The Young Israel of Sharon is a vibrant orthodox shul with a warm friendly, and relaxed atmosphere. Our ideology is inclusiveness. The Young Israel of Sharon brings together men, women, and children from a wide variety of backgrounds, with a broad array of religious styles and approaches, all unified by a commitment to authentic Torah life and spirit.
Young Israel of Sharon opened its doors in 1972 with just a minyan of families. In 2001, Young Israel moved to its present day facility. Today, we are experiencing 10% annual growth and have currently reached about 200 member families.
A variety of reasons contribute to Young Israel's growth: our family-oriented community; safe neighborhood to raise kids; modern diversity and openness; and our young and vibrant members. Another reason is Sharon’s affordable housing. Business Week online listed Sharon, MA as one of the top 20 Best Affordable suburbs in the Northeast.
Young Israel exemplifies the ideals of Modern Orthodox: serious Torah study and practice, together with an embrace of diversity and participatory openness to the best of contemporary culture and community.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Sendor is the spiritual leader of the Young Israel of Sharon, MA.
He is a recognized scholar in the field of Jewish History, specifically the history of Jewish mysticism, philosophy and medicine. He holds a rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, a Ph.D. with Distinction from Harvard University and a Master’s from Yale University. Rabbi Sendor lectures widely on his specialties and holds many classes on various Torah topics for all levels.
Sharon is a beautiful suburban community with a wealth of natural resources. Its uniqueness is its beauty and location.
Located 22 miles from Boston and Providence, Sharon has access to both metropolitan centers via MBTA commuter trains, and to New York City and Washington, D.C., via Amtrak trains at nearby station, Route 128.
Its population of 18,000 consist of; 32% children under 19; 56% adults 25-64 years, and 10% seniors over 65. Sharon residents live mostly in single-family houses ranging from relatively modest ranches to luxury properties. Sharon does offer a few home rentals within the Eruv. Sharon’s estimated median home price is $454,202 with an average Property Tax of $4,389 (2006 stats).
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Historic Shaare Zedek Synagogue
For over a century, Congregation Shaare Zedek has served the Orthodox Jewish community
of northern Hudson County in New Jersey, including West New York, Guttenberg, North Bergen, Weehawken and Union City.
In 2012 we celebrated our Centennial. Some of our families have been with us since the beginning over a hundred years ago.
If you are part of our history, we invite you to contribute your story to our virtual book.
If you are new to Shaare Zedek we welcome you with open arms.
The synagogue is temporarily closed while we fix some building code violations and settle some fines.
When we reopen, we have services on Shabbat at 9:30 AM, and also on Jewish holidays.
We often have maariv on Friday – call us to check on the status: (201) 867-6859
Minyan Times:
Shacharis Sun: 8:15 AM
Shacharis Mon/Thu: 7:15 AM
Shacharis T/W/F: 7:15 AM
Shacharis Rosh Chodesh: 15 minutes earlier than normal
Mincha: 10 minutes before Shkia
Maariv: Follows Mincha Friday
Mincha: Between 10-15 minutes before shkiah
Shabbos Shacharis: 9:00 AM in winter 9:15 in summer Shabbos
Mincha: candle lighting time Motsei Shabbos
Maariv: aproximately 50 minutes after shkiah
Daf Yomi
Monday through Friday at 6:30 am
Edit Shiur
Daf Yomi
Shabbos
(45 min. before Mincha)
Boyaner Rebbe Shlit"a Speaking at Tish commemorating the Yohrtziet of his Alter Zeide The Pachad Yitzchock of Boyan Zatza"l at Mannhatan Day School on the Upper West Side, Feb 20th 2011. Hosted by the Boyaner Shtiebel of the West Side.
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.
