Anshei Lubavitch Shul is a Full Fledged Community

By Avraham Lobock for COLlive.com

If there is one buzzword for the Anshei Lubavitch-Geshem Center, it is ‘unparalleled success’. They have been open for a little over a decade, but its list of accomplishments is astounding.

Here are a few: Shul members take a yearly trip to the Kevorim of the Rebbeim, host a weekly father-son Kollel, and house a community daycare. This is all in addition to daily davening and shiurim, community Yom Tov events, and an active Shul sisterhood.

The Shul began as a ‘class Shul’ in 2008. At the time, it was a small shtiebel of mostly single bochurim that were just looking for a shul. As members started marrying and the community grew, they needed to find a larger space. From there the Shul went on a journey, first moving to 397 Troy and then to 589 East New York Avenue. This second move was orchestrated by founder Yossi Levin and the Geshem Center, giving the Shul the name, “Geshem Center.”

At this point, the Shul hired Rabbi Yossi Garelik and “that is what made the Shul take off,” comments board member Zalman Friedman.

Rabbi Garelik began to urge his members to expand the Shul in all areas to address the needs of the growing community. At his behest, Anshei Lubavitch started the daycare center.

The Shul sisterhood, run by heads Brochi Friedman and Rikkel Gopin under the leadership of Mrs. Chani Garelik, began at this time as well. Rabbi Garelik also encouraged members to take on leadership roles, urging congregants to give the daily halacha shiur.

The Shul also proved unafraid to try new things, and has seen other Shuls adopt these ideas since.

The popular Sunday Kollels, now almost a Crown Heights institution, were started by Anshei Lubavitch. Rabbi Meir New opened the Sunday Kollel, offering a hot breakfast and a children’s program that allows fathers to take their children to Shul and Kollel with them on Sunday mornings. Rabbi New also sponsored and built the Shul library in memory of his father-in-law, Rabbi Binyomin Katz.

After a few years, they moved to their current home at 578 Albany Avenue. They gutted the seedy and dilapidated bar that was there and turned it into a beautiful Shul and Simcha hall.

During the move, they decided that they needed to choose a name unique to their Shul. They chose Anshei Lubavitch because they were looking for a name that would set the intention of their Shul. They are a community that “looks after the physical well being, but more importantly the spiritual wellbeing, of the members and children.”

Their commitment to this ideal is evident in everything that the Shul has done since.

The Shul sisterhood plays a dynamic role in the Shul. Every year they arrange a Shabbaton for the mothers in the community to rest and rejuvenate. With the generous help of local vendors, the sisterhood arranges an annual auction and Melavah Malkah for the entire community. In addition, they also host programs for women every Yom Tov, and a monthly Rosh Chodesh event. Whenever a woman in the community has a child she receives a care package from the sisterhood, and meals delivered for the family for as long as she feels she needs.

The family-based community continues to be of paramount importance. On the encouragement of Rabbi Garelik, the community focuses their events on children and family programming. The over one hundred families that call Anshei Lubavitch home know that they can rely on the Shul to make children’s programming every Shabbos, as well as the Shul’s hugely successful daycare and summer camp.

With the pandemic forcing most people to make Yom Tov meals at home, the Shul distributed tens of thousands of dollars worth of food to community members this past Pesach, and again prior to Shavuos. They also delivered weekly care packages with herring and beer for Zoom farbrengens before Shabbos.

On the spiritual side, the Shul is in a constant state of growth. For the past two years, they have started a tradition of yearly trips to Nezhin, Kharhov, and Haditch. Community members and speakers deliver shiurim every morning and evening. In the next few months, Anshei Lubavitch hopes to break ground on a men’s mikvah to accommodate their rapidly growing community.

In its numerous activities and events, as well as in Rabbi Garelik’s dynamic and inspirational leadership, Anshei Lubavitch continues to set the gold standard for the success that a community can have in Crown Heights.

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Anshei Lubavitch – Geshem Center
578 Albany Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11213

Schedule for Anshei Lubavitch:
Sunday:
Chassidus – 9:15 AM
Shachris – 10:15 AM
Shiur Halacha – 11:15 AM
Mincha – Bizmana
Shiur on Daf Yomi – 8:00-9:00 PM
Shiur on Rambam – 8:30-9:00 PM
Maariv – 9:00 PM

Monday-Friday:

Chassidus – 6:30 AM
Shachris – 7:10 AM
Mincha – Bizmana
Shiur on Daf Yomi – 8:00-9:00 PM
Shiur on Rambam – 8:30-9:00 PM
Maariv – 9:00 PM

Friday Night:

Kabbolas Shabbos – 10 minutes after candle lighting

Shabbos Day:
Chassidus – 9:00 AM
Shachris – 10:00 AM
Kiddush & Farbrengen
Mincha – 1 hour before the end of Shabbos
Maariv – After Tzeis

For more information regarding Anshei Lubavitch and rental of the hall you can contact 571-294-9740 or via email [email protected], visit geshemshul.com and on instagram

 

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Our Shuls – profiles of the shuls of Crown Heights on COLlive.com:

Beis Gimpel on New York Avenue

Getzel’s Shul on Kingston Avenue

The Mitzvah Center on Troy Avenue

Adas Yisroel-Beis Midrash Eliyahu Nachum (Lefferts Shul)

The Besht on Empire Blvd