Fest aims to take sting out of Hanukkah party crash
BY JENNIFER BARRIOS AND MICHAEL FRAZIER
December 30, 2008
At first, Dan Smith wasn't sure he wanted to bring his toddler, Judah, to another Hanukkah party.
Smith, 31, of Far Rockaway, said he, his wife, and their two children had been at Chabad's Chanukah Wonderland party in Woodmere on Thursday when a BMW sport utility vehicle crashed into the building. The SUV drove over the spot where, seconds before, Smith's son had stood.
But Smith and his family decided to venture out to another Hanukkah party yesterday, held just blocks away at the Chabad Center of the Five Towns in Cedarhurst.
"I definitely think it's a good idea," Smith said, as Judah, 2, played happily nearby. "Pick up and carry on - it's a good idea to host an ending party."
The mood was joyous amid the dreidel-making, face-painting and two tables filled with toys reserved for children who had witnessed the accident.
Children molded chanukiot - nine-branched Hanukkah menorahs - out of clay, while others danced to traditional Hanukkah music performed by live musicians.
This celebration was a distinctly different experience for Smith, who said he was among the men who had lifted the BMW after it came to a halt inside the Chanukah Wonderland building. Smith said he pulled two men out from under the car, one able to crawl, but the other limp and bloodied. Fourteen adults and children ended up in the hospital.
Smith remains shaken but said, "You have to be strong for the kids."
Yesterday created happy memories to counteract last week's, said Rabbi Zalman Wolowik, director of the Chabad center. "We decided to hold it so that children should have positive memories of Hanukkah," he said.
Police have determined that Thursday's crash was caused when a floor mat interfered with the gas and brake pedals in Theodore Saretsky's vehicle. Saretsky, 76, of Atlantic Beach, has not responded to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, officials at the Town of Hempstead said that the Chanukah Wonderland gathering violated the town's public assembly law, and that fines could be levied against the owners of the building. Tax records show the owners to be Philip and Norma Baker.
Ray Schwarz, Hempstead inspections supervisor, said the building is zoned for general retail, not public assembly, and a special permit is required for more than 13 seats associated with dining. More than 100 people were at the party at the time of the crash.
A notice of violation was posted on the building Friday. A second notice was posted yesterday, requiring the building's owner to comply with the law.
Schwarz said the building did not have the required amount of parking to safely accommodate the event. The violation could result in a $350 fine against the Bakers, who could not be located last night.
Showing posts with label Long Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Long Island. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Mumbai attack victims remembered on Long Island
Mumbai attack victims remembered on Long Island
BY LAURA RIVERA
December 22, 2008
Reb Nachman Holtzberg said he knows no words to express his grief at the violent death of his son.
Yet, at a West Hempstead memorial yesterday for the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks, Holtzberg found a way to urge others to continue the work of his slain son, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg.
Among the six Jews killed in the attacks last month, Holtzberg, 29, and his wife, Rivka, 28, died in the Chabad center they had operated since 2003. Inside, officials recovered a damaged Torah. According to an Israeli news report, the scroll had a bullet hole in a Leviticus chapter, which narrates divine instructions to Aaron after his sons' death.
It is a position Holtzberg now finds himself in - and, he said, he knows what he must do.
More than 200 people packed a hall inside Young Israel of West Hempstead on Hempstead Avenue to hear Holtzberg's message in his first public appearance since his son's burial in Israel.
Following a video of the events and the groundswell of public outcry that followed, Holtzberg called on the audience to strengthen the Jewish presence in Mumbai by building a bigger Chabad center there.
"We will have a bigger building and everybody who has an interest [in Judaism] in India will have a place to stay," Holtzberg said, his voice rising.
"You don't need to fight against darkness," he said. "A little light spreads."
In a spirit of solidarity with victims and their families, Rabbi Yossi Lieberman, director of Chabad of West Hempstead, asked those gathered to attend a public menorah lighting for Hanukkah.
It is scheduled for 7 p.m. today in West Hempstead at Hall's Pond Park, at Nassau Boulevard and Hempstead Avenue.
Beyond that act, said Rabbi Tuvia Teldon, director of Chabad Lubavitch of Long Island, the faithful should commit to do good acts. "This is the power of every single one of us," said Teldon, regional director of Chabad of Long Island. "To make sure we add to the world more than just the light."
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
BY LAURA RIVERA
December 22, 2008
Reb Nachman Holtzberg said he knows no words to express his grief at the violent death of his son.
