By COLlive reporter
Congregation Chevra Shas, a long-time and central shul in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood, will be renamed in memory of its Rov, Rabbi Mottel Gurary OBM who passed away during the coronavirus pandemic.
Located at 398 Kingston Avenue, on the corner of Montgomery Street, it will now be called “Congregation Chevra Shas Bais Mordechai,” his family has notified this week.
They said the shul “endured so much unspeakable pain over the past few months as we have lost so many extraordinary and significant members of our shul who have been such assets and have left a tremendous void.”
Among them are Rabbi Gurary, Rabbi Menachem Nissim, Rabbi Gedalia Korf, Oholei Torah Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, and Rabbi Moshe Zaklikovsky who served as a Shliach in Detroit and editor of Chassidus publications.
They said their father “tirelessly and lovingly devoted most of his life to our shul as well as to the community and anywhere else that he was able to make a kiddush Hashem and kiddush Lubavitch. He has been constantly inspiring us with his Torah teachings throughout the week as well as his geshmake divrei Torah and farbrengens on Shabbos and Yom Tov, his davening with such chayus and warmth as a real chosid emulates, his Krias HaTorah which he so powerfully articulated, making everyone feel like they are actually living in the moment.
“He endeared everyone with his wit, wisdom and warmth. He displayed so much love for his fellow yid as he was eager to help others who were less fortunate, with his kind gestures, encouraging words, clever advise and/or financial assistance (through his tzedaka fund). We can go on and on about all his special middos, but we don’t want to limit them in any way.”
The family said they “plan to do whatever possible to keep the light of our beloved Chevra Shas burning so that our dear Rav’s neshama will shine brightly above and be a maylitz yosher for all of us. Therefore, the name ‘Bais Mordechai’ will be added