By Jonathan Leener
As a rabbinical student, going to synagogue rarely produces feelings of anxiety or fear. With time, even giving the dvar torah or facilitating parts of the service become habitual. While living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for years, I also became spoiled by the dozens of synagogues that met both my religious and cultural demands. The options were so vast that I could customize my own shul schedule every Shabbat. This synagogue with its rocking Friday night davening and the other synagogue Shabbat morning with its hot kiddush.
This all changed a couple of weeks ago when my wife and I moved to Williamsburg, the epicenter of Hipsters and Hasidim. A quick “Google search” revealed that our synagogue going would be rather different in the new neighborhood. Williamsburg certainly has no shortage of synagogues. In parts, it even resembles Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood with a shul on every street corner. The only challenge…I’m not Hasidic nor do I own a shtreimal or bekishe. Although my hair is long enough to make payot , I would still look more like a Beatle than a Hasid. There was no way to disguise myself. How would I ever fit in?
I woke up Shabbat morning and for the first time since my Bar Mitzvah I was terrified about going to shul! I was scared that they would judge me and challenge my Jewishness. I was certain I would be made uncomfortable. After all, it seemed like every week I had read another horror story regarding their community and their insularity. Why would they make an exception for me?
My wife finally convinced me to give it a try, so I found my white shirt and black pants and headed out. I had no real plan, I did not know anyone or know of a specific shul. I figured I would walk into south Williamsburg and see what happens. After only a couple of minutes I ran into a Hasid. He seemed like he was in a hurry to get to davening, but at the time he seemed like my best chance of actually finding somewhere to go.
“Follow me” he said in a broken English. We walked together for a couple of blocks in silence. When we arrived at a rather run down building he pointed to the basement. “Are you sure this is it?” I said to him. He nodded his head and walked away. This was not the synagogues of the suburbs that I had grown up with. It was literally a hole in the wall.
As I walked down the stairs, the little children dressed in their Shabbos finest looked at me as if I had come from another world. I slowly opened the door and saw a couple of men sitting and learning with their children. “Is it okay if I come in?” I said to a man by the door. “Can you come in? Of course! What kind of question is that?!” he responded in his heavy Yiddish accent. He was almost insulted by the question itself.
“A Yid is a Yid,” he assured me.
He quickly made me a cup of coffee and we schmoozed about how I was going to become a rabbi. He was delighted and excited for my work ahead.
As the other Hasidim came in for morning prayers, they all came up to me and introduced themselves and greeted me with a smile. One of them ran to get me a tallit and another went to bring me a siddur and a chumash. They made sure I liked my seat and was comfortable. As the service began, I felt transported in time. The beautiful melodies and the rhythmic swaying or shucking was completely memorizing. I had a feeling that my ancestors davened in a shul like this back in Poland.
When the Torah came out the gabbai approached me and asked for my Hebrew name. I was shocked. On the Upper West Side I had been to several synagogues for years and never honored with an aliyah, but there I was in this small shtiebel in Williamsburg getting called up to the Torah on my very first visit. They even called me, “HaRav Channan David”. They redefined for me what Jewish Hospitality — hachnasat orchim — should look and feel like. With small and intentional gestures, the great divide between us seemed insignificant.
With the conclusion of the service, they invited me to stay for kiddish. Cholent, whiskey, and kugel was on full display. The conversation was rich and diverse as we discussed the Iran deal, inter-marriage, Israel, Donald Trump, the rabbinate, Carlebach niggunim, and much more. They made me promise I would come back again (they even recruited me for their daily minyan) as we sat around the tables that they had pushed together.
When I finally left, I was truly overwhelmed by the experience and their generosity. I also felt so guilty for unfairly judging them, assuming they would be closed and uninviting. With Yom Kippur only days away, how can I ask God to judge me with compassion when I cannot even do the same for my fellow Jew? My new neighbors reminded me of the oldest Hasidic wisdom, as the Baal Shem Tov taught, “Be careful when you pass judgement on another. It is really yourself whom you may be judging.”
This article first appeared at the Times of Israel blog.
8 comments:
beautiful and unexpected story,thanks for sharing it with us
Tell us where this shtibell is located maybe next time I can go there too
Fantastic story, and great timing before Yom Kippur
SUMMERY
WAITING when decreed by a SUPER BEING, It has to become a frame of mind, Like it or not, practical or not,
Jews have to wait for Meshiach to create a Jewish State, creating a Jewish state without him, one becomes a Non Waiter, which the Rambam calls an APIKOIRES,
In the beginning of the Common Era the Amoire Shmuel formulated his successful campaign against early Christians and devised a slogan that said "" (EIN Bein….)The ONLY difference between before Meshiach and after Meshiach is HIM establishing of a Jewish Independent Government""" , which Yoshke failed to accomplish ,
Bavli prods 5 times the soundness and scope of Shmuels slogan by analyzing 5 statements that broadens the scope of Meshiachs Actions/Era , but all 5 statements agree that the reestablishing of a Jewish government is exclusively Meshiachs role for the Jewish people,(V”Yoel Moshe) and the Rambam Codifies this as Halacha by Proclaiming for us today :
1) Jews wait for Meshiach to be free of non Jewish governments, by Meshiach Himself establishing a Jewish sovereignty,
2) All other objectives that might result at the era of Meshiach does not necessarily have to happen by Meshiach Personally,
3) Do Not Talk about the OTHER OBJECTIVES when highlighting Meshiachs Objective (as Shmuel has done in his campaign),
4) Whoever does not believe the above or does not WAIT for Meshiach to do the creation of the Jewish State is an A P I K O R E S
Please be open minded by joining the Satmers in prayers, that Hashem should not punish us again, because of those who are actively Non-Waiters
Yidel Warter
Hey Reb Yidel
You pasken like the Rambam?