Yet, at a West Hempstead memorial yesterday for the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks, Holtzberg found a way to urge others to continue the work of his slain son, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg.
Among the six Jews killed in the attacks last month, Holtzberg, 29, and his wife, Rivka, 28, died in the Chabad center they had operated since 2003. Inside, officials recovered a damaged Torah. According to an Israeli news report, the scroll had a bullet hole in a Leviticus chapter, which narrates divine instructions to Aaron after his sons' death.
It is a position Holtzberg now finds himself in - and, he said, he knows what he must do.
More than 200 people packed a hall inside Young Israel of West Hempstead on Hempstead Avenue to hear Holtzberg's message in his first public appearance since his son's burial in Israel.
Following a video of the events and the groundswell of public outcry that followed, Holtzberg called on the audience to strengthen the Jewish presence in Mumbai by building a bigger Chabad center there.
"We will have a bigger building and everybody who has an interest [in Judaism] in India will have a place to stay," Holtzberg said, his voice rising.
"You don't need to fight against darkness," he said. "A little light spreads."
In a spirit of solidarity with victims and their families, Rabbi Yossi Lieberman, director of Chabad of West Hempstead, asked those gathered to attend a public menorah lighting for Hanukkah.
It is scheduled for 7 p.m. today in West Hempstead at Hall's Pond Park, at Nassau Boulevard and Hempstead Avenue.
Beyond that act, said Rabbi Tuvia Teldon, director of Chabad Lubavitch of Long Island, the faithful should commit to do good acts. "This is the power of every single one of us," said Teldon, regional director of Chabad of Long Island. "To make sure we add to the world more than just the light."
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
Friday, December 12, 2008
N.Y. fifth graders thank Indian nanny for saving 2-year-old Moshe from Mumbai terrorists
"Dear Sandra, Thank you for saving Moshe," wrote Daniel Smith, a fifth-grader at Solomon Schecter Day School of Nassau County, to express his appreciation to the Indian nanny who saved two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg from the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India two weeks ago.
The boy's parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were both killed in the attack.
Smith's fifth-grade classmates wrote individual letters to the nanny, Sandra Samuel, which were presented to the Israeli Consulate in New York for delivery to Israel.
Smith was joined at the Consulate by his fifth grade classmate, Jennifer Lipman, their principal, Dr. Cindy Dolgin, and their Judaic Studies teacher, Lizet Romano, who initiated the project. The two represented the entire fifth grade in delivering the letters that recognized Samuel for her heroic act based on the Jewish tradition that "One who saves one person saves an entire nation."
In their letters, the students thanked Samuels for her bravery and assured her that her good deed did not go unnoticed in their community. Lipman wrote, "Everyone at my school thinks you are a hero. Thank you for all you've done."
Administrators felt there was a valuable pedagogical reason for this exercise. Dolgin commented, "What could our young students do under such terrifying circumstances taking place half a world away? As a class, the children and their teacher decided to write letters to Sandra Samuel to express their gratitude, their amazement and their awe for her bravery and courage in rescuing little Moshe, not unlike the rescue of another baby Moshe they had learned about in the Book of Exodus."
In addressing the students, David Saranga, Consul for Media and Public Affairs applauded the students' desire to express their thanks. ?The right way to transmit our thanks as the State of Israel is to welcome her into our community, as we have done. Samuel did the right thing by saving Moshe. She demonstrated that human life is valuable regardless of religion or ethnicity."
The students' letters have been passed for delivery to Chabad in Israel. Rabbi Shmuel Butman, Director of Lubavitch Youth Organization, noted, "Moishi was calling 'Mommy, mommy.' Sandra heard Moishi's cry and she brought him to safety totally sacrificing her own safety. She will be eternally remembered for her selflessness and heroism."
The Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County, located in Jericho, NY, is a Jewish Day Elementary School affiliated with the Conservative Movement and provides a dual curriculum in Judaic and secular education. The school also has a wide-ranging Israel studies program that stresses appreciation for Israel as a democratic and multicultural society.
The Consulate has prepared a short video of the event highlights, which can be viewed online at www.israelpolitik.org.
The boy's parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were both killed in the attack.
Smith's fifth-grade classmates wrote individual letters to the nanny, Sandra Samuel, which were presented to the Israeli Consulate in New York for delivery to Israel.