Weekly Shiurim:
Rav Singer Chevra Mishnayos Shiur: Daily between Mincha & Maariv
Mishna Berura Yomis: Daily after Maariv
Daf Yomi by Rabbi Fishelis: Sun – Thu at 8:00 PM
Mishlei Shiur: Sunday mornings, 7:45 AM
Women's Shiur in Tehillim: Monday
Rabbi Romm's Ha'amek Davar Shiur for men and women: Wednesday at
9 PM
Torah Topics: given by Rabbi Mayer Friedman. Friday mornings, 9:15 – 10:15 AM
Shabbos Shiurim:
Rabbi Romm–1 hour before Mincha
Daf Yomi–1 hour before Mincha
The Bialystoker Synagogue was organized in 1865 on the Lower East Side of New York City. The Synagogue began on Hester Street, moved to Orchard Street, and then ultimately to its current location on Willet Street, more recently renamed Bialystoker Place.
Our congregation is housed in a fieldstone building built in 1826 in the late Federal style. The building is made of Manhattan schist from a quarry on nearby Pitt Street. The exterior is marked by three windows over three doors framed with round arches, a low flight of brownstone steps, a low pitched pedimented roof with a lunette window and a wooden cornice. It was first designed as the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
In the corner of the women’s gallery there is a small break in the wall that leads to a ladder going up to an attic, lit by two windows. Legend has it that the synagogue was a stop on the Underground Railroad and that runaway slaves found sanctuary in this attic.
In 1905, our congregation, at that time composed chiefly of Polish immigrants from the province of Bialystok, purchased the building to serve as our synagogue. During the Great Depression, a decision was made to beautify the main sanctuary, to provide a sense of hope and inspiration to the community. The synagogue was listed as a New York City landmark on April 19, 1966. It is one of only four early-19th century fieldstone religious buildings surviving from the late Federal period in Lower Manhattan. Richard McBee and Dodi-Lee Hecht have both written in-depth articles about the building.
In 1988 the Synagogue restored the interior to its original facade, and the former Hebrew school building was renovated and reopened as The Daniel Potkorony Building. It is currently used for many educational activities. Our most recent project was the refurbishing of our windows.
The Synagogue has continued to be a vibrant and reputable force in the religious world. In recent years a substantial number of new families have chosen to make it their place for prayer and study.
Rabbi Yosie Levine joined The Jewish Center's rabbinic team in 2004. He earned a BA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia College and was awarded the university's William F. Curtis award for outstanding oratory. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Rabbi Levine received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and was the winner of RIETS' writing prize. He holds an MPA in Public Policy from NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Modern Jewish History at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School. Rabbi Levine served as Rabbinic Intern, Assistant Rabbi and Associate Rabbi at The Jewish Center where he received practical rabbinic training and mentoring from Rabbi Ari Berman. Before joining the Center, he served as the educational director of the Lauder Foundation's Beit Midrash in Berlin, Germany and as the visiting scholar of Congregation Knesseth Israel in Birmingham, Alabama. Rabbi Levine has taken a leadership role on the issue of day school affordability and serves as the chair of Manhattan Day School's Political Advocacy Committee. He is co-chair of the Manhattan Eruv and is active in numerous communal organizations including AIPAC and the Beth Din of America and serves on the Board of UJA-Federation of New York. Rabbi Levine's wife, Rachel, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. They are the proud parents of Akiva, Yehoshua, Ari and Judy.
Rabbi Dovid Zirkind, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, joined The Jewish Center clergy in July 2012. After two years of study at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh in Israel, Dovid continued his education at Yeshiva University. There he received his undergraduate degree in Psychology, graduating from the Yeshiva Program with honors. Upon graduation, Rabbi Zirkind attended the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, studying in the Marcos and Adina Katz Kollel. In 2010, Rabbi Zirkind joined the Yeshiva University Torah MiTzion Beit Midrash of Toronto, where he studied full time in the Beit Midrash and served as Rabbinic Assistant at Shaarei Shomayim Congregation. In that role, Rabbi Zirkind taught classes throughout the Greater Toronto Area, crafted programs and curricula for adults, college students and children alike and trained under a number of the communities leading Rabbis.
