About Beth Israel
Beth Israel Congregation was started in 1954. Two New Yorkers, purchased two storefronts on the corner of Prairie Avenue and 41st Street (currently where the Miami Beach CVS is) to begin a synagogue primarily for snow birds.
Ten years later after growing out of their storefronts, which had grown into three storefronts, the founders purchased the current location across the street, on the corner of 40th Street and Chase Avenue and began to renovate the original building to be better used as a synagogue. For decades, Beth Israel Congregation was the only Orthodox Congregation in the Miami Beach area. To this day it is the largest Orthodox congregation in Miami Beach.
In January of 2012 Beth Israel Congregation merged with the Young Israel of Miami Beach a unifying factor that speaks to the Achdut of the community. Today Beth Israel has a membership of over 230 families of all ages and different backgrounds.
Our Rabbi, Rabbi Donald Bixon, moved to Miami Beach in 1997, where he was the Young Israel of Miami Beach’s inaugural rabbi. In 2010, he was instrumental in merging the YIMB and Beth Israel Congregation, the oldest Orthodox Synagogue in Miami Beach
Rabbi Bixon’s humor and casual demeanor make him easily approachable and well liked by our congregation and community. After Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim in Israel he completed his undergraduate studies at Yeshiva College and Rabbinic ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanon Theological Seminary where he was an Adina and Marcos Katz Kollel Fellow.
Rabbi Bixon has been dedicated to the Miami Beach community’s spiritual and physical growth. He has been active in all aspects of our community and its various institutions. Beth Israel Congregation is fortunate to have him and his wife Aliza, a Stern College Graduate, as our Rabbi and Rebbitzen.
Shabbat and Weekly Minyanim Times
Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel
Weekday Shacharit March 7:00 & 8:00 am
Weekday Mincha/Maariv March 6th – 11th 6:15 pm
Friday March 4th
Mincha: 6:10 pm
Candle Lighting: 6:07 pm
Shabbat March 5th
Hashkama Minyan: 7:30 am
Main Minyan: 9:00 am
Guest Lecturer: 5:10 pm
Mincha: 5:55 pm
Maariv: 6:50 pm
Shabbat Ends: 6:59 pm
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קהילת שארית ישראל נוסדה במנהטן, ניו יורק בשנת 1654, על ידי מגורשי ספרד ופורטוגל, ונחשבת לקהילה היהודית הוותיקה בארצות הברית. בית הכנסת של הקהילה, המכונה גם "ספרדי-פורטוגזי" ("Spanish and Portuguese"), מתפקד כאורתודוקסי. ממוקם ברחוב 70 (מערב), ניו יורק.
הקהילה נוסדה ב-1654 על ידי 23 מהגרים יהודיים, שבאו מברזיל, ונחשבת לקהילה היהודית הממוסדת הראשונה בארצות הברית.[דרוש מקור] במשך השנים, השתתפו חברי הקהילה במאבק למען זכויות אזרחיות ליהודי ארצות הברית, ובהדרגה השיגו את מבוקשם. מכיוון שהקהילה הייתה הקהילה היהודית היחידה בעיר ניו יורק עד שנת 1825, שארית ישראל תפקדה בתור המרכז של החיים היהודיים, סיפקה מקום לתפילה ולימוד – הן חילוני והן תלמוד תורה, כמו גם מקום לשירותים דתיים (אוכל כשר, מקווה וכו') ומפגשים חברתיים.
Weekday Services January 31 – February 5, 2016 5776 – Mishpatim – Sunday – Friday – January 31 – February 5, 2016
SCHEDULE
Morning Services
Sunday 8:00 am
Monday – Friday 7:15 am
Sunday – Thursday 6:30 pm
Shabbat Services February 5 – 6, 2016 Mishpatim – 5776 – Friday Eve & Saturday – February 5 – February 6, 2016
SCHEDULE
Friday
Candle Lighting 5:00 pm
Services 5:00 pm
Saturday
Morning Services 8:15 – 11:45 am
Torah Reading: Mishpatim
Seuda Shelishit & Class 3:55 pm
Minhah & Arbit 4:55 pm
Sunset 5:19 pm
Habdalah 5:48 pm
Our Hebrew School
We create and environment that brings Judaism to life, fosters creativity and supports your child's unique style of learning. We use a unique approach which is hands-on and stimulates your child's intellect. Our curriculum has been designed to make a lasting, positive impact on the life of your child.
Judaism Comes Alive
Through drama, song art and stories we bring Judaism to life. OUr innovative methods make learning fun and memorable. We teach history by showing Jewish history, a method that encourages critical thinking. Through our mitzvah curriculum we emphasize each mivtzah's meaning for everyday life, in addition to the how-to ritual observance. Our hebrew language ensures that your child will be able to read from a Siddur (prayer book) No matter what synagogue your child affiliates with later in life, she or he will share the language of prayer with Jews around the world.
Our Staff
Our Hebrew School prides itself in our staff. Staff members are imbued with a desire to impart their love and knowledge of Judaism to their students. Recognizing that Hebrew School is an academic after-school program in addition to their regular school hours, our teachers endeavor to create an engaging program that keeps the interest of the child.
Educational Philosophy
Yeshiva Academy is founded on the principles of Chabad philosophy, which is a way of life that integrates the love of G‑d, intellectual knowledge and understanding of the Torah, and the appreciation of the uniqueness of every individual of the community.
Our administration and staff implement this philosophy in all areas of Judaic and General Studies while fostering a supportive environment for all our students.
Holistic growth in academic, spiritual, moral and social/emotions domains
Rigorous academics are pursued with a recognition that our students possess a variety of learning styles and abilities.
Students are taught to apply academic lessons from their practical settings to their daily lives.
Respect for each individual unique identity and talents forms the core of enhancing our students’ sense of self.
Ethics and moral values are explicitly taught, modeled, and practiced throughout the daily life of school.