Smith was joined at the Consulate by his fifth grade classmate, Jennifer Lipman, their principal, Dr. Cindy Dolgin, and their Judaic Studies teacher, Lizet Romano, who initiated the project. The two represented the entire fifth grade in delivering the letters that recognized Samuel for her heroic act based on the Jewish tradition that "One who saves one person saves an entire nation."
In their letters, the students thanked Samuels for her bravery and assured her that her good deed did not go unnoticed in their community. Lipman wrote, "Everyone at my school thinks you are a hero. Thank you for all you've done."
Administrators felt there was a valuable pedagogical reason for this exercise. Dolgin commented, "What could our young students do under such terrifying circumstances taking place half a world away? As a class, the children and their teacher decided to write letters to Sandra Samuel to express their gratitude, their amazement and their awe for her bravery and courage in rescuing little Moshe, not unlike the rescue of another baby Moshe they had learned about in the Book of Exodus."
In addressing the students, David Saranga, Consul for Media and Public Affairs applauded the students' desire to express their thanks. ?The right way to transmit our thanks as the State of Israel is to welcome her into our community, as we have done. Samuel did the right thing by saving Moshe. She demonstrated that human life is valuable regardless of religion or ethnicity."
The students' letters have been passed for delivery to Chabad in Israel. Rabbi Shmuel Butman, Director of Lubavitch Youth Organization, noted, "Moishi was calling 'Mommy, mommy.' Sandra heard Moishi's cry and she brought him to safety totally sacrificing her own safety. She will be eternally remembered for her selflessness and heroism."
The Solomon Schechter Day School of Nassau County, located in Jericho, NY, is a Jewish Day Elementary School affiliated with the Conservative Movement and provides a dual curriculum in Judaic and secular education. The school also has a wide-ranging Israel studies program that stresses appreciation for Israel as a democratic and multicultural society.
The Consulate has prepared a short video of the event highlights, which can be viewed online at www.israelpolitik.org.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Mumbai and the Chabad Movement
Tragedy befalls a place of prayer and comfort.
By LUCETTE LAGNADO
Perhaps the most telling story I've heard about Chabad emissaries is that some will buy burial plots once they arrive at their distant outposts: It is a gesture to the community -- and perhaps also to themselves -- that they have come to stay.
I first discovered this Hasidic movement, which has captured the world's attention since the killing of several of its members in Mumbai, after 9/11. The world no longer felt safe and in the months after the attack, my husband and I would flee to the Hamptons, driving every weekend to the East End of Long Island, long after the glamorous summer crowds had gone.
One of the places we found open -- year round, in fact -- was the Chabad House in Southampton. The congregation was located inside a private house. Prayers took place in a cozy sanctuary the size of a living room as little children scampered about.
It was an Orthodox service but not oppressively so; men and women sat apart, divided by a row of plastic plants. I sat on a chair close to the plants, in the front, where I had full unfettered view of the pulpit, and for the first time in those awful months I felt safe.
I still remember the rabbi's first sermon, about the Valley of Dry Bones -- that amazing biblical passage where the dead come to life again. I thought of the hopelessness I had felt on 9/11, the collective hopelessness, but then, listening to the story of how even a bunch of bones had been brought back to life, I too felt a sense of possibility again. And safety.
I thought of that sense of safety and comfort as I watched the horrific events unfold in Mumbai, and specifically at the Chabad House.
I am absolutely certain that Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife Rivka, massacred by the terrorists, had also set up a safe-haven. Theirs was a retreat for Jews living in and around Mumbai or even those who were merely passing through.
I would venture that's one of the secrets behind the Chabad movement's extraordinary growth -- that they build little sanctuaries for lost Jews, alienated Jews, secular Jews, Jews who have no interest in traditional religion.
Chabad has redefined religion in part by getting away from the notion of large, formal temples to establishing places of worship that are small, intimate and, above all, deeply comforting; they have made religion personal.
And so, even as some other branches of Judaism and other religions have withered, they have ventured to the far corners of the earth: Siberia, Alaska, Kiev, Odessa, Ho Chi Minh City. But no matter where the Chabad house the philosophy is always the same -- to bring even the most alienated Jews back into the fold.
You go to a Chabad house and you can count on being invited to Friday night dinner by the rabbi and his wife. The model emphasizes old-fashioned notions of community and home -- the sense that religion is not a once-a-year affair but a way of life.
