In 1972 Chabad in S Monica was founded as one of the ten Chabad institutions presented to the Lubavitcher Rebbe for his 70th birthday. We opened our first Chabad House on Montana Ave. We started with Shabbos services. Our first event was a Passover Seder. We also worked with children through our Jewish Released Time Program. The need to open an afternoon Hebrew School for these children was felt, and our school was soon established. For Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we rented out the Miles Playhouse to accommodate the large crowd.

Soon after we launched the first Sukkah mobile in S. Monica. We also made programs for Chanukah, Purim and Shavuos Torah readings on the beach. Camp Gan Israel was established.

We had long grown out of our Montana Avenue storefront and after a few temporary places, the building on Seventeenth Street was acquired. We continued to grow, and offer a wide variety of programs. Our hospital chaplaincy, programs for seniors and nursing home residents and weekday Minyan were just a few. Our Mikvah was built. A Chabad store and Synagogue branch opened on Montana Avenue.

Today, we continue to provide these programs. We continue to provide the Jew today with the beauty, depth, awareness and joy of living a lifestyle true to the Jewish traditions and teachings. For generations, Chabad has provided a container and an ambiance for thousands of Jews, of all ages and identifications, to come home to their Jewish lives.