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Oct 12, 2004

"Basically, this is what the focus of humanity is all about -- bringing a smile to everybody's face. There's so many ways to express our spirituality in a positive way." --Chaim Cunin

The Surfing Rabbi

Just steps from the sand, Orthodox Rabbi Nachum Shifren parks his beat-up blue 1983 Volvo station wagon with the surf racks and bumper sticker that reads, "Forgive Me Rabbi, For I Have Surfed." Shifren, 53, wears the long, unshorn beard of Hasidic Jews and traditional Orthodox garb with those Ocean Pacific flip-flops on his feet! "You can't be too square. You've got to be a little hip," he reminds us.