Religious Life
By Sarina Roffe
Brooklyn has the greatest density of Jews in the world and the faces of Judaism are reflected in its people. From the various sects of Hasidic Jews to progressive and humanistic Judaism, Brooklyn has it all.
Religious life in Brooklyn takes on many different faces during the course of the year. It also varies by neighborhood. From Williamsburg to Borough Park, from Crowne Heights to Brighton Beach, the neighborhood scene changes depending on the group, its ancestry, as well as its adaptations to Brooklyn’s life.
Shalom! 90 years ago, a group of committed Brooklyn Jews came together to articulate a vision. They wanted to build a Jewish Center – a collective home to live their Jewish lives. It would be a uniquely American edifice; a place not only to pray, celebrate holidays, raise Jewish families, and explore the endless richness of Jewish text, history, and culture, but also a place to engage in social events… Read More »East Midwood Jewish Center – 90 Years
After 15 years of research, BJHI Co-chair Sarina Roffé has completed Branching Out From Sepharad (New York: Sephardic Heritage Project, 2017). Dedicated to her grandparents, Joe and Frieda Missry, Roffé outlines the global journey of selected rabbinic families from Iberia to Syria to the Americas. With the Foreword written by Dr. Walter Zenner A’H, Branching Out From Sepharad outlines the history of Jews in Spain, the 1492 Expulsion, the history… Read More »Branching Out From Sepharad: Traces Community History And Selected Rabbinic Dynasties
Magen David Synagogue Documentary about the landmarked Magen David Synagogue in Bensonhurst Brooklyn, produced by Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative in cooperation with Sephardic Heritage Project. 2019 View BJHI Video Library
THE BROOKLYN CANTORIAL PROJECT In partnership with the the American Society for Jewish Music, the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative has developed this exhibit of the history and singing by important Brooklyn cantors, from the “Golden Age Cantorial Singing,” in the early and middle 20th century, to the present day. Drawing on the resources from its Charlie Bernhaut Collection of Jewish and Cantorial Recordings, the American Society for Jewish Music provides… Read More »The Brooklyn Cantorial Project
A Leader Among Many: Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin of Bensonhurst Submitted by Sarina Roffe Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin was born in 1900 in the old city of Jerusalem and is a descendant of an unbroken chain of rabbis dating back to the mid-16th Century. Of Aleppan descent, he became the first Chief Rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community in Bensonhurst in 1933. A qualified Dayan (judge), shochet, mohel and kabbalistic… Read More »Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin of Bensonhurst