In his role as Assistant Rabbi of The Jewish Center, Rabbi Zirkind services the full gamut of our membership. He is the director of our Adult Education program, Jewish Center University, leads our daily minyanim and heads our Young Leadership Minyan and programming. Internally, Rabbi Zirkind teaches a number of ongoing classes and shiurim, including Talmud, Contemporary Ethics and Jewish Law. He believes that passionate Torah Study should be text based, highly engaging and grapple with the major issues of our time. In the broader community, Rabbi Zirkind increasingly represents our shul as well. He is teacher at Manhattan Day School and a frequent lecturer in local institutions including; the JCC, West Side Sefardic Synagogue, Congregation Rodeph Shalom, the RIETS Rabbinic Training Seminar and others. In addition, as a UJA Federation Grant Recipient, Rabbi Zirkind currently leads the inaugural cohort of The Jewish Center Social Action Fellowship (JCSAF). Together with his wife, Ariella, the Zirkind’s lead sought after personalized marriage workshops, which include Chattan & Kallah classes and ongoing Taharat HaMishpacha and fertility counseling for young families.
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!
Founded in 1906, Congregation Mount Sinai is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Jersey City. Our distinctive building with its copper cupolas is a historic landmark and a symbol of our deep roots in the neighborhood. Services are held 10 a.m. Saturday and are conducted in Hebrew.
Men and women sit separately, and children are welcome. Join us for Shabbos or a holiday or contact [email protected] for more information.
Congregation Mount Sinai, founded in 1906, is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Jersey City. Our distinctive building with its copper cupolas is a historic landmark and a symbol of our deep roots in the neighborhood.
We are a warm, welcoming, and traditional congregation with a modern perspective on Jewish life and learning. Members include longtime Jersey City families as well as newcomers of all ages who are participating in the economic and cultural revival of Jersey City and Hudson County.Visitors are likely to hear a wide variety of
languages and accents as our congregation is exceptionally international. Page numbers are always indicated, and we offer a welcoming environment for people to express, deepen and rediscover their Jewish heritage.
Founded largely by Jewish merchants who anchored the Central Avenue retail district, Congregation Mount Sinai flourished in the mid-20th century. At the time, The Heights was home to many first and second-generation American Jews.
During the 1960s and 1970s, many members moved to the suburbs but the area is being rediscovered by a new generation.
We are walking distance from Journal Square, Hoboken and Union City. During the week, The Heights is a quick commute to New York with easy access to the Light Rail, PATH trains, buses, jitneys, and Uber. Other highlights include the Central Avenue shopping district, Pershing Field, and stunning panoramic views of Manhattan from Fisk Park/Riverview Park.
What is Chabad at Columbia University?
· Chabad at Columbia University is a meeting place for social, educational and cultural events; a place where students seek guidance and advice on whatever issues life presents.
· A partnership between students and faculty to help create innovative programming, plan social action projects, promote awareness activities and offer volunteer opportunities.
· A home where all are welcome no matter what background or affiliation.
· Like a home, our doors never close.
· A place where every Jew is family.
· A forum where students can question faith without fear of judgment.
· A haven to turn to when a student is stressed or lonely and needs a friend to talk to — at any time of day or night.
PHILOSOPHY
Chabad at Columbia University is based on the ideology of Chabad Chassidism, which has at its foundation the encompassing mitzvah ‘to love one’s fellow as one loves oneself’ and to permeate that love with Acts of Kindness and Mitzvahs. We tirelessly deliver a universal message:
Each person is invaluable and has a direct and powerful ability to bring wholeness and peace to the world.
Chabad at Columbia University seeks to engage students at their own pace and comfort level through innovative educational and cultural programs.
PROGRAMS & SERVICES
Chabad at Columbia University has developed a reputation as an innovator of distinctive educational and social action programming.
Additionally, creative hands-on programs on campus raise community awareness, consciousness and pride. Weekly classes are given on various topics such as Mysticism and Jewish law.
