansion’s purpose was to host significant events and provide space for larger classes, speakers and services. In addition, this marks the opening of a Kosher kitchen available for USC students to purchase — an option that was not available prior. However, Wagner said he hopes the house will be more than just an event space. 

“Our goal here is to create community, to create a sense of belonging for all the students who are looking for this,” Wagner said. “It’s very important to me that everybody who wants to come be able to come and not just come and join but to feel comfortable, to feel like they have a place, to have a seat, to be able to sit down, to be able to move around.”

The Chabad house also hosts Shabbat Friday nights and other religious services.

When Chabad first started organizing Shabbat dinners in 2000, getting five students together was a significant feat, Wagner said. With no dedicated space, the group eventually rented a small building near campus to accommodate the growing number of students. 

Today, the program is housed in a permanent location and Wagner credits this success — over 200 students attend Shabbat weekly — to the thousands of students over the years who have supported and helped sustain Chabad for future generations. 

“We have different classes and various Jewish topics. We have different trips to Israel, New York, as well as social events where people can just come and hang out with other people from the community. Sometimes we’ll have speakers come — Holocaust survivors,” said Rabbi Dovid Junik, one of the leaders of Chabad.

Following the smashing of the house’s windows in June while the Wagners were inside with their family, Chabad House has had to take an increased look at security during renovations and the Department of Public Safety has provided additional security during Shabbat. 

For members of Chabad, the building provides opportunities and experiences for the Jewish community, brings people together and allows them to feel at home and to comfortably express and share their Jewish identities. 

“It’s always nice to know that you are welcome in a place where you can interact and connect with people, and Chabad is a place where you can go, Jewish or non Jewish, to learn about the backgrounds and experiences of other people,” said Josh Gordon, a member of Chabad and freshman majoring in human biology. “What makes Chabad special though, isn’t the building, but rather the people who are there.”