Brooklyn, NY – The bible teaches to love thy neighbor.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
That’s exactly what one Brooklyn church plans to do Sunday for a synagogue that needs an emergency space for Yom Kippur services, the holiest day of the year for Jews.
In a show of interfaith unity, the Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope will open its doors to Congregation Beth Elohim Sunday after a ceiling collapse closed the temple’s sanctuary.
“Hospitality is part of our church’s mission,” said the Rev. Daniel Meeter. “We didn’t even have to think about sharing the space.”
The synagogue, which counts prominent members such as Sen. Chuck Schumer, was sent scrambling when workers discovered Thursday that a chunk of plaster crashed onto the pews in the main sanctuary.
For help, they turned to Old First, which sits just an avenue away.
More than 1,000 Jews will fill the cavernous church for Yom Kippur Sunday night and Monday morning.
When attendance subsides to normal levels after the holiday, the synagogue will cram into the other of two buildings it has on Eighth Ave.
“Space is going to be limited for the next couple of months,” said Rabbi Andy Bachman, who added the synagogue will have to spend millions to get a new roof for the 100-year-old building. “The church is a dear and generous friend.”
It was no surprise that the church would aid the synagogue in its hour of need.
The two places of worship have had close ties since at least the 1930s, Meeter said.
They hold joint Bible study programs, and members of the synagogue chant in Hebrew during Christmas worship at the church.
Those bonds are strengthened by the friendship of Meeter and Bachman, who regularly have lunch together and debate religion, politics and even rock ‘n’ roll.
“We’re both in agreement that the Rolling Stones bring the blues more than The Beatles,” Bachman said.
Besides dealing with the damage and the holiday, Bachman also was bracing for a protest Saturday from a band of anti-gay and anti-Jewish extremists from Kansas.
“It’s been a crazy week,” he said.
It is a real kidush hashem and sign of interfaith unity for the church to open its doors and allow the davening to go forward for yom kippur.
why reopen the temple???? use the church for good.
sounds very weird
Oy Beshefer Zeesah, we need Moshiach now!
Does the church have a big parking lot? So chucky shmuky and all other so called jews have enough parking when the come 2 kol nidrai? (Nebech) it would be a great idea 2 just leave it without a roof, and all the members should stop going there twice a year as they do, and not make a chilul hashem!!
Shame on them !!!!!!!!!
Hope they won’t bow to the crosses in appreciation
think this is where our new councilman brad lander davens
CRAZY!!! CRAZY!!!
Followed by giant pork kiddush.
I wonder how much maftir yona will cost
For chucky shumer a church is just enough, he could stay there for ever,
It dont work like this, u do all the avairos a whole year, and you come once a year, on yom kipur,
OR YOU ARE A JEW, OR YOU’R NOT!!!
Are they having the nice Rev. be the Baal Musif??
I am sure all their sins will be forgiven immediately! Will the booth with the priest be available at Neilah?
Reform Jews in a church, that’s a match, I think they could merge for the whole year, the scrolls they will leave behind, will for sure appreciate it,
be tolerant. there are other people out of bp willy and monroe!
i have a feeling that the church roof might just fall on them also,
whats going on, don’t they know? “You have to do Teshuvah where you do the sin.
To #15
“He may not be a chosid or a big tzadik but he is a highly respected public official and an ehrleche yid.”
So u don’t know him, shummer is NOT a erlicha yid, he is a mechalel shabbos, a ochel neveila itreifa, besides having a Jewish name, he has nothing with Judaism, so number 3 is correct, shummer will come to shull with his car,
Some of these comments are truely disturbing. How do you know whose prayers Hashem will accept? For all you know, the sincere prayers of a non orthodox Jew are more precious to Him that the self serving, self righteous prayer of some of the commentators here.
Rch”l
After reading all the negative comments on Erev Yom Kippur -I feel I must respond. First, to make my intentions clear, it’s probably better to daven at home than to drive to shul- for sure better to stay at home than go to a church. That said,-How do the commentors here have the chutzpa on EY”K to put down other Jews? Maybe they are tinnuk snishbus that their aveiros don’t count? Maybe you are the ones that need to do teshuva on Yom Kippur and not them? Even if they aren’t considered tinnuk snishbus, they could still be higher than you because even if they just keep Yom Kippur and nothing else- Rebbe’s Shita is that Yom Kippur is mechaper except for aveiros that you do on Y”K. Maybe some of them keep Yom Kippur perfectly, not like a lot of us and maybe they have a better Kappora. Just some food for thought on Bein Odon L’chaveiro Erev Yom Kippur -G’mar Chasima Tova!
