At Hatikvah Music, the Whole World is Jewish

BOXES ARE SCATTERED around the floor of Hatikvah Music International at 436 N. Fairfax Avenue. Stacks of CDs, reams of packing plastic, mounds of mailing envelopes, and piles of boxes to be mailed threaten the barely discernable order of the store. It looks like moving day. A computer quietly hums against the wall while a cat lounges on top of it. Aside from owner Simon Rutberg and his interviewer, the store is empty. "This is how I live," he modestly offers. You'd never know that this is the world's largest outlet for musical Judaica. Come January, Rutberg will be forced to move.