Community services and events such as an interest free small loan fund for students, lending library, food drives, elderly/infirm visitation, and more.
Of course, the Rabbi and Rebbetzin are available to meet with students individually around the clock.
FUNDING
As a student, community organization, we are committed to providing our programs and services free of charge. No one is ever turned away due to lack of funds. The support for our programs comes solely from alumni, parents and friends.
FAQ
Is what you think about Chabad MYTH or FACT? You may be surprised. Take a few minutes to browse through these FAQ and you'll have a better understanding of what Chabad is all about. Click here to read some of our FAQs
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 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.
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.
Your most heroic acts are those of which you may not even be aware.
Like the time you could have gotten even with the guy in the next cubicle, and nobody would have known. And you really wanted to. But you didn’t, just because it’s not right.
You may not have been impressed—you may even have been disappointed with yourself. But the angels burst into song, as all your world rose up a notch. It may have been the most elevating act of a lifetime.
Heroic acts are not heroic if they’re second nature. It’s when you break out of your nature that you enter the realm of the divine.
B"H We are all heros. We are all filled with the glory of God.
The difference between "the best of us and the worst of us" is a VERY fine line and moves with time.
Redemption and return to God is just a moment and thought away. A desire.
Rv. Freeman, the lessons are from God, with your sweet expression.
Thanks to God, through you on this Thanksgiving day.
Shalom,
how great to know that not only in general we are important, but every moment of our life!! we are the main actor and HASHEM is our main audience and our "Oscar" is His approval and joy.
Chabad of the Upper East Side is part of a world-wide organazation of Chabad-Lubavitch, under the leadership and guidance of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
There is no mystery about our philosophy: Love every Jew; educate every Jew; reach out to help every Jew. We open our arms and hearts to all, regardless of education or affiliation. That is a commitment that we have honored on the Upper East Side since 1993
Synagogue
Friday Evening
Mincha & Maariv:
5 minutes after candle lighting
Shabbat
9:00 AM: Chassidic Philosophy
9:30 AM: Morning Services
10:30 AM: Reading of the Torah accompanied by penetrating Chassidic insights into the Torah and it's relevance to our personal lives
Kids Shul: 10:15 AM -12:15 PM
with Mrs. Rivkah Dayan
Followed by Kiddush
Mincha, Seuda Shlishit followed by
Evening services, Havdallah and The Living Torah.
Call for exact times.
Sunday & Legal Holidays
The Upper East Side Kollel
Learning: 8:30 AM
Morning Services: 9:00 AM
followed by breakfast and 1:1* learning until 1:30 PM
Monday-Friday
The Upper East Side Kollel
6:45 1:1 Learning
7:30 AM – Morning Services
followed by breakfast and 1:1* learning until 12:30 PM
Jewish Identity Grows On Manhattan's Upper East Side
Marlene Rosenberg, a successful senior business management consultant has been living around the corner from Chabad of the Upper East Side for as long as she can remember. But it was only in the past year that she took courage and ventured in gingerly, despite her fears that the experience would be too intimidating.
“Both my parents were Jewish, but we grew up with no real knowledge or Jewish traditions,” she said. “I didn’t read Hebrew, and knew nothing about how to participate at services.” When her sister died a year ago, the loss triggered a hunger, and Marlene was on a quest for something that would bring comfort and meaning to her life.
Of the estimated 56,000 Jews who live on Manhattan’s Upper East Side—the area bounded by the East River to Central Park and 59th Street to 96th Street—only 15,000 affiliate in some way.
“The UES has one of the wealthiest, most assimilated Jewish populations anywhere,” Rabbi Benzion Krasinianski, director with his wife Chanie, of Chabad of the UES, said. “But with this many Jews who don’t affiliate at all, the need and the possibilities are tremendous.” He recalls that when he moved to the area 21 years ago to establish Chabad of the UES, many thought he’d come to the wrong neighborhood.