They have made inroads even among the militantly secular, I suspect, precisely because of their sense of conviction. No matter where they are in the world, in the Chabad houses of Siberia or Southampton the rabbis wear the traditional black hats and dark suits, the women long dresses and wigs. There is little attempt to blend in or assimilate.
It can be jarring to run into them on the streets of Southampton or South Beach, strolling in their religious garb, trying to ignore the stares of women in halters and fashionably dressed men in Bermuda shorts and sandals.
Of course, the determination to stay true to their practices may be what endangers the movement most now. They are, it would seem, easy targets.
I attended a memorial for the victims of Chabad Mumbai at my synagogue on Saturday. It was very crowded -- filled with people I had never seen before. Worshippers went up to the pulpit and pledged thousands of dollars.
The purpose? To build a new Chabad center in Mumbai.
Ms. Lagnado, a reporter for the Journal, is the author of "The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World" (Harper Perennial, 2008).
By LUCETTE LAGNADO
Perhaps the most telling story I've heard about Chabad emissaries is that some will buy burial plots once they arrive at their distant outposts: It is a gesture to the community -- and perhaps also to themselves -- that they have come to stay.
I first discovered this Hasidic movement, which has captured the world's attention since the killing of several of its members in Mumbai, after 9/11. The world no longer felt safe and in the months after the attack, my husband and I would flee to the Hamptons, driving every weekend to the East End of Long Island, long after the glamorous summer crowds had gone.
One of the places we found open -- year round, in fact -- was the Chabad House in Southampton. The congregation was located inside a private house. Prayers took place in a cozy sanctuary the size of a living room as little children scampered about.
It was an Orthodox service but not oppressively so; men and women sat apart, divided by a row of plastic plants. I sat on a chair close to the plants, in the front, where I had full unfettered view of the pulpit, and for the first time in those awful months I felt safe.
I still remember the rabbi's first sermon, about the Valley of Dry Bones -- that amazing biblical passage where the dead come to life again. I thought of the hopelessness I had felt on 9/11, the collective hopelessness, but then, listening to the story of how even a bunch of bones had been brought back to life, I too felt a sense of possibility again. And safety.
I thought of that sense of safety and comfort as I watched the horrific events unfold in Mumbai, and specifically at the Chabad House.
I am absolutely certain that Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife Rivka, massacred by the terrorists, had also set up a safe-haven. Theirs was a retreat for Jews living in and around Mumbai or even those who were merely passing through.
I would venture that's one of the secrets behind the Chabad movement's extraordinary growth -- that they build little sanctuaries for lost Jews, alienated Jews, secular Jews, Jews who have no interest in traditional religion.
Chabad has redefined religion in part by getting away from the notion of large, formal temples to establishing places of worship that are small, intimate and, above all, deeply comforting; they have made religion personal.
And so, even as some other branches of Judaism and other religions have withered, they have ventured to the far corners of the earth: Siberia, Alaska, Kiev, Odessa, Ho Chi Minh City. But no matter where the Chabad house the philosophy is always the same -- to bring even the most alienated Jews back into the fold.
You go to a Chabad house and you can count on being invited to Friday night dinner by the rabbi and his wife. The model emphasizes old-fashioned notions of community and home -- the sense that religion is not a once-a-year affair but a way of life.
They have made inroads even among the militantly secular, I suspect, precisely because of their sense of conviction. No matter where they are in the world, in the Chabad houses of Siberia or Southampton the rabbis wear the traditional black hats and dark suits, the women long dresses and wigs. There is little attempt to blend in or assimilate.
It can be jarring to run into them on the streets of Southampton or South Beach, strolling in their religious garb, trying to ignore the stares of women in halters and fashionably dressed men in Bermuda shorts and sandals.
Of course, the determination to stay true to their practices may be what endangers the movement most now. They are, it would seem, easy targets.
I attended a memorial for the victims of Chabad Mumbai at my synagogue on Saturday. It was very crowded -- filled with people I had never seen before. Worshippers went up to the pulpit and pledged thousands of dollars.
The purpose? To build a new Chabad center in Mumbai.
Ms. Lagnado, a reporter for the Journal, is the author of "The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World" (Harper Perennial, 2008).
Friday, July 11, 2008
Hamptons Diary
So what exactly am I doing in the Hamptons for a long holiday Shabbos weekend? I mean, I have never tied a light summer sweater over my shoulders or sat for a full day at a pool drinking a tequila sunrise or an apple martini. But still, there is something gravitational and intriguing about summer in these Hampton enclaves that is worth exploring.
