This item comes courtesy of a lass named Marcia. She writes:
Hi Miss Heather,
It’s Marcia from the Greenpoint Shul checking in with you again – the Jewish High Holidays are upon us and we’re trying to reach out to all the young Jews in the Neighborhood and let them know about our cool and welcoming shul…that you can even wear jeans to! Not sure if the MTV show is going to help us out and get the word out, but maybe you can?
Here are the details…
The High Holidays are around the corner, Make your plans now to the join the Greenpoint Shul.
Buy Rosh Hashanah dinner tickets online: http://greenpointshul.org/2011_RH_Dinner.html
$21/members, $26/non-members
Wednesday, Sept. 28th, 7pm
Thursday, Sept 29th, 7pm
Also reserve your High Holiday seats – RSVP online for FREE e-tickets: http://greenpointshul.org/High_Holiday_Sign_Up.html
I have word that babysitting and children’s activities will be provided for those who are interested. Any and all needing more information can contact Rabbi Appelbaum via email at rabbi (at) greenpountshul (dot) org.
This item comes courtesy of a lady named Marcia. She writes:
The Greenpoint Shul is having Passover seder next week on Monday April 18th and Tuesday April 19th. It’s a pretty laid back shul – you can even wear jeans! We have a lot of young people and are really trying to pull in more people from the community. Could you post our event?
Here’s a text blurb…
The Seder’s of Passover at the Greenpoint Shul Monday April 18th and Tuesday April 19th
Join us on the first & second nights of Passover for a beautiful seder evening with a lively reading of the haggadah, singing, and a full-course sit-down meal. The seder will be led by Rabbi Maurice Appelbaum and his wife Rebeccah, and will include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and three delicious courses of traditional Passover foods – All your grandmother’s favorite!
7:00 Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres 7:40 Evening Prayer Service 8:00 Seder Begins 8:45 Dinner is Served – All your grandmother’s favorites! Menu includes soup, gefilte fish, chicken, roast, salads and more. Vegetarian menu also available. 9:45 Concluding Portion of the Seder
Duly posted! Tickets (which are $42.00 per person) can be purchased by clicking here. Otherwise an additional donations are appreciated— but not required.
Hello. I hope all is well. This is Samara writing you – formerly of the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen trivia night, more recently of the Greenpoint Shul Friday events nights. The Greenpoint Shul is hosting a joke-off and dinner a la the Borscht Belt on April Fool’s Day. The details are below. We’d love it if you could come, and would greatly appreciate it if you could post this event…
Duly posted! Tickets (which are $13.00 per person) can be purchased by clicking here. Otherwise an additional $5.00 donation is appreciated— but not required.
This item comes courtesy of a very nice lady named Marcia. She writes:
Hi there,
The Greenpoint Shul would like to have our Purim Masquerade invitation posted on Newyorkshitty.com.
Our event is Saturday March 19th and will be a great costume party for all…
Duly mentioned! Tickets for this event (which are $13.00 each and include snacks and an open bar) can be purchased by clicking here. It goes without saying dressing up in costume is encouraged.
This item comes courtesy of my friend Samara, the very nice lady who organizes events for our very own Shul. Clearly she is shaking things up a little with this latest event— a kegger, no less. The price for this event is $13.00 and tickets can be purchased by clicking here. Check it out!
Last month you kindly posted about a wine tasting held at the Greenpoint Shul. We’re having another event and were wondering if you would be willing to post again.
It’s a Moroccan Shabbat with a North-African-themed Kabbalat Shabbat followed by a Moroccan dinner including arak (a liquor) and wine, with a special guest who will share a few brief words. It will take place on Friday, January 7th @ 7:00 p.m. at the Greenpoint Shul (108 Noble St.) and is $13.00 per a person…
If you could post this, we’d greatly appreciate it.
Please come if you can.
Thank you.
Duly posted! I for one think this is really great way to reach out to our Jewish community and beyond. Above all, you should meet the Rabbi. He’s a very nice guy! Check it out:
This item comes courtesy of the amazingly nice folks at Greenpoint’s very own Shul! Samara writes:
Hello, Miss Heather -
This is Samara writing you. – I worked on the trivia fundraisers for the Greenpoint Soup Kitchen last year that you so kindly donated prints to.
I’m writing you with a request to give a shout out on NewYorkShitty for an event we’re having at the Greenpoint Shul.