Yeshiva teachers help our students realize that the Judaic and Secular worlds are interconnected.
Faculty strives to inspire and motivate each child to enjoy learning and a accept challenges while stimulating critical thought processes.
By empowering the head, heart, and soul, a Yeshiva education provides our students with knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to be successful and to become members of con
His love for his fellow man was genuine – you felt it and reciprocated in kind. Every word of Torah was precious. He would sit and think at length about any given passage. If a difficult question was posed to him, it could set off a thought process that could last hours until he responded with an answer that was breathtaking in its precision and clarity. He enjoyed people – especially young people with fresh ideas. When he reflected on his life history, you were transported back in time. You were taken to Vilna, Pinsk, Siberia, Lodz, and of course to Boston and Bnei Brak. His love for Eretz Yisrael was not based on politics or government, but was the essence of a dream to come and walk the same land tread upon by our forefathers. In fact, he was a minister without portfolio – constantly encouraging others to make Aliya. He gave respect to others, regardless of their age. In Bnei Brak, he would not move without the direction given by the illustrious Rav, Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita.Looking back, Rebbetzin Chava Margolis a”h, was half his life. The mutual admiration was something unique to our struggling generation. It was because of this mutual respect that they were able to build and maintain and accomplish all they did.
We here in Boston were privileged to have him with us for a large part of his life. Our vibrant shul is the result of his life's work. The Mesivta of Greater Boston is named for him and his Rebbetzin, because the donor, Mr. Yitzchak Selib a”h, was befriended and educated by him. Mr. Selib also was a major donor to the Kollel, enabling them to stand on firm financial ground. For years, Rav Margolis nurtured donors for New England Hebrew Academy. He was a strong advocate for the Bais Yaakov for many years. He and his children were instrumental in the founding of Torah Academy. He founded the N'shei Agudas Yisrael which functioned successfully for many years. Agudas Yisrael of Boston, under his leadership, was the address for many great leaders of Klal Yisrael. A fruitful and productive time in Boston was followed by his move to Eretz Yisrael. It was an act of Divine Providence that he found himself in the presence of one of the great personalities of the Jewish world – Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein Shlita, son-in-law of Rav Elyashiv Ztz”l, and one of the foremost Poskim in the world. Although much younger than Rav Margolis, their mutual respect was something to behold. He referred to Rav Margolis as “Pe’er HaShchuna” the crown of the neighborhood. Rav Margolis began to give lectures in Mussar. The Sefer of the Alter of Navordok – Madreigas HaOdom – became well known in Ramat Elchonon. He acquired many friends and students – most of them many years younger than him.
Towards the end of his life he suffered a few strokes, but always displayed signs of mussar and yiras shamayim.
On the 14 of Shevat, the light of this magnificent neshama was darkened, and we are left with the memories. He was a bridge to the past, and left us with a path to the future.
To you all, I wish a happy and healthy year.
Rabbi Ben Skydell has been the rabbi at Congregation Orach Chaim since January 2013. He follows an illustrious tradition of major American Rabbis to have served as the Congregation’s Rabbi, including Rabbis Michael D. Shmidman, Kenneth Hain and Simon Langer.
A native of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Rabbi Skydell is a graduate of Yeshiva College and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a long-time faculty member of the North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, and the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education, and taught for several years at Yeshivat Hadar. Rabbi Skydell also served on the rabbinic staff of Congregation Beth Sholom of Lawrence, New York for nine years.
Rabbi Skydell’s areas of interest include the intersection of Halacha and history, the spiritual worlds of mussar and hasidut, and the historical world of the Rabbis of the Talmud. Rabbi Skydell’s dynamic and engaging presentation has made him a sought-out speaker on college campuses throughout the United States.
Rabbi Skydell is married to Shani, a dedicated social worker and teacher. They are the proud parents of Hannah, Emmie and Zacky.
Cantor Yaakov Y. Stark has been described as possessing “a voice of great beauty, clear and true…breathtaking, radiant, as though from another world.” A child prodigy, at the mere age of seven Yaakov Yoseph Stark was already thrilling congregations with his heartrending solos on the High Holidays. His talent and ability were nurtured by the distinguished cantors in his family, and through continuously listening to the master cantors of the golden age: Rosenblatt, Hershman, Kwartin, Pinchik, Glantz and Koussevitzky. Huge crowds of people regularly attend to savor the stirring songs and timeless tefillos eloquently enhanced and warmly delivered by their beloved cantor. Cantor Stark was privileged to perform at numerous sold-out concerts with the most prestigious philharmonic orchestras and finest choirs throughout the world. His lyric tenor voice has put him in constant demand as a guest cantor in synagogues worldwide. Cantor Stark resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with his wife and children.
Rabbi Shmidman has served the Orach Chaim congregation and Upper East Side community since 1988. In addition to Rabbinic ordination, he holds a Ph.D. degree in Public Law and Government from Columbia University. He has served as Professor and Chairman of Political and Social Science at City University of New York and most recently as Dean of Undergraduate Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University. A widely recognized scholar, he is acclaimed as an outstanding teacher and inspiring preacher. An ardent Zionist, he has been honored by religious, social and cultural institutions in Israel and the United States.
RABBI DANIEL SHERMAN
Rabbi Daniel Sherman joined West Side Institutional Synagogue in 2013. He studied at Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem and then earned a BA from Yeshiva College, where he won the award for Talmudic Excellence. He earned his rabbinic ordination at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, where he was a Maybaum Scholar as well. Prior to recieving his semicha, he interned at Congregation BIAV in Overland Park, Kansas. Rabbi Sherman is also the Co-Director of TorahLetzion, an organization that assists motivated high school students afford a gap-year in Israel. He also spent many summers at Camp Nesher serving as the Head of Staff Beit Medrash Program, chinuch Rebbi, and Assistant Athletic Director.