First, it’s important to note that we were at a friend’s house very close to the Hampton Synagogue, which was founded 18 years ago by Rabbi Marc Schneier and is thriving in a place and a situation where such success was considered extremely unlikely. If you want to gain some insight into what an eclectic mix of modern Jewish men and women from very diverse backgrounds are doing these days, it’s worthwhile taking a look inside what Rabbi Schneier has built and developed here in the Hamptons.
Today there is definitely a hunger and a thirst in the world, and, as the prophet said, the hunger is not just for delicious challah and the thirst is not exclusively for just one more drink. That profound 21st-century desire is for much more than those mundane things. Out here you can clearly begin to see and feel that the hunger and the thirst transcends the obvious and is rather a desire to reach out and get involved in something greater, something that lives inside us all.
But it took some vision and a great deal of initiative—not to mention courage—to make what has happened here in Westhampton, New York, possible. There’s a lot going on here, and most of those activities in this Suffolk County community now revolve around the Hampton Shul. People are drawn out here for a variety of reasons. For many, it’s the change of pace from the usual daily routine that makes this place so interesting and attractive. It’s a summer getaway in a pristine and countrified setting.
Those involved in significant ways in Jewish life populate some areas of the Hamptons. Perhaps it has been like that for many, many years but only more recently—over the last ten years or so—has Jewish life made an imprint of sorts with a spirited and organized focus. This past Shabbos, the shul in Westhampton was jam-packed with an overflow crowd. Doors at both sides of the shul—leading from the men’s section and the women’s section—had to be opened and hundreds of chairs added to accommodate shul-goers who streamed in throughout the morning.
Earlier that Friday morning, I made stops to visit and survey the progress elsewhere in the Hamptons. Though cut out of what seems to be a small swatch of land at the other end of Long Island, Westhampton covers a rather large area—so much so that a second shul is presently on the rise. And that is the Chabad shul at the beach, currently run by Rabbi and Mrs. Eli Popack. The shul is located in a rather nondescript structure that resembles a bungalow. Speaking with the young rabbi, one gets the sense that the present setup is temporary, as the momentum and energy behind the shul is very much on the rise.
Needless to say, with the large crowds congregating in this part of the Hamptons every weekend, a second shul is exactly what is required. I stopped by the shul at the beach on Friday morning to drop off some copies of the Five Towns Jewish Times and to chat with the rabbi. Of course, he has come up through the Chabad system, but he did not come out here to be the rabbi of a shul. He is originally from Toronto and his wife from Brooklyn; they used to come out, like so many others, for an uncomplicated weekend away. Over a relatively brief period, Rabbi Popack emerged as a leader of the minyan in many ways, to the point where he is now the spiritual leader as well. This week, on Friday afternoon, the shul at the beach plans to host its first sefer Torah dedication ceremony.
About 15 miles further east, we rang the bell at the home and shul of Chabad of Southampton, where we’ve spent some wonderful Shabbos weekends together with fascinating people from far-flung directions of the world, weekends full of intense inspiration. The source of all this Hampton excitement is Rabbi Rafe Konikov, who, along with his wife and children, split their time between Southampton and Crown Heights.
The shul was quiet on this early Friday afternoon, but Mrs. Konikov appeared to be setting up for about 30 guests for Friday-night dinner following the services. What I have always found additionally interesting about Southampton in particular was that this was the only Jewish house of worship in town. If there were no Chabad here, there would be no shul, no synagogue, no temple, no nothing. Of course there are plenty of Jews who spend summers or summer weekends here, as well as many who live out here year-round. Where most of us come from, it would be unthinkable to live in a place where there was no shul for 20 or so miles. I suppose no one really gave it much thought until Rafe Konikov arrived.
We finally ended up in East Hampton, where we also spent a Shabbos last summer. I don’t know who is doing better in the Yiddishkeit department or who is cultivating more important and generous donors for Chabad, but there is definitely something extra-special happening out here in East Hampton. The rabbi, Label Baumgarten (who we wrote about last year), used to commute out here regularly from his home in Coram, where he was setting up a Chabad House. It quickly became clear to him that there was a great deal of work to be done in the Jewish community in East Hampton. When we were there last Friday, Mrs. Baumgarten and her children who were not in summer camp were setting up for about 50 Shabbos dinner guests.
