A $200 WhatsApp Group Created the ‘Mitzvah Center’ Shul

What makes a community?

Crown Heights is made up of dozens of micro-communities built over decades of friendships and experience, and their members might say it needs patience and dedication. If you go to the Mitzvah Center on Troy avenue, though, you might have a different answer.

The Mitzvah Center is a place of boundless energy that has built a burgeoning community in four short years. Any conversation with the remarkable “Founding Fathers” of this Shul makes it clear that this is a special place.

“Instead of being on autopilot,” Gabbai Yossi Mahpour says, “we are always trying to do new things.” The Mitzvah Center offers a constantly evolving carousel of events, helps community members connect, and keeps everyone in touch with their Mitzvah Center app.

That energy is what fueled Mahpour, Shul president Yossi Chayo, and a few others to start the Shul back in Elul of 2016. “We were hanging out at someone’s house on Shabbos afternoon,” Chayo said, “and we thought, why not make a place that we can Daven and connect together?”

The founders of the Shul were young, 20 years old on average, but they were driven by vision and tenacity. They made a Whatsapp group that cost $200 to join, and started construction. By Rosh Hashana they opened their small basement Shul to 60 members. By Yom Kippur, that number went up to 80.

The Mitzvah Center has been running off that boundless energy since that afternoon, and they have discovered that it is infectious. Less than a year into the Shul’s existence they ran into their first major snag. The summer was coming and they needed air conditioning. Most would have gone dumpster diving for the cheapest option, but that isn’t the Mitzvah Center’s style. Instead, they got a huge air conditioning unit for ten thousand dollars, assuming that they would figure out a way to pay for it.

Within 24 hours, the community had it covered. “And these are single guys,” Chayo says, “the donations were small.”

Today the Mitzvah Center is at a beautiful home on 328 Troy Avenue, which they acquired in October of 2017. The young men approached this new location with their trademark grit and zest, transforming a broken down 99 Cent Store between President and Union into a magnificent Shul and Simcha hall.

When they started the founders were all young and single, but as they get older the dynamic has changed. The Mitzvah Center has grown to 150 members, half of whom are married, and the Shul has had to accommodate the growing number of women in attendance.

This past Rosh Hashanah they noticed that there was not enough space for the women, and they immediately set into high gear working on renovating the Shul. The newest renovation, that will be completed before Rosh Hashanah of this year will include a women’s restroom and an expanded women’s section.

Chayo also realizes the importance of friendships in binding the community together. He encourages his members to host large meals at their homes so that people can get to know one another. They also launched their first women’s event, a hamantash bake, this Purim. For the Mitzvah Center to provide the type of community that they are hoping to build, both men and women have to have a way to connect.

The Mitzvah Center is a constantly evolving place that manages to continue attracting people with their innovative programming and welcoming atmosphere. It will be amazing to see what these remarkable men continue to do.

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Mitzvah Center
328 Troy Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11213

Schedule for the Mitzvah Center:

Sunday:
Chassidus Shiur – 6:30 am
Shachris – 7:30 am

Monday-Friday:
Chassidus Shiur – 6:30 am
Shachris – 7:30 am
Chitas following Shachris

Friday Night:
Mincha – At candle lighting
Shiur in Likkutei Sichos by R’ Mendy Chanin
Maariv

Shabbos Day:
Chassidus – 9:00 am
Shachris – 10:30 am
Mincha
Seder Niggunim
Maariv

For more information regarding the Mitzvah Center you can download their app, Mitzvah Center Brooklyn – Community App in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, check out their Instagram @mitvah_center_brooklyn or you can reach out via phone 929-378-6614 or email [email protected]

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