CANTOR ZEV MULLER
Cantor Zev Müller, our very own "Chazzan Zevi", was raised in a house of Rabbis and Chazzanim. His father, Rabbi Aron Müller, is the Rabbi of the Jewish community in Baden, Switzerland, and his uncle is the famous Cantor Benjamin Müller of Antwerp, Belgium. Chazzan Zevi studied in the renowned Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, and in Beth Medrash Gavoha of Lakewood, New Jersey. Zevi received his BA in Cell Biology & Neuroscience summa cum laude from Rutgers University, and his MA in Biological Sciences from Columbia University. He is currently a graduate student at the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University.
Cantor Müller has studied Chazzanut and voice for many years with acclaimed cantors and opera singers, and has been leading high holiday services since the age of 18. He is a Spinto Tenor with a full range and with variations of color and dynamics. Despite his young age, Cantor Müller is well regarded in the cantorial world and is often invited to perform at concerts, officiate Chuppot and daven as a guest Chazzan around the world. In 2010, Cantor Müller recited the Kel Moleh Rachamim prayer at the UN General Assembly in commemoration of the Holocaust.
Cantor Müller has been the cantor at WSIS since 2007 and has become an integral part of the shul and the community. Though well-versed in traditional Chazzanut, Chazzan Zevi has integrated more contemporary-styled music, which encourages participatory davening and singing. Chazzan Zevi has inspired many with his warm heartfelt services and attracts many locals and visitors to the synagogue.
Besides his role as Cantor, Zevi also lectures and gives shiurim on Gemara, Jewish and Halachic topics for members of the shul and the broader community. He also finds time to teach Chazzanut, Nusach and voice to adults and children. Zevi and his wife, Chaya, live on the Upper West Side.
SpatzShulPhoto tinyWe are an independent, historic Orthodox synagogue that serves a diverse congregation and the broader community.
Our little shul is a great place for davening (prayer), learning, and spiritual growth; and a social environment where we celebrate holidays and life-cycle events together.
We are a warm, caring, welcoming community where everyone can contribute and be active in the life of the congregation, build on the traditions of our founders, and link the Jewish past to the future.
The Adams Street Shul is an orthodox synagogue located near Boston, Massachusetts. The congregation was founded in 1911 — and the shul built in 1912 — by immigrants who had been settling there since the 1890's, mostly from Hungary and the Ukraine.
The synagogue is located in the Nonantum neighborhood of Newton, less than five miles from downtown Boston. Newton is famously safe, and extremely convenient to all the Boston attractions, colleges, high-tech employment, and world-class medical centers.
The Adams Street Synagogue is also convenient to mikvaot and day schools, enjoys having an eruv, and often partners with the three other orthodox synagogues within walking distance.
In the last decade of the 20th century, the antique synagogue was physically restored, and its small, vibrant congregation has been growing ever since.
The shul's members benefit from Newton's excellent municipal services. The shul's Nonantum neighborhood has more homes for rent, more two-family homes, and lower cost houses than can be found in Brookline, Sharon, or other parts of Newton. And there is an eruv.
Individuals and young families relocating to the Boston area for its job market or educational opportunities find the Adams Street Shul to be a place where they can become active and really make a difference in a welcoming, haimish community.
The synagogue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the congregation has been housed there continuously for over a century.
For more information, explore the synagogue's website or contact to arrange a tour or Shabbat hospitality.
Join our diverse congregation, over one hundred years old and still going strong!
קהילה קדושה יאנינה הוא בית כנסת הנמצא ברחוב ברום (Broome) 280 בין רחובות אלן (Allen) ואלדרידג' (Eldridge) בלואר איסט סייד במנהטן ניו יורק. הוא נבנה בשנים 1925-1927 ותוכנן על ידי סידני דאוב. הוא בית הכנסת היחיד בחצי הכדור המערבי שנוהגים בו בנוסח הרומניוטים השונה גם מנוסח אשכנז וגם מנוסח ספרד.
לקהילה קדושה יאנינה יש ייחוד בהיותו בית הכנסת הרומניוטי היחיד בחצי הכדור המערבי הקהילה נוסדה ב-1906 על ידי מהגרים יהודי יוונים מיואנינה, אבל בית הכנסת לא הוקם עד 1927. השנים מאז ועד מלחמת העולם השנייה היו שנים של שפע לקהילה הרומניוטית בלואר איסט סייד. כיהנו בבית הכנסת שלושה רבנים ובימים הנוראים היה בית הכנסת מלא מפה לפה. אחרי מלחמת העולם השנייה עבר חלק גדול מבני הקהילה לרבעים אחרים וחלקים אחרים של מנהטן כולל הרלם, ברונקס וברוקלין. קהילות אלה כבר אינן פעילות היום. למרות שהקהילה התמעטה באופן קבוע מאז ימי הזוהר שלה לפני המלחמה הרי עדיין מתקיימות תפילות בבית הכנסת בשבתות ובחגים. למרות שיש לבית הכנסת רשימת תפוצה של 3,000 אנשים הרי, לעתים קרובות, חסרים אנשים למניין בתפילות השבת. סיורים מודרכים מתקיימים בכל יום ראשון למבקרים. לקהילת יאנינה יש חלקה בבית העלמין בוולווד (Wellwood). שם יש גם מצבת זיכרון ליהודי יאנינה שנספו בשואה.
הבניין נוסף לרשימה הלאומית של מקומות היסטוריים ב-30 בנובמבר 1999 וצוין כנקודת ציון של העיר ניו יורק ב-11 במאי 2004 . הוא עבר שיקום נרחב ב-2006.
Congregation Kehila Kedosha Janina
A small synagogue in New York City's Lower East Side is reaching out to make people aware of its congregation's heritage through a museum that familiarizes people with its customs and history.
The synagogue is virtually unchanged since being built in 1927 by Romaniote Jews from Janina, Greece. In 2004, it was designated a landmark by the City of New York.
Both memorabilia and the museum's tour guides describe the story of the Romaniote Jews, from their entry into Greece in the first century to their current life in America.