There’s always something interesting and exciting happening on weekends in all of these shuls. Each in its own right is a hub of Jewish activity, which makes Shabbos something extra special for those who live here or visit. All have one thing in common—bringing Jews closer to Torah study and what it means to be a Jew in a way one can relate to and understand.
For those who have spent their lives in yeshiva or in Torah academies, some of what goes on out here might seem simplistic or even sometimes superficial. But it’s not. The effort and sacrifice involved in motivating and inspiring a Jew who has been distant or simply has no background in Torah study or even simple prayer is no minor matter. The point is that in all the shuls, they are here, and they are here to daven—to the extent they know how—and they are here to learn.
Which brings us back to Westhampton and the Hampton Synagogue, which is busy with interesting and innovative programs almost every day of the week. This year, Rabbi Schneier, with the assistance of Yeshiva University, has instituted a kollel-type program where people can gather once a week, on Tuesday evening, and partake in a Torah study program. There’s probably nothing like this nor has there been anything like it for tens of miles in any direction.
On Thursday night, when we arrived in Westhampton, we immediately put our bags down and went to the shul to hear a lecture from Madeleine Kunin, former governor of Vermont and ambassador to Switzerland during the Clinton administration. On Friday night at the seudah we heard stirring words from Rabbi Charles Klein of the New York Board of Rabbis. At seudah shelishis on late Shabbos afternoon, the guest speaker was former Hadassah president and now chairperson of the Conference of Presidents, June Walker.
There are wonderful, informative, and inspiring things happening out here in all corners of the Hamptons. In the near future, they are hoping to build impressive synagogue structures in both Southampton and East Hampton. Both Chabad organizations have purchased properties adjacent to their existing buildings and are ready to build. Of course there is resistance from the locals about what they are going to build, what the restrictions will be, and so on. In Westhampton—quite a few years ahead of the others—there is talk of an eruv in town. Local residents don’t like it, because—as the New York Times reported a few weeks ago—they are afraid the eruv will turn the Hamptons into another Five Towns.
I don’t see anything specifically wrong with that, but then again that’s just my opinion. The Hamptons are alive with the sounds of morning minyan, Minchah, Maariv, and a kol Torah that was once just an echo that originated from some other distant location. Now everything you can ask for is right here, and it’s a moving, important, and wonderful thing.
Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.
First, it’s important to note that we were at a friend’s house very close to the Hampton Synagogue, which was founded 18 years ago by Rabbi Marc Schneier and is thriving in a place and a situation where such success was considered extremely unlikely. If you want to gain some insight into what an eclectic mix of modern Jewish men and women from very diverse backgrounds are doing these days, it’s worthwhile taking a look inside what Rabbi Schneier has built and developed here in the Hamptons.
Today there is definitely a hunger and a thirst in the world, and, as the prophet said, the hunger is not just for delicious challah and the thirst is not exclusively for just one more drink. That profound 21st-century desire is for much more than those mundane things. Out here you can clearly begin to see and feel that the hunger and the thirst transcends the obvious and is rather a desire to reach out and get involved in something greater, something that lives inside us all.
But it took some vision and a great deal of initiative—not to mention courage—to make what has happened here in Westhampton, New York, possible. There’s a lot going on here, and most of those activities in this Suffolk County community now revolve around the Hampton Shul. People are drawn out here for a variety of reasons. For many, it’s the change of pace from the usual daily routine that makes this place so interesting and attractive. It’s a summer getaway in a pristine and countrified setting.
Those involved in significant ways in Jewish life populate some areas of the Hamptons. Perhaps it has been like that for many, many years but only more recently—over the last ten years or so—has Jewish life made an imprint of sorts with a spirited and organized focus. This past Shabbos, the shul in Westhampton was jam-packed with an overflow crowd. Doors at both sides of the shul—leading from the men’s section and the women’s section—had to be opened and hundreds of chairs added to accommodate shul-goers who streamed in throughout the morning.
Earlier that Friday morning, I made stops to visit and survey the progress elsewhere in the Hamptons. Though cut out of what seems to be a small swatch of land at the other end of Long Island, Westhampton covers a rather large area—so much so that a second shul is presently on the rise. And that is the Chabad shul at the beach, currently run by Rabbi and Mrs. Eli Popack. The shul is located in a rather nondescript structure that resembles a bungalow. Speaking with the young rabbi, one gets the sense that the present setup is temporary, as the momentum and energy behind the shul is very much on the rise.
