I have two amazing friends. Okay, I set myself up for that one. I have many cool friends but today I want to talk about two in particular.I met Esty and Dovi Scheiner what feels like a million years ago. Dovi's brother is a rabbi in Colorado who my family is close with and I met them at a bar mitzvah. It is Dovi's sister-in-law Chani as well as Esty and Dovi themselves that I have to thank for my amazing spiritual journey into Orthodox Judaism and Chabad in particular. I am not going to go into my whole background and experience and journey into observance (that can be for another time). What I do want to talk about is the amazing and all-encompassing positive spiritual energy this couple exudes. Here's a little background on these two...Esty and Dovi are both from large and well-known Chabad families. They grew up in Boro Park and Crown Heights, Brooklyn (sorry for the vague sketch, I did not interview them for this blog and am telling their story from memory). They got engaged and set their wedding date. The morning of their wedding they were absorbed in prayer and fasting (as is tradition the day of a Jewish wedding). Until they noticed the chaos around them. Their wedding date was September 11, 2001. As NYC was brought to its knees by terrorists, Esty and Dovi consulted their rabbi... asking if they should get married that day. His advice? Bring joy into the darkness of the day. And so they were married. They have since dedicated their marriage to revitalizing Judaism and bringing a new kind of tradition to the financial district and SoHo. And their success is truly amazing!They founded the World Tikkun Center and Esty baked challahs every Friday and hand delivered them to the mayor's office. In my time with them, in the early days, I met some of the most amazing and inspired Jews, including a young Matisyahu... just starting out, selling burned CDs. Very cool. Not only that but they took me into their home and introduced me to their families. I have been to weddings of sisters and feel close to these women (as I never had any biological sisters myself) as if I were family.I am proud of my friends and though life has intervened and I haven't seen them in far too long I am excited to speak about their success!SoHo Synagogue is the hottest, coolest, trendiest place to daven (pray) in the city. It was when it was in their home... it is even more so, now that they moved into an old Gucci storefront on Crosby street.
- The New York Times says "A hipster synagogue grows in SoHo."
- As for decor choices for the new locale, The Gothamist said, "Of course the young rabbi behind the new synagogue in SoHo for 'unaffiliated, downtown secular Jews' would turn to an 'aggressively whimsical furniture' designer when planning the newest house of worship to hit the chic neighborhood."
- Of course the Wall Street Journal couldn't be left out in this conversation about design, "Mr. Scheiner says he believes young Jews are put off by design that smacks of their parents' Judaism—be it wooden pews or stained-glass sanctuaries."
- Even the Jerusalem Post got into the action, digging into a new format for shuls... "(the synagogue) styles itself deliberately as representing 'a fresh vision for translating the inspiration of Judaism for a new generation,' said Scheiner.... 'It’s completely counter-intuitive,' Scheiner said. 'It’s an unbelievable message about the continuity of Jewish life. This is a generation of Jews that has been alienated from institutional Judaism. They find the grandiose synagogues of old irrelevant and uninspiring.' 'Show me something that’s personally relevant, in a Jewish sense, and I’ll stay,' said Ben Jablonski, a young donor to the synagogue."
- DNAInfo, the online Manhattan news source said, "'We listened,' Scheiner said. 'We learned about peoples' lifestyles, priorities, interests.' And SoHo Synagogue and its revolutionary new space is the result. 'This is a sanctuary,' Scheiner said. 'Hopefully it will be a sanctuary for young Jewish people at the end of a rat-race week.'"
- The NYPost thinks, you might be Too Cool For Shul in their article. They mention, “'It’s Judaism, rebranded,' says congregant Joe Wright. 'It maintains the tradition but offers something new.'” (And they have some great pics!)
- And last... but really not least... my favorite magazine and the best way to stay on top of what is happening in NYC, New York Magazine takes you on a visual tour. Check out their pictures here: Space of the Week: Not Your Father’s Shul
You have to check these guys out if you are ever in The City. They are amazing people trying to do incredible things for Jews. And they bring up a good point... what is the future of Judaism? Certainly my generation feels very differently about synagogue membership than my parent's generation. How do we keep our religion relevant?It is a serious question. Got answers?