Differences between Greek Romaniote Jews and the Greek Sephardic Jews who fled from Spain to escape the Inquisition are featured: The two groups speak different languages and have distinct customs.
The synagogue is open for Shabbat services at 9:00 a.m. and on holidays. Look for the schedule of "Holiday Services" on our sidebar menu.
The Museum is open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays, or please contact us if you wish to have a special appointment.
History
SEPHARDIC COMMUNITY OF GREATER BOSTON
The Sephardim, the first Jewish community to reach America in 1492 together with Christopher Columbus, have been living in Boston for over 350 years. They arrived around the same time as the city of Boston was incorporated in the year 1630. Spanish Portuguese Jews escaping the inquisition and persecution, settled throughout the English Colonies, regaining their freedom of religion, and building their homes and businesses. The first documented Jew in Boston was Solomon Franco, a Sephardic Jew from Holland, who arrived in 1649.
Among the famous patriots living in Boston, was Moses Michael Hays, a Portuguese Sephardi. He and his family left Newport for Boston ahead of the British attack in 1776, at a time that Boston was devastated by the physical and financial effects of the American Revolution. For the next three decades, Moses Hays and his family would play key roles in establishing the financial and cultural institutions that would define post-Revolutionary and 19th-century Boston.
He opened a shipping office in Boston and was among the first merchants there to underwrite shipbuilding, trade and insurance to newly opened Far Eastern markets. In 1784, Hays become a founder and the first depositor of the Massachusetts Bank still doing business today as part of the Bank of America. He was an honorary member of the Boston Marine Society, and a founder of the Mass Mutual Fire Insurance Company and the Mass Marine Insurance Company.
Moses Hays was also active in a variety of civic projects. He donated to subscriptions to beautifying the Boston Common, to building bridges and turnpikes, and to Harvard College.
His son, Judah Hays, and his nephews, Abraham and Judah Touro (after whom Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI, the oldest synagogue in America is named) continued in his tradition. They helped establish Mass General Hospital (Abraham Touro’s portrait is on the wall, in the main lobby), the Boston Athenaeum and the Bunker Hill Monument (The base of the Bunker Hill Monument bears an inscription honoring Judah Touro).
Besides socializing with Paul Revere and Harrison Gray Otis, these Sephardic families were sincere to their Jewish roots. Their businesses were closed on Shabbat, kosher meat was being delivered from Newport, regular prayer services were being held at their homes, and their household library contained dozens of Hebrew books.
However, with all prosperity, the early Boston Sephardic Jews were considered alien-residents. No Jewish houses of worship were allowed in Boston. Furthermore, the Hayes, Touro, Lopez and many other Boston Sephardic families had to bury their deceased in Newport, since there were no Jewish cemeteries allowed at that time. Hence, they were all tied to New York and Newport’s Spanish Portuguese congregations, where they donated regularly and were members. Not until the Massachusetts Constitutional Amendments of 1821, were the Jews granted full rights of citizenship, shortly before a group of Sephardic Algerian Jews arrived in Boston in 1830.
In 1840, the Sephardic Jews in Boston were joined by the Ashkenazim, who had just arrived from Germany, settling at first in the old South End, just South of Boston Common. German immigrants began immediately to establish the traditional institutions that characterized Jewish communities around the world, now that they were permitted in Boston. In 1842, the first Jewish congregation in Boston, calling itself Ohabei Shalom (Lovers of Peace) was formed. Their first synagogue dedicated in 1852 was strictly orthodox. It housed a Mikveh (ritual bath) and a Talmud Torah for children. Two years later, Ohabei Shalom established the first Jewish cemetery in the city. Finally, after two centuries, Boston Jews no longer had to be buried in Newport or New York City. Judah Touro included in his will a large donation to Ohabei Shalom before his death in 1854.
As Ohabei Shalom and it’s break-away, Adath Israel (today Temple Israel), eventually both became Reform Temples, the Sephardic Jews, keeping strictly to their traditional lifestyles, joined and identified with the more religious congregations, and prayed in their synagogues.
In the 1870’s through the turn of the century, there was a group of primarily North African Sephardim, who held Sephardic services in Zion’s Holy Prophets of Israel (The Alfred A. Marcus Orthodox Synagogue) in Boston’s South End. They were using a Torah Scroll dedicated by the famous Sephardic philanthropist, Sir Moses Montefiore. As the Jewish community started to migrate to the suburbs of Roxbury, Dorchester & Mattapan, so did the Sephardim. They continued praying in the synagogues on Blue Hill Ave.
Mattapan is where the history of our Sephardic Community in Brighton began. Many Sephardic Jews were fleeing Egypt, after the rise of President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1956, who subsequently expelled all the Jews and confiscated all their property. After the transition from Egypt, usually through France, where they waited a few years to receive their visas, they arrived in the USA. Approximately sixty families settled in Boston, by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
Hacham Elie Setton, born in Aleppo, Syria, was a Torah scholar and merchant in Alexandria, Egypt. He arrived in Boston in1963, and organized the first prayer services on Yom Kippur of that year. Together with his father-in-law, R’ Eliyahu Hamaoui, and his brother-in-law, the noted Hazzan of the Great Synagogue of Cairo, Shaoul (Charles) Hamaoui and his brother-in-law, Mr. Albert Habif (later elected treasurer of SCGB), they acquired space from Rabbi Moshe Gurkow, in his newly formed Shaloh House Hebrew Day School in Mattapan, and conducted the Yom Kippur services.
That year, in attendance, there were only three families with just nine men/boys that could be counted for the minyan. They invited an Ashkenazi friend to complete the minyan. The next year, as many more families arrived in Boston, they had dozens of people at the High Holiday services. Eventually, other Sephardim living in Boston from other countries of origin, (such as the Cohen families from Greece) found their home with this Syrian-Egyptian group. Hacham Setton became the spiritual leader of the entire Sephardic community, and together with the Hazzan, Shaoul Hamaoui, they lead the services, and began a new chapter in the lives of Boston’s Sephardic Jews.