Needless to say, with the large crowds congregating in this part of the Hamptons every weekend, a second shul is exactly what is required. I stopped by the shul at the beach on Friday morning to drop off some copies of the Five Towns Jewish Times and to chat with the rabbi. Of course, he has come up through the Chabad system, but he did not come out here to be the rabbi of a shul. He is originally from Toronto and his wife from Brooklyn; they used to come out, like so many others, for an uncomplicated weekend away. Over a relatively brief period, Rabbi Popack emerged as a leader of the minyan in many ways, to the point where he is now the spiritual leader as well. This week, on Friday afternoon, the shul at the beach plans to host its first sefer Torah dedication ceremony.
About 15 miles further east, we rang the bell at the home and shul of Chabad of Southampton, where we’ve spent some wonderful Shabbos weekends together with fascinating people from far-flung directions of the world, weekends full of intense inspiration. The source of all this Hampton excitement is Rabbi Rafe Konikov, who, along with his wife and children, split their time between Southampton and Crown Heights.
The shul was quiet on this early Friday afternoon, but Mrs. Konikov appeared to be setting up for about 30 guests for Friday-night dinner following the services. What I have always found additionally interesting about Southampton in particular was that this was the only Jewish house of worship in town. If there were no Chabad here, there would be no shul, no synagogue, no temple, no nothing. Of course there are plenty of Jews who spend summers or summer weekends here, as well as many who live out here year-round. Where most of us come from, it would be unthinkable to live in a place where there was no shul for 20 or so miles. I suppose no one really gave it much thought until Rafe Konikov arrived.
We finally ended up in East Hampton, where we also spent a Shabbos last summer. I don’t know who is doing better in the Yiddishkeit department or who is cultivating more important and generous donors for Chabad, but there is definitely something extra-special happening out here in East Hampton. The rabbi, Label Baumgarten (who we wrote about last year), used to commute out here regularly from his home in Coram, where he was setting up a Chabad House. It quickly became clear to him that there was a great deal of work to be done in the Jewish community in East Hampton. When we were there last Friday, Mrs. Baumgarten and her children who were not in summer camp were setting up for about 50 Shabbos dinner guests.
There’s always something interesting and exciting happening on weekends in all of these shuls. Each in its own right is a hub of Jewish activity, which makes Shabbos something extra special for those who live here or visit. All have one thing in common—bringing Jews closer to Torah study and what it means to be a Jew in a way one can relate to and understand.
For those who have spent their lives in yeshiva or in Torah academies, some of what goes on out here might seem simplistic or even sometimes superficial. But it’s not. The effort and sacrifice involved in motivating and inspiring a Jew who has been distant or simply has no background in Torah study or even simple prayer is no minor matter. The point is that in all the shuls, they are here, and they are here to daven—to the extent they know how—and they are here to learn.
Which brings us back to Westhampton and the Hampton Synagogue, which is busy with interesting and innovative programs almost every day of the week. This year, Rabbi Schneier, with the assistance of Yeshiva University, has instituted a kollel-type program where people can gather once a week, on Tuesday evening, and partake in a Torah study program. There’s probably nothing like this nor has there been anything like it for tens of miles in any direction.
On Thursday night, when we arrived in Westhampton, we immediately put our bags down and went to the shul to hear a lecture from Madeleine Kunin, former governor of Vermont and ambassador to Switzerland during the Clinton administration. On Friday night at the seudah we heard stirring words from Rabbi Charles Klein of the New York Board of Rabbis. At seudah shelishis on late Shabbos afternoon, the guest speaker was former Hadassah president and now chairperson of the Conference of Presidents, June Walker.
There are wonderful, informative, and inspiring things happening out here in all corners of the Hamptons. In the near future, they are hoping to build impressive synagogue structures in both Southampton and East Hampton. Both Chabad organizations have purchased properties adjacent to their existing buildings and are ready to build. Of course there is resistance from the locals about what they are going to build, what the restrictions will be, and so on. In Westhampton—quite a few years ahead of the others—there is talk of an eruv in town. Local residents don’t like it, because—as the New York Times reported a few weeks ago—they are afraid the eruv will turn the Hamptons into another Five Towns.
I don’t see anything specifically wrong with that, but then again that’s just my opinion. The Hamptons are alive with the sounds of morning minyan, Minchah, Maariv, and a kol Torah that was once just an echo that originated from some other distant location. Now everything you can ask for is right here, and it’s a moving, important, and wonderful thing.
Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.
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