Tyere Acheinu kol beis Yisroel– Recently in Virgina a shul is offering local moslems , to pray in their shul who have no mosque.. Most of the people in this synagouge are tinok shenishbars with most of their children becoming goyim thru intermarriage
and disappearence. We say to tomorrow night “onu mispallim im hoavaryonim”!
We should not ridicule them, denigrate them but show them love as acheinu bnei yisroel—-and be mekarev them> This vitriolic espousal of ridicule and debasing them as Jews is not in the Yom Kippur spirit. Let them pray where they like but we must do kiddush hashem so we emulate the kind of spiritualty they and their children will seek out . Even if we save one person! Gmar chasima tova to all Jews including these tinoks shenishbar!!!! Schumer cares only about one person-Himself!!!
Some “shul” it sounds more like a church.
Which shul offered them a place and was turned down?
they accept the offer from a church because no orthadax shul would take them in. only because they are not jewish enough for the orthadax shuls. only a theroy I hope I am wrong. but it does seem likely.
It is another contribution of the Golus.
No Yid wants to do the wrong thing, they do not know any better.
It is we frummer Yidden who do the wrong thing who should be held accountable.
The recent mesira in the Syrian community perpetrated by one sick member is a far greater Chilul HaShem than the silliness occuring in Park Slopes
Are you telling me there isn’t a Chabad House, or another synagogue for use? What about hotel convention rooms?
It is a well known fact that Rav Moshe Feinstein paskens in Igros Moshe that going into a church for any reason is asur gamur. Therefore, it is incumbent on the khal to protest against these reform people who bring shame upon Am Yisroel.
what about chabad in park slope?
This is my 2 cents. I commend the church for allowing the jewish serviced to be held there, kudos to you guys. But the synigouge to actually go and pray there is really halachacly problematic . but I’m not here to judge anyone . But one thing we should all do collectivly ,no matter chusid , litvish , sfardish , reform , in whatever dielect you know . Let’s tell g-d we need his help desperatly , there is so much yidishe tzoros , mabey if think be’achdus perhaps we will merit the coming of moshiach .
Do you know, posters, that this website is public and anyone, ANYONE, can read it, G-d forbid? Do you know that people like me, who grew up going twice a year to shuls like the ones described, are reading your comments? Do you know how that makes me feel? It’s already hard to deal with the ignorant, arrogant attitude from a lot of the FFB community. Please, think before you speak! You are doing so much damage in the world. So much more damage because you have (theoretically) some knowledge of Hashem’s Torah and may therefore be accountable for the lashon hara and motze shem ra you are speaking. Whereas the innocents who are davening in the shelter of the kind Christians who stepped in to help out (no shul has room for 1000 additional people a few days before YK!) are most certainly halachically tinuk she nishba, you are not. For shame. Please, as the old saying goes, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Reading these comments made me sick to my stomach. Gmar chatima tova.
wats next…. thats wat im afraid of…
Every Jew should be given l’kaf zechus on erev Yom Kippur.
it’s pure avodah zarah to pray in a church with all the idols statues and pictures of their christian characters. I’d rather stay at home that go to a church
What about saying it the way it is? Its a clear Halocha that a Jew is forbidden to enter a church. And to think that we have to try to sugar coat it by saying all those pity things I feel standing up for the torah is a real kiddush Hashem! Gmar Chasima Tova
Let them get hold of kadafis tent he is so desperate to set it up someplace
the crosses will be covered so no problem with that.
I guess all the posters here are upset, since they offered the reform shul a room to daven and they refused and went to the church instead. Yeah sure.
I guess the church does more chesed then the shuls you guys go to
Isn’t it Ossur Mid’oraisoh to go into a church? Let alone Daven there?! And ON Yom Kippur the holiest day of the year?!?!?!?
from these comments i could understand, why they are daven in a church and a shul. i could only imagine what would happen if the rabbi of this shul would come to a bp shul and ask for place for its members to sit.
Yes, there are serious issues here to be addressed about this situation. But the so called ‘frum’ people here have issues of their own which need to be addressed as well, so they should not be so smug and condescending.
Why are you all so worried about what other people are doing? You are spending erev Yom Kippur browsing the internet and disparaging other people.
The fact that you can transliterate hebrew words (or mangle that transliteration) doesn’t make you better than anyone else, or give you the right to criticize them publicly, especially today.