It’s a kosher wine tasting in conjunction with Roebling Liquors Inc. and a vegetarian food pairing with a wine expert in celebration of Hanukkah. It will take place Friday, December 3rd just after Kabbalat Shabbat services which begin at 7:00 p.m at the Greenpoint Shul (108 Noble St.) We welcome donations to support the event (www.greenpointshul.org, click on “Donate”).
I’ve attached a jpg of the invitation. If you could post this, we’d greatly appreciate it.
Please come if you can…
Duly posted! I would also like to add that not only is the Rabbi who presides over this establishment, Maurice Appelbaum, an amazingly nice guy but the very building itself is an absolute treasure! Follows is a slide show I assembled last year to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Enjoy!
Ever had one of those things you were always meaning to do but somehow never got around to? Today I checked one such item off my list: visiting Greenpoint’s only operating synagogue, Congregation Ahavath Israel. This afternoon I met with its (newish) Rabbi, Maurice Appelbaum, and he took me on the grand tour. Don’t let the outward appearance of this building deceive you: it is absolutely breath-taking. Mr. Appelbaum is no slouch either: he’s an incredibly nice guy! Let’s get started, shall we?
First things first: Congregation Ahavath Israel, which is Orthodox, convenes in the building to the right. The building on the left is also a synagogue, but we’ll get to that later.
As the corner stone indicates, this place of worship was founded in 1904 (albeit A.D.).
This is the dedication plaque which graces the foyer. As you will notice one W. G. Miller was the builder. Here are a few items I dug up on Mr. Miller via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle online archives:
Mr. Miller was a very active member of the community…
…and he was a builder of some renown. The details of Mr. Miller’s life might be scant in print, but what he built at 108 Noble is a living testament to his craftsmanship.
Facing south.
The nave (please pardon my decidedly goy terminology).
Facing north.
This lovely Art Nouveau light fixture has to be seen to truly be appreciated. While I am on the subject of things profane (or at least matters mundane)…
In my excitement I totally botched this photo. Not only did its Art Deco design appeal to me, but the address for said clockmaker, Bomelstein’s, sounded vaguely familiar: 753 Manhattan Avenue. I did a little Googling and here’s what I found.
Look familiar? If not, go to 733 Manhattan Avenue and see the restored version for yourself. It is one of a precious few clocks which have been land-marked in this city. Why not grab a doughnut from Peter Pan while you’re at it? But I digress.
Back in the days before the New York’s Bravest were what we know now, people took it upon themselves to to have some fire protection on hand.
Hence the multitude of buckets conveniently stored under the pews.
Remember what I wrote about the synagogue next door? Well, here’s my segue. This is the plaque which graced it. It belonged to a Reform congregation which donated the adjacent property, 110 Noble Street, to Ahvath Israel:
Here’s conservancy in Greenpoint:
Abject neglect.
Not that I blame Mr. Appelbaum for this: I don’t. He became this community’s Rabbi September, 2009.
The above photograph does not do justice to how lovely these stained glass windows are— and why they should be saved. To close on a decidedly “up” note, something wonderful is going on behind this building…
a garden to contribute food to Greenpoint’s most needy. See those barrels and pipes? They are the beginning of a drainage and compost system. I have been told by Rabbi Appelbaum some vollies from Rooftop Farms have assisted in this effort. And yes, dear readers, the soil has been tested. It had some lead content but well below what it is considered to be hazardous. Nonetheless, they are taking measures to remediate it.
What’s more, they’re finding some really cool stuff. Pottery shards and shells mostly. I couldn’t help but pick a few while I talked to Maurice.
It’s in my junkwoman/urban anthropologist nature. I cannot help myself.
In conclusion: this is my humble opinion one of the unsung gems in the Garden Spot of the Universe. As with most things in Greenpoint, beauty does not run skin deep: it’s found in the heart. Hence why I feel both these synagogues deserve preserving and why I want to give a big thank-you to Rabbi Appelbaum, for taking the time to give me a tour— he has a lot of heart. And Seth (the cat rescuer and reluctant Greenpoint celebrity) for helping to make this happen. Follows is a slide show of my tour of Greenpoint’s only Shul. Enjoy!
Miss Heather
Photo Credits: The Bomelstein Street clock comes courtesy of
P.S.:Ahavas Israel also offers N.A. meetings every Tuesday night 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
108 Noble Street (downstairs)
Brooklyn, NY 11222
For more deets contact Maurice at: rabbi (at) greenpointshul (dot) org.
