SYLVIE BELMOND/Acorn Newspapers READY TO SERVE—Rabbi Shimon Heidingsfeld and his wife Devorah recently moved to Ventura County to establish the Chabad of Moorpark that will serve the local Jewish community. Pictured above are the Heidingsfelds and their two children, Yossi and Yitzi. Rabbi Shimon Heidingsfeld and his wife Devorah recently moved to Moorpark to serve the growing needs of the local Jewish community.

The couple and their two young children unpacked just in time for the upcoming High Holidays, which begin next Monday at sundown, and they're preparing their new site for the annual Jewish services.

"We came here because we knew this area needed a local Chabad," said Heidingsfeld, who was assigned to Moorpark by Rabbi Boruch Cunin, director of Chabad of the West Coast.

Chabad of Moorpark is part of a worldwide Jewish educational and social service organization that has more than 200 centers in California. The organization aims to create awareness and vibrancy in small Jewish communities such as Moorpark and assists people who want to celebrate the rich heritage of Judaism.

The Purim services hosted by Heidingsfeld this past spring at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center attracted about 50 people, affirming the need for a Jewish presence in Moorpark, the rabbi said.

Chabad has now planted roots in town and will hold Rosh Hashanah services at 11958 Honeybrook Court on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings next week. The services begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue at noon with the blowing of the shofar, Kiddush and lunch.

The holiday will be celebrated in a userfriendly format featuring Hebrew and English prayers for Rosh Hashana and for Yom Kippur on Oct. 8 and 9.

Services are open to anyone of the Jewish faith, regardless of background and affiliation.

"Every Jew is automatically a member of Chabad and there is never a need to pay any dues," said Devorah Heidingsfeld. "We view it as our life mission to help Jews and bring everyone together."

Rabbi Heidingsfeld, who grew up in a family of Chabad emissaries in Australia, has shed most of his thick Australian accent to be understood overseas, but the dialect resurfaces when he talks about his former home across the Pacific.

Heidingsfeld moved to the U.S. to study at the Educational Institute Oholei Torah in Brooklyn, N.Y. After receiving his rabbinic ordination from the Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva in 2004, he began to promote Jewish awareness and identity in cities throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

He most recently served as assistant rabbi at Chabad of Westlake and teaches Judaism classes in Los Angeles.

"The concept of Chabad is to let people know about their Jewish heritage. That is why we go out to different communities to establish new Chabads," Heidingsfeld said, adding that he looks forward to spending more time in Moorpark to help local Jewish people connect, he said.

The Heidingsfelds married three years ago. Devorah grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and attended the Yeshiva for Jewish girls before spending a year in Israel, where she studied and received her diploma in Jewish studies.

Devorah Heidingsfeld then worked in the Conejo Valley, organizing and leading youth programs, Hebrew School, and Jewish awareness programs for Chabad. In 2003 she instituted the Friendship Circle, a program for children with special needs, and also taught kindergarten in Los Angeles.

In addition to holding religious services and providing a home for the Jewish community here in Moorpark, the rabbi and his wife collaborate with Chabad of Simi Valley to offer Sunday Hebrew School and other programs. Most of these classes take place at the Simi Valley location, but both Chabads are now working to extend programs into Moorpark.

"It's been well needed in Moorpark, where there aren't any Jewish places," said resident Terri Doria, a longtime member of Chabad.

"Chabad is an amazing outreach group that doesn't turn anybody down," she said.

Doria said she is fond of her new rabbi.

"Although they're very religious, Shimy and Devorah are not intimidating," she said. "They're amazing people."

Whether they are religious or not, adults and children are invited to visit Chabad to learn about their Jewish roots.

"It's important for kids to have a foundation in Judaism. If they don't do anything, it's just going to be lost," Doria said.

Rabbi Nosson Gurary, who heads Chabad of Simi Valley, agreed.

"We always had people from Moorpark who were benefiting from the programs we were doing here in Simi and they're always asking for something local," he said.

Now the Heidingsfelds are making that possible.

"They love other people and they have a drive to go out and try to meet people to let them know how beautiful Judaism is and inspire them to get closer," Gurary said. He is confident that the Heidingsfelds will do a "tremendous job."

To learn more about Chabad and its programs, visit www.jewishmoorpark.com.