“People told us frankly that they didn’t see how Chabad would be relevant to Jews here who have reached the summit of success in their careers; that they would have no interest in anything spiritual.” But some like Marlene, sensitive to an existential void that begs a different kind of answer, eventually find their way to Chabad of the UES on East 77th Street and First Avenue.
Others connect when they send their children to Chabad’s popular preschool which has grown to 75 children; or to its Hebrew School where at any given time, 50 adolescents are being prepared for their bar-bat mitzvahs.
Chabad facilities here include the $13 million Schneerson Center for Jewish Life sponsored by George Rohr & Family and the Jacques & Hanna Schwalbe Mikvah sponsored by Peter Schwalbe. The building, featuring a sanctuary, classrooms, commercial kitchen and social hall bookended by a beautiful, spa-like mikvah on its below-ground level that is used by 400 women a month, and an open-air playground on the roof, is bursting at the seams.
Peter Schwalbe recalls that when “we first started building about 12 years ago, I used to say to the rabbi: ‘What if we build this spectacular building and no one shows up?’” But they now have children on a waiting list for admission to the preschool because, he says, “there’s simply no room.”
The Krasinianskis, parents of a large family, deliver a standard of programming and services that often exceeds the expectations of Upper East Siders. “The Upper East Side is a trend setting community and has repercussions around the world. If mikvah is good enough for Park Avenue women, it must be good enough for everyone,” says Chanie.
Nicknamed 7:11 for opening its doors every morning shortly before 7 and closing at 11, the Chabad center sees hundreds of Jews on an average week and more than that participating in its varied and dispersed programs and services: besides the preschool and Hebrew school, it offers well attended adult education classes, a Kollel, daily prayer services, a Friendship Circle. Under the Krasinianski’s leadership, Chabad on the UES has opened Chabad of Hunter College, Chabad Israel Center of the UES, Chabad Young Professionals, and most recently, Chabad’s Medical Outreach program.
Owing to the largest concentration of world class hospitals, including Sloan Kettering, Columbia Presbyterian, Cornell, Lenox Hill, and Mt. Sinai, the Krasinianski’s recently decided to recruit a young couple dedicated to serving this sector.
“We are often called upon by people who end up here unexpectedly, traumatized by a sudden medical crisis. They need someone to turn to, to lean on, who can help them out with medical referrals, Shabbos accommodations, sometimes with language barriers.”
In addition, Chabad’s designer thrift shop, Solomon's Wive's Designer Resale & Thrift on East 89th Street, brings people together for a good cause. Managed by Donna Pressman, who helped Mussa Zakon set up the thrift shop, the store’s proceeds go to support Chabad’s educational and social activities. The shop, says Pressman, is “where we take the material and turn it into something spiritual.”
But above all, says Rabbi Krasinianski, Chabad is here to teach Torah. “There is a real thirst—even among a more traditional element—for Chasidic study. People come back because once they’ve been exposed to the inspiration and depth that Chabad Chasidism offers, they appreciate the difference it makes in their lives.”
Long-time supporter Deborah Aronow with her husband Joseph Aronow—who recently made a generous corporate grant towards lessonsintanya.com, an online Tanya class featuring daily Tanya sessions with Rabbi Krasinianski—has known the Krasinianskis since 1992.
Although she admits that she was one of those Upper East Siders who might have thought she’d have no need for Chabad, getting to know Chabad through the Krasinianskis, who are now “family,” has taught her the timeless relevance of Torah. “There was nothing like this when I was growing up. Chabad has brought light, learning and acceptance” to Jews on the UES. “It’s not an old-fashioned thing that doesn’t apply today. Everything that you experience with Chabad has an application today.”
On a December Friday night, some 55 people—all congregants of the Reform New York Shul led by Rabbi Burt Siegel joined Chabad for Shabbat dinner. None had ever been to Chabad before, and they were curious to participate at a traditional Shabbat dinner. After the dinner, Rabbi Krasinianski opened the floor to a “stump the rabbi” session.