In 1965, due to the deteriorating Jewish situation in Mattapan, the Sephardic community needed to move again. Many of them settled in Brookline, around Coolidge Corner. The High Holiday Sephardic services were conducted in the Social Hall of the Southern House, on Beacon Street.
The community kept on growing in Brookline, as still many more Egyptian families were arriving, and many other local Sephardim, by now, had heard of the Sephardic services, and hundreds came to join. Eventually, the High Holiday services were moved to the Chateau Garod Wedding Hall on Beacon St. Year after year, following the High Holiday services, the community yearned that one day they should merit to have a synagogue of their own.
In 1977, under the leadership of Dr. Charles Sasson, the Sephardic Community of Greater Boston filed the legal papers, becoming incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Mass.
In 1979, under the leadership of Dr. Charles Naggar & Dr. Martin Hanopole, together with Rabbi Ezra Labaton & Dr. Baruch Mazor, the High Holiday services were extended to Shabbat services too, meeting every week in the Beit Midrash of Young Israel of Brookline.
In 1983, under the leadership of Mr. Clement (Rahmin) Kodsi, the community accepted our beloved Rabbi Aaron Hamaoui, who eventually succeeded his uncle and father, as Rabbi and Hazzan of the community. Rabbi Hamaoui instituted the daily minyan and many Torah classes, which continue till this day. Over the years, the Rabbi has reached out and has made a major impact on hundreds of Jewish families and international college students studying in Boston.
On Yom Kippur 1988, under the leadership of Mr. Moshe Rahmani & Mr. Edmond Shamsi, a successful campaign was launched to finally build our own synagogue. Major contributions were received from the Shamsi and Zafarani families, and also from the Cochab, Elmaleh, Feuerstein, Gabbay, Kodsi, Naggar & Sitt families. Also, among those who donated generously were the Aghion, Ariel, Bauer, Foonberg, Habif, Hassan, Lester, Mayo, Mosseri, Sabetfard, Sanieoff & Schinazi families.
In 1989, the community inaugurated their first synagogue building, Kol Sasson Bnei Shaoul, at our present location, on Corey Road in Brighton. Hence, after three and a half centuries, the Sephardim finally had their first Sephardic synagogue building in the city of Boston.
For over a quarter of a century, this synagogue building has not only served the needs of the Sephardic community, it has also homed and been instrumental in founding many other important institutions of Jewish Boston, such as the Kollel of Greater Boston, Bais Yaakov Girls High School, Ohr Yisrael Yeshiva High School, and others.
In 2008, shortly after a major renovation and completion of the Abraham Picciotto Beit Midrash, several dynamic young professionals reached out to form the New Ashkenaz Minyan (NAM). This Minyan, which is integral to the Sephardic Congregation of Greater Boston, started in October 2008 and has ever since attracting many young adults, families and students. It is a very popular destination for newcomers to Boston.
בבית חב"ד תמצא בית כנסת, הכנה לנישואין, שיעורי יהדות אישיים, בדיקת תפילין ומזוזות, שיעורי תורה לגברים ונשים, סידור קידושין, שירותים/השאלת מזוזות.
Chabad House Bowery is enabling and inspiring young Jews to take responsibility for creating a bright personal and communal Jewish future.
We are building a movement to bring healing to the world.
Our vision is for Chabad House Bowery to carry out the Jewish mission with boundless love, deep inspiration, creativity and style.
Welcome to Congregation B’nai Avraham, the Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn Heights. As the only Orthodox synagogue in the neighborhood, we serve a unique role in accommodating people with divergent religious backgrounds and at varying levels of observance. We welcome all!
Our goal is to increase the level of Jewish awareness, knowledge and observance by providing a warm, welcoming community with activities to appeal to people at all levels and with varying interests. We provide a daily morning and evening minyan and more than ten classes a week for adult learning, as well as beginner’s services and children’s services on Shabbat. Our Mei Menacham Mikvah is perhaps the most beautiful mikvah in the City.
Our membership includes both Ashkenazim and Sephardim, and our members’ first languages include Hebrew, Russian, Yiddush, French, Spanish and Arabic, as well as English. Our spiritual leader, Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin, is a member of the Chabad movement, and during services most people use the RCA ArtScroll Siddur and the Stone Chumash, although other Siddurim and Chumashim are readily available.
Come to Saturday services and enjoy a sociable kiddush afterwards, or stop by at one of our many classes, or come to a Friday night dinner with singing, joy and a guest speaker. Whether you are a yeshivah graduate, baal teshuvah, considering conversion or totally new to matters Jewish, we welcome you, and you will find a comfortable place in our vibrant community.
Daily Classes
There’s always something happening at B’nai Avraham! Every day of the week Jewish education classes are taught for free in English.
If you want to pursue your Jewish education, there are no more excuses. See our *list of classes* for more particulars. Don’t see your topic on the list? Ask us!
History
In the Summer of 1988 Stephen and Penny Rosen, having recently become more observant, wanted to establish an orthodox Shabbat minyan. Together, they contacted Rabbi Shimon Hecht of B’nai Jacob in Park Slope, who supplied them with a Torah scroll, books, and a very young man to lead services and read from the Torah. Space was rented from a local theater group, signs posted, calls made, and the hope was that someone would show up for the scheduled Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. Initially, there were the Rosens, Drs. Walter and Brenda Molofsky, previous members with the Rosens of a local Conservative Synagogue, the young man (Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin) and Rabbi Raskin’s brother Shua, who was recruited to walk from Crown Heights with the Rabbi.
Amazingly enough, other people came so that there was a minyan, and the first and only Orthodox Synagogue in Brooklyn Heights began.