Well the Rambam paskens that the 3rd Bais Hamikdash will be built by the Jews themselves,not like Rashi that opines that HKB"H will build it!
So I see that you pick and choose?
The Satmar Rav was not a poisek as he himself writes in VaYoil Moshe!
And it's true that Jesus never established a Jewish Government, but Ben Gurion did!
This "Whoever does not believe the above or does not WAIT for Meshiach to do the creation of the Jewish State is an A P I K O R E S" business is a Hungarian craziness ...
The Satmar Rebbe called all those who didn't agree with his irrelevant SHITah an "apikoras" and a "meen" and called Gedoilei Yisrael "apikorsim"
His SHITah has been totally debunked and anyone that is even a little bit of a "yodia sefer" knows that it is totally flawed!
The following is the Satmer Rebbes opinion why Advocating Herzl’s plan to establish a Jewish government without Messiach is in violation with 2 of the 13 principles of the Jewish Religion A) Hashem punishes, B). Waiting for Meshiach,
1) It is important to remember that Jewish Sovereignty over Eretz Yisroel is CONDITIONAL!!!!
2) It so happened that in the covenant of Hashem with our father Abraham it was agreed that the punishment for violating the Jewish faith, would be Exile/Gules,
3) Hashem told us thru our NeVeim that the redemption of the Jewish people will be by Mesihach.
4) The Amoira Shmuel the biggest Poisek in his Generation indicates with using the term EIN BEIN: That Hashems decree on us to WAIT for Meshiach, is meant for Mesihachs EXCLUSIVE ACT to Restore A Jewish Sovereignty and to reestablish a Jewish Government ,
""All other attributes to Meshiach can be disputed or advanced by Others in alliance with Meshiach "",
5) The Rambam brings down LeHalucha the words of Shmuel as impartial: “Umri Chacumim” and states that whoever does not WAIT for Meshiach (as described by Shmuel) is an Apikoires
6) The ReShab Writes a warning for our days: "That even if the Hertzel plan would achieve their goal, we must not listen to them in this matter "to make our redemption with our own power"
7) So any one who is ONLY in the OPINION that Meshiachs JOB may be achieved without him, is JUST
Not Waiting for Him and is an Apikoires , and The punishment for contemplating the Herzel plan is pre warned,
To illustrate the above, envision yourself with the following Mushel:
You see a group of people waiting at a bus stop, it is assumed that these people are waiting for a bus to arrive and to take them to a certain destination,
A taxi drives by, and yells out: hop into my taxi ,You people are waiting for noting, no bus will arrive and the bus shelter will collapse on your head, hop into my taxi,
First group of Non Waiters
A few people pass by and say we have been waiting at another stop, and the bus broke down in front of our nose so we started to walk, join us You people are waiting for noting, no bus will arrive and the bus shelter will collapse on your head,
Second group of Non Waiters
Another group of people come by and say: Come help to push the broken bus
Third group of Non Waiters
A cyclist drives by, his Device blaring: we want the bus now we don't want to wait
Fourth group of Non Waiters
A horse and buggy passes by and yells out, I am a professional mechanic, if the bus will ever be fixed you won’t we be able to afford the fare, hop unto my buggy,
Fifth group of Non Waiters
As the group of Waiters dwindle, one Waiter says to the fellow next to him, I know the bus manufacturer and his product, even I will be here by myself I will remain Waiting , the fellow next to him replies , but explain me why did the bus manufacturer tell us to wait for a bus when he also manufactures planes trains, ships, tanks cars, bike, scooters?, and why such lousy shelter?
The first Waiter replies, I do not understand the logic behind His plan, but HE said when the bus will arrive the plan will be self-understood
WAITING is a stage of a resolute inactive passive behavior
Jews have to wait for Meshiach to create a Jewish State, creating a Jewish state without him, one becomes a Non Waiter, which the Rambam calls an APIKOIRES,
Yidel Warter
Listen Reb Yidel and listen good!
Ive already answered all your points hundreds of times just read my side bars...
but what every person who is not blind can see that the the Satmar Rebbe was wrong ...
his childish and fanatical crazy Shitah is totally irrelevant since the State of Israel is a confirmed fact...all you have to do is take the next El Al flight out to Israel and see with your very own eyes that the holy words of the Navi Amos come true!
The Satmar Rebbe was saved by an avowed Zionist, and he couldn't ever bring himself to thank him for saving his life! He didn't have the slightese Hakoras Hatoiv! He felt guilty that his position to Hungarian Jewry was a disastrous farce culmination with the annihalitation of his Kehilah...so he decided to cover his mistake by instilling hate into the hearts of his chassidim.... he succeeded ...
Moshiach isn't coming because of his Shitah....if he instead would have thanked Rudalf Kastner for saving his life and embracing the State of Israel .... Moshiach would have come along time ago...
I laugh every time a chussid quotes the Rambam but its hilarious when a Satmara radical nut quotes Rambam .If the Rambam were alive today he would be More like a Modern Orthodox Rabbi ,scholar with. Doctorate in many things and a die hard Zionist .The Satmaras would be cursing him out and burning his books .Had the Satamar cult existed back then during the times of the Rambam , In the 11 century , they like unfortunately many other jews would be burning his seforim .
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