Read the articles, agree or disagree, but they are not published so that you can stick your two cents in, even if you are already perfect. Or maybe you have nothing to correct, prepare for or be sorry for and have a free day today?
Go find something better to do on erev Yom Kippur. I can assure you that it will serve you better tomorrow than sitting here complaining about everyone else.
Yasher Koach also to # 57, Berel.
Yes, I apologize that I misunderstood your post, However I have to come clear in two areas:
1) Although Rebbee is of the opinion that “itzumo shel yom etc.” the Halacha is NOT LIKE HIM, as per Rambam Shulchan Aruch etc. The Lubavitcher Rebbe however explains that his opinion is still sustained in a way. He is “michadesh” that there is a connection that a Jew has with Hashem which is stronger than tshuvah. Meaning, even for one that doesn’t do tshuvah, Yom Kippuer reveals his connection with Hashem. So that is the chidush I misunderstood that you were referring to.
2) Tinok shenishbas is the term that was used for over 25 years by the Rebbe who taught it to us, his chassidim. When one used the term “kiruv rechokim” the Rebbe remarked, how can you judge who is close and who is distant? Therefore, I misunderstood you were coming from that background. Now that you tell me you aren’t, I am happy that we are on the same page, at least on this matter .
Wishes for a Gmar Chasima Tova and that we should all reach complete tshuvah about our actions and our INTENTIONS.
Will they be playing the organs by kol nidrei? Come to think of it a female singing kol nidrei with some vocal background it sounds tempting…guess I should take my car to that church after all no one will judge me cause its loshen hora and the rebbe said that I should be accepted for who I am…and oh I can’t wait for the meal after kol nidrei I heard they will be serving some really yummy crab and you know I have waited all year for this one…
So they’re davening in a church? This is a step UP for reformists. At least the xtians believe in a creator, which is more than you can say for the reform movement.
Yasher Koach to TorasMosheEmess.
From the Jewish Virtual Library:
What do Reform Jews believe? What is Reform Judaism?
“If anyone were to attempt to answer these two questions authoritatively for all Reform Jews, that person’s answers would have to be false. Why? Because one of the guiding principles of Reform Judaism is the autonomy of the individual. A Reform Jew has the right to decide whether to subscribe to this particular belief or to that particular practice.”
“Reform Judaism accepts and encourages pluralism. Judaism has never demanded uniformity of belief or practice.”
So in Reform “Judaism,” you don’t even have to follow the Torah or believe in G-d. You can do whatever you feel like doing, and you don’t have to do whatever you don’t feel like doing. Is that “Judaism” ?
I am the pastor of the church (The Reformed Dutch Church of Brooklyn, a.k.a. “Old First”) which offered Beth Elohim our hospitality. It’s not for me to enter your intra-Jewish debates. Make your judgments on each other as you will. Let me just lay out a few facts.
First, that we have no parking lot, and all of us must walk all the time. Second, we are a Calvinist church, which means we have no crosses. There is not one cross in our sanctuary. Third, as a Calvinist church, we honor the Law (as we call it) and our reredos, the wall behind the pulpit, has the Ten Commandments written out in full. Fourth, the pipe organ was not and will not be used during any Yom Kippur service. Fifth, we have no statues in our church, we do not allow them, of Jesus, of the Virgin Mary, or anyone else. Sixth, we have no pictures of G_d in our church; we do not allow them. Seventh, one of the reasons we could host Beth Elohim is that our church has the capacity for 1100 people, and there were easily that many at Kol Nidre tonight, and probably no other shul could hold that many, certainly not in walking distance. Eighth, we offered our space to Beth Elohim as a matter of hospitality and honor. We are Christians, we do not cover that over or deny our differences, but as Dutch Reformed Christians we honor Israel as G_d’s covenantal people.
My uncle in the Netherlands was a Dutch Reformed preacher who is honored in Yad Vashem as a Righteous Gentile, because of the Jews he hid in his church basement, first in Hollansche Veld, and then in Harlingen. Our act of hospitality was minimal compared to what he did.
You are welcome to continue your debate and disagreements, but please don’t make assumptions about what happened or what our motives were, or why Rabbi Bachman and the Beth Elohim congregation (including Senator Schumer) knew they could ask us immediately for help. My congregation spent two days making our sanctuary ready for them.
להעביר גילולים מן הארץ והאלילים כרות יכרתון. שקץ תשקצנו ותעב תתעבנו כי חרם הוא.