After Yom Kippur, holiday and Saturday morning services were held at the Rosen’s residence for the next nine months. The Congregation was officially founded as a religious corporation in December 1988. It was named B’nai Avraham in honor of Stephen Rosen’s grandfathers, both of whom had the Hebrew name “Avraham.” Rabbi Raskin noted that “B’nai Avraham,” literally, “children of Abraham” is the name given to converts, and the Congregation has had many converts among its members. After nine months at the Rosens’, the Congregation rented a parlor floor apartment on Clinton Street. As the landlady lived upstairs, the front door had to remain locked. Generally, Stephen Rosen waited at the front door to let people in. Latecomers tossed pebbles against a window and someone would come down to let them in.
We then moved to a commercial space at 100 Clinton Street, where at long last, we could leave the door open. Finally, in 1996, we moved to our current location at 117 Remsen Street, purchased from the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue (Reform), which acquired a larger building three doors away.
In 2000, the Mei Menachem Community Mikvah was built. It is one of the most beautiful and elegant Mikvahs in the New York area.
The Queens Jewish Center, also known as Queens Jewish Center and Talmud Torah or QJC, is a synagogue in Forest Hills, Queens, New York known for its significant contributions to the Jewish community. The synagogue was established by a dozen families in 1943 to serve the growing central Queens Jewish community.The current spiritual leader is Rabbi Simcha Hopkovitz.
The Queens Jewish Center building won honorable mention in the 1955 Queens Chamber of Commerce, Annual Building Awards. The architect was David Moed of Manhattan and the Builder was the LeFrak Organization.
The structure actually consists of two separate buildings. On October 3, 1946 an option was taken on the vacant plot where both Synagogue buildings now stand. Ground was first broken for the first building (also referred to as the Talmud Torah building or Bais Hamedrash building) during an elaborate ceremony on June 5, 1949, by Judge Paul Balsam and Center President Herman A. Levine. The ground-breaking for the Main Synagogue building took place on June 21, 1953 and was made possible by generous benefactor, Mr. Harry
Neighborhood
· Forest Hills was once the home of the US Open tennis tournament, played at the West Side Tennis Club before it moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park. When the Open was played at the tennis stadium, the tournament was commonly referred to merely as Forest Hills just as the British Open was referred to as Wimbledon.
· The neighborhood boasts a beautiful aura of old English infrastructure.
· The feeling of the neighborhood is a safe one. Conclusive for a healthy lifestyle , in mind body and spirit.
· It’s pretty picturesque scenery make it perfect surrounding for simply, better living.
· Only minutes away from the Mile long Austin street Shopping strip. As well as the large array of shopping opportunities of Queens Blvd and the boutique style antique shops of Metropolitan Ave. Truly a garden , to live in.
Not to be confused with Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Ungarn, "Great House of Study of the People of Hungary", a Lower East Side congregation founded in 1883 by Hungarian Jews.
Beth Hamedrash Hagodo: בֵּית הַמִּדְרָש הַגָּדוֹל, "Great Study House "is an Orthodox Jewish congregation that for over 120 years was located in a historic building at 60–64 Norfolk Street between Grand and Broome Streets in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was the first Eastern European congregation founded in New York City and the oldest Russian Jewish Orthodox congregation in the United States.
Founded in 1852 by Rabbi Abraham Ash as Beth Hamedrash, the congregation split in 1859, with the rabbi and most of the members renaming their congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagodol. The congregation's president and a small number of the members eventually formed the nucleus of Kahal Adath Jeshurun, also known as the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Rabbi Jacob Joseph, the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York City, led the congregation from 1888 to 1902.Rabbi Ephraim Oshry, one of the few European Jewish legal decisors to survive the Holocaust, led the congregation from 1952 to 2003.
The congregation's building, a Gothic Revival structure built in 1850 as the Norfolk Street Baptist Church and purchased in 1885, was one of the largest synagogues on the Lower East Side. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. In the late 20th century the congregation dwindled and was unable to maintain the building, which had been damaged by storms. Despite their obtaining funding and grants, the structure was critically endangered.
The synagogue was closed in 2007. The congregation, reduced to around 20 regularly attending members, was sharing facilities with a congregation on Henry Street The Lower East Side Conservancy was trying to raise an estimated $4.5 million for repairs of the building, with the intent of converting it to an educational center. In December the leadership of the synagogue under Rabbi Mendel Greenbaum filed a “hardship application” with the Landmarks Preservation Commission seeking permission to demolish the building to make way for a new residential development. This application was withdrawn in March 2013, but the group Friends of the Lower East Side described Beth Hamedrash Hagodol's status as "demolition by neglect"
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are powerful tools for improving schools, classrooms and informal learning spaces. PLCs (and their equivalent Communities of Practice for communal workers) allow education professionals to network with their colleagues, share insights and provide support for each other. CJE convenes participants with shared expertise and experience to collaborate and ensure maximum efficiency.
CJE currently facilitates the following professional learning communities for Baltimore Jewish Day Schools:
- Guidance Counselors/Psychologists
- Facility Managers
- Information Technology Specialists
- Librarians
- Marketing Professionals
In addition, CJE facilitates a Community of Practice for Baltimore Jewish communal professionals working with families with young children.
In 2013, we celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of the earliest of the Boston Synagogue’s predecessor shuls — Congregation Beth Jacob, founded in 1888. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the Synagogue Board formed an Archival/Historical Committee, which wrote a 260-page history book. It is the most authoritative history ever written about the synagogues of the West End. The book is available for purchase directly from the Synagogue, as well as on Amazon.com.
Much of what we have uncovered is quite fascinating and not widely known. Parts of it are funny — like the story of how some disgruntled Kosher butchers and a rejected suitor poisoned all 2,000 guests at the wedding of a rabbi’s daughter. Fortunately, no one died. We also interviewed former West End resident Leonard Nimoy, who among other things told us that the famous Vulcan salute comes from the priestly blessing that he observed as a teenager at one of our predecessor synagogue’s High Holiday services.