“They had so many serious questions; they were so engaged and interested to know more about the Torah’s perspective on a wide gamut of issues. They stayed on for hours.”
Marlene’s first exposure to Chabad, she recalls, was disarming. “They greeted me so warmly and made me feel so welcome. I felt no pressure at all.” There was a first Passover Seder, and then the High Holidays was another first. Soon she was coming more frequently, and now she’s sharing with others her newfound sense of belonging, an inspired Jewish identity, and the rich Torah content that Chabad has introduced to her life. Today, she’s at Chabad every Shabbos and takes time off of work for the rabbi’s Wednesday class.
“It’s opened a whole new world to me, both intellectually and socially. I’ve made new friends here. I’ve truly fallen in love with what I found here at Chabad.”
Davening Schedule
Sunday AM Daf Yomi 7:45 AM
Sunday Shacharis 8:30 AM (followed by shiur and breakfast)
Daily Daf Yomi: 6:45 AM
Daily Shacharis: 7:30 AM
Rosh Chodesh: 7:15 AM
Fast Days: 7:20 AM
Evening Night Beis Medrash: 8:00 PM
M, T, W – Gemara Shiur 8:15-9:00 PM
Evening Daf Yomi: 9:00 PM
Daily Maariv: 10:00 PM
Friday Mincha: 8 minutes after Candle Lighting
Shabbos Morning Shacharis: 9:00 AM
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.
Rabbi Shaya Gansbourg, OBM, was many things to many people. A husband, a father, a grandfather. A teacher, a mentor, a good friend. A rabbi, a businessman, a world traveler. But most of all, he was a unique, special and exceedingly selfless soul. Genuine, pure, and brimming with life, Shaya was never satisfied with the status quo. He thrived on making the impossible, possible; on reaching the unreachable; on bringing to fruition that which others said could not be done. Shaya was a master of accomplishment, because he was a master of his essence – his soul. He was fully cognizant of his mission on earth as a Jew, a Chassid, a human being par excellence.
For those who knew him, it came as no surprise when Shaya announced — mid-life, when most people his age are thinking about the not-too-distant retirement funds and long-awaited vacations — that he, together with his dear wife Goldie and family, may they be blessed with long and good years, will be embarking on one of the most important and meaningful projects of his life. And thus, in one courageous instance of hope and faith, Chabad of Harlem was born.
As the Founding Father, Shaya spared no effort building Chabad of Harlem, cultivating and nurturing all he encountered. He embraced every human being who walked through the doors with the same love and devotion that he bestowed upon his very own family. Because Chabad of Harlem was his family. And will always continue to be his family.
To know Chabad of Harlem, to be a part of Chabad of Harlem in any way at all – is to know Shaya and to be deeply connected to him. He touched, inspired, and guided. He rejoiced in every happy occasion and wept along in tragedy. He loved his community. And his soul will continue to do so forever, illuminating and brightening every future interaction and experience. His legacy lives on in the proud and beautiful community he built. May his soul be a blessing for all of us.
Our Rich History
Eastern European Jewish immigrants arrived to the city of Boston in large numbers beginning in the 1880s. With little or no income, they looked to rebuild their old communities anew in the United States. Many Jews decided to settle in crowded, undesirable tenement neighborhoods like the North and West Ends of Boston where cheaper housing was available. There Jews often formed a landsmanschaft – an organization of re-settled people originally from the same area in Europe.
This was the case for a group of Jewish immigrants from Vilna Guberniya – the county outside of present-day Vilnius, Lithuania – who formed a landsmanschaft in 1893 on the north slope of Beacon Hill in Boston's West End. They prayed together, gathering a minyan – ten men needed to hold a complete Jewish prayer service – in the homes of their members. As their membership increased and they formed a traditional Jewish congregation, they needed a permanent synagogue. They called themselves Anshei Vilner or “the People of Vilnius" and sought a new home for their group.