In some ways, the story of Boston Synagogue is the story of Boston generally: substantial growth due to immigration at the turn of the 20th century; followed by a long period of urban decline; then substantial resurgence as downtown Boston has become an increasingly attractive place for people to live. As such, we celebrate not just our synagogue, but also the entire downtown Boston community of which we are a part.
A few years ago, we established guidelines for adding artwork that complements the building’s modern design. We commissioned a new ark curtain designed by Joy Chertow, an art teacher at Solomon Schechter Day School in Newton, MA. The intricate and ornate quilting was done by Elana Schreiber, a science teacher at Schechter. The curtain was donated by Mark Schonfeld in memory of his late wife, Bobbie.
After numerous compliments about our ark curtain, we decided to commission a new wall hanging for our lobby entryway, in memory of our longstanding member Florence Wasserman. The Etz Hayim (tree of life) design with a representation of the city of Jerusalem, also designed by Joy Chertow, was chosen to represent the continuing attachment of generations of Jews worldwide to the land of Israel.
wallhangingAs part of our 125th anniversary, we created a high-resolution scan of the 1909 North Russell Street Mishna Society hand-illuminated cover page, and then created a set of enlargements from this work that now grace the sanctuary. It is a beautiful blend of the traditional and modern!
Rabbi Joshua Metzger – Executive Director
Rabbi Asher N. Webb – Kollel Director
Rabbi Levi Shmotkin – Young professionals
Rabbi Noach Heber – IAT Law and Chabad Relief NYC
Rabbi Shmuel Metzger – Upper Midtown Chabad
Mrs. Raizy Metzger – Chabad Preschool
Rabbi Yehuda Rader – Program Director
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Weisz – Assistant Rabbi
509 Fifth Ave Between 42nd and 43rd
New York City
Shachris morning service: Monday-Friday 7:45 A.M.
2nd Shachris Minyan Monday-Thursday 8:45 A.M.
Sundays (and major legal holidays) 9:30 A.M.
Mincha afternoon service: 1:45 P.M. Sunday-Friday (year- round)
Mincha/Maariv service: 4:15/4:30P.M. Sunday-Thursday
Maariv Evening Service: 5:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday
Shabbat Schedule at Chabad of Midtown Manhattan:
For Shabbat candle lighting times click here
Friday Night Service: Kabbalat Shabbat/Arvit 6:00 pm
Dinner: Following service
Shabbat Morning Service: 10:00 am
Kiddush Buffet: 12:30 pm
Park East Synagogue is dedicated to providing the opportunity for spiritual growth, Jewish education and spiritual comfort for individuals, families, and our community.
Park East Synagogue is inclusive of all people seeking a meaningful Jewish life, regardless of degree of observance, knowledge of Jewish tradition, age, or affiliation.
Park East Synagogue is committed to providing inspiring Jewish and general studies education to children and to adults; its Religious School, Early Childhood, and Day School with its emphasis on cultivating a Jewish life rich in tradition and unrivalled in general studies has been, and continues to be, a source of character and vitality for its congregation.
The synagogue’s influence, strength and dynamism in the community derive from the members of our congregation. We value and honor the role our congregants fulfill in defining and shaping our future and that of the Jewish community, in New York City and beyond.
Shacharit
February 28 at 9:00 am EST
February 29 at 7:45 am EST
March 1 at 7:45 am EST
Mincha
February 28 at 5:40 pm EST
February 29 at 5:40 pm EST
March 1 at 5:40 pm EST
I'm not going to leave a synagogue less than a five star but I'm a little confused why I was kicked off the steps of the back entrance. I have never seen anyone come in or go out that way. I'm Jewish. There are cameras everywhere and a Police station a few doors down. They are not paticularly comfortable steps to sit on. The reason I like to sit on those steps is because it's a temple and also because it's close to Police. A few criminals are paying people to harass me every day and when I'm on those steps is the only time they leave me alone. Thanks guys
We are a Modern Orthodox synagogue located in beautiful Newton Centre, Massachusetts, in the greater Boston area.
Our small, energetic shul aspires to provide an inclusive, friendly, and participatory atmosphere conducive to personal growth through tefillah, tzedakah, Torah study, serious religious expression, and building a supportive community of values and meaning.
As our Sages taught us so long ago: The world stands on three things: Torah, Avodah, Ug'milut Chasadim. At Shaarei, we too stand on — and just as importantly, we stand for — these three foundational pillars.
In January of 2014, the Orthodox Union recognized our synagogue as a Hineinu Synagogue, an exemplary national model of communal inclusivity. Our Shul’s inclusivity statement follows:
We are excited to partner with the Hineinu initiative of the Orthodox Union. At Shaarei Tefillah, we pride ourselves on our warm, welcoming Modern Orthodox community. However, we have learned over the years that creating an inclusive environment requires more than good will. A sincere call for inclusivity must be conveyed not only with greetings and invitations, but must be expressed through architecture and access, signage, wordage and programs. The strength of kehillah (community) should be measured not only in membership units and the length of weekly announcements, but also by our manifest inclusivity and our capacity as a halakhic community to learn and improve, to outreach and in-reach, to grow together through full encounter of Torah uMitzvot. When we built our new Shul building just a couple of years ago, a vision of inclusivity drove our process. We designed our Shul to communicate through structure and form that our Beit Kenesset, our home of spiritual ingathering, invites and values the participation of men and women, adults and children, abled and disabled, empty nesters and young families, frum-from-birth and newly religious seekers. We work hard to concretize this message through our programming and publicity as well. Joining the Hineinu initiative is our way of continuing to respond to this Divine call and charge of hakhel, of inclusivity. We sincerely hope that by stepping up to say “Here We Are,” we will inspire other Shuls to do likewise and invite those who have previously felt without community to join us with their own “Hineini — Here I am.”
The synagogue was supported by the many millinery organizations that were based in the neighborhood. A group of these ready-to-wear industry business men had been meeting in various spaces, mostly in a loft on West 36th Street. Their rabbi during this very loosely organized time was Rabbi Moshe Ralbag. In January 1933, the congregation was more formally organized and the name of the synagogue, the Millinery Center Synagogue, was agreed upon, although the meeting place was temporary, at 1011 Sixth Avenue, on the second floor. Moe Brillstein (the father of film producer Bernie Brillstein) became president and started a building fund. At that point the congregation came together and decided to build a synagogue.
Due to the density of millinery businesses in the neighborhood, at its peak, services for daily minyan were typically so heavily attended that the prayer sessions were held in rotating shifts.
The synagogue was built by H.I. Feldman a prolific, Yale-educated architect who built thousands of Art Deco and Modernist-style buildings in New York City,notably 1025 Fifth Avenue (between 83rd and 84th Streets) on the Upper East Side and the LaGuardia Houses on the Lower East Side, as well as many buildings that line the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Feldman and his company, The Feldman Company, also built the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies building (130 East 59th Street) and the United ewish Appeal building (220 West 58th Street).
There were wartime restrictions on building, so building was postponed for a time until 1947. The building's construction was completed in September 1948, and the synagogue was dedicated on September 12, 1948.
Chabad of Fort Lee is founded on the principle that, while Jews embrace many levels of observance in their personal lives, there should be a place for all Jews no labels, no affiliations. They develop a sense of community and enhance the experience of being Jewish. They have successfully catered to hundreds of families from all backgrounds, offering Jewish educational programming in an accepting and innovative setting where all feel welcome. The goal is to create a positive Jewish experience for everyone as they strengthen their ties to the Jewish community.
Chabad of of Fort Lee is a place where every Jewish person is welcome – regardless of affiliation or level of knowledge. Our sole purpose is to create a warm welcoming environment to explore and experience our heritage in a non-judgmental and inviting atmosphere.
Chabad:
There's a palpable warmth at our synagogue services that melts away any embarrassment for those unfamiliar with, or new to, communal prayer.
Everyone feels at home. Come feel for yourself the family atmosphere that makes our services such a delightful experience.
Growth. Connection.
Two little words that symbolize what Chabad of Fort Lee stands for. Two big words that tell you what's so special about us.
Many people come to study or pray at Chabad. They come from all sorts of backgrounds, have many different religious affiliations, and function at all levels of Judaic observance.
But there is one thing they have in common: they are on a journey of growth – personal, intellectual, emotional, religious. They seek to expand their Jewish horizons, increase their knowledge in areas of Judaism, and for some, to grow in Jewish observance.
Warmly, gently, humorously, humbly, but persistently, our Rabbi, Rabbi Konikov, a world class Rabbi and scholar, urges everyone onward and upward, based on the teachings of Chassidism and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, that every Jew is precious and important because he is a Jew, and endowed with a G‑dly soul. One more Torah class. Try out a mitzvah. Explore your roots, take one step further on the path of Judaism; tomorrow maybe another. What when how much and how fast is up to you. But take a step forward. As long one lives one must keep on growing.
But a person, like a plant, needs warmth to grow. Our Chabad is legendary for its warmth, its friendliness, its caring, its hospitality. The words shul family are so often used here, that they've actually become a cliche. The Chabad has become the true center of our community.
Ramath Orah has a unique legacy among Upper West Side synagogues. Founded in 1941 by Rabbi Dr. Robert Serebrenik, the synagogue’s original congregation was comprised of 61 refugees from Luxembourg who escaped the Nazi occupation under extraordinary circumstances. When they arrived in New York they immediately began the work of establishing a congregation in their new home. By 1942, they had founded Congregation Ramath Orah, naming it after the community they'd left.
We want our children to love the experience of shul so that they look forward to coming every Shabbat and holiday. We want our congregants to enjoy each others’ company, linger over Kiddush, laugh with one another, and be comfortable in our shul. For our members, we want to be the first place that they think of when it is time to celebrate a simchah, and the community they turn to in times of loss.
Worship – We are a place where Jews may worship together in an atmosphere that maximizes our ability to forge a relationship with G-d. Our community embraces spiritual, melodic prayer, from a Carlebach-style Kabbalat Shabbat, to festive holiday celebrations, and daily prayer.
Learning – We are deeply committed to study and education, and there are opportunities every week to learn with our rabbis and visiting scholars.
Chesed – We are dedicated to the ideals of bikur cholim (visiting the sick) and g’milut chasadim (doing good deeds), and the Ramath Orah Team of Chesed (ROTC) can often be seen visiting sick or elderly members of the community. We seek to integrate Chesed programs into the life of our community and to involve as many of our congregants as we possibly can in our Chesed programs.
Zionism – As a Jewish community, we are strongly committed to the State of Israel and encourage advocacy and activism. We believe that the creation of the State of Israel marks the beginning of the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to the Jewish people and foreshadows our ultimate redemption. Accordingly, the preservation of the Jewish State and the ability of its citizens to live in peace, safety and prosperity is a goal of our congregation, one which we not only pray for, but contribute our time and resources to help achieve.
Engagement – All members of our community are active participants, . While everyone is welcome to attend davening in our main sanctuary on holidays, we also host a monthly women’s prayer group and weekly Children’s Shabbat programs.
We are not judgmental of our fellow Jews, and we welcome all to our synagogue and accord honors in our services without regard to affiliation or non-affiliation of our members and guests. Ramath Orah seeks to be at the forefront of mutual tolerance and respect for Klal Yisrael. Ramath Orah, moreover, does not turn away anyone, either from participation in shul activities or from receiving honors, because of an inability to pay dues or make contributions.
We aspire to be a synagogue that makes every visitor, from the moment he or she enters our Shul, feel welcome and appreciated. We want every congregant to feel a personal obligation to reach out not only to visitors and new members, but to their fellow congregants. Click here to learn more about our hospitality program.