As the number of immigrants moving to Beacon Hill increased and landowners built tenements to house them, the 150 year-old African American community living there began to move away. Buildings emerged on the market and in 1909, Anshei Vilner purchased the former 12th Baptist Church (est. 1848) at 45 Phillips Street and turned it into their synagogue. After ten years of worship at 45 Phillips Street, the city of Boston purchased the synagogue from Anshei Vilner for $20,000 and demolished the building to make way for the expansion of the Wendell Phillips School.
On December 11, 1919, Anshei Vilner laid the cornerstone for its new building at 18 Phillips Street. The congregation employed the only Jewish architect in the city, Max Kalman, and young men in the community helped with the construction. Vilner congregants painted the walls and ceiling of their new synagogue with decorative murals, a long-standing tradition of Eastern European Jews. Three distinct sets of murals covered the walls of the Vilna Shul, although these paintings were later covered over with beige paint. Today they are some of the only examples of pre-war Jewish mural art in the United States.
For 65 years, the congregation prayed at 18 Phillips Street, but in 1950 life rapidly changed in the West End. The city destroyed the West End in an urban renew project, leaving places like the Vilna as one of the only synagogues in the area. As most of the Jewish community had long since left Beacon Hill for more desirable neighborhoods and open space, the Vilner became a synagogue for those "left" on the Hill. The last remaining member of Anshei Vilner, Mendel Miller, held a Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) service in the synagogue for the last time in 1985.
Today the Shul is a little different. We are a cultural center, a place where the history of Boston's Jews can be shared and enjoyed by everyone and where Boston Jewish life thrives once again.
The Young Israel of Brookline is one of the largest Orthodox congregations in New England. The congregation was founded in 1953 and our earliest services were held in a small house on Fuller Street. When we quickly outgrew the space, member families purchased a larger site a few blocks away, on Green Street. In January 1994, when an electrical fire destroyed our shul building, our services and programs moved down the block, to a re-converted office building which we used while our new shul, shown above, was under construction. With great joy, the Young Israel community dedicated the new synagogue in November, 1996. The new facility hosts a main sanctuary which seats 525 congregants, beit midrash and Judaica library, banquet hall, kosher catering facilities, bridal room, classrooms, offices, keilim mikveh, and permanent sukkah structure.
Our members are a diverse group consisting of student couples, individuals, and families. Since Brookline is within walking distance of area hospitals, and a short drive to many universities and high-tech companies, it’s a popular destination. Many of our members are trained in the sciences, including the medical, software and engineering fields, and play leadership roles within their respective organizations. Also, since Boston is home to many top hospitals, we tend to see people from around the world, including many from Israel.
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.
When I visited the synagogue I was treated as if I was a member of the community, it was great to feel at home and not like a stranger. I recommend it to everyone whether orthodox, conservative or reform. The next time I visit miami this synagogue will definitely be my first choice.
Very kind, nice and welcoming. Make one feel right at home…whether welcoming Shabbat, conducting Mincha or down for the holidays.
Best Sephardic shul in Miami Beach !!!!
"I recommend it to everyone whether orthodox, conservative or reform."
We are so excited to be a part of The Shabbos Project this coming Shabbat. Jews all over the world are committing to keeping Shabbat together, and there are events taking place all over the world, including at Shaare Ezra.
This Friday night we will be hosting a community dinner and invite everyone to attend. Each adult is only $18 and children under 10 are free. Please encourage your friends to join you in keeping Shabbat this week as we participate in this powerful project.
Please contact the Shul office at 305-674-6690 to make your reservations for Friday night. We will also be having lunch on Saturday, so plan on joining us for a most meaningful Shabbat experience. If anyone is able to host guest in their house this Shabbat, please let us know so we can make arrangements for those coming in to keep Shabbat.
Women and girls over 10 years old, do not forget that Thursday night is the The Great Big Challah Bake, where thousands of women will be gathering to bake challah together at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Doors open at 6:00. Thanks to the generosity of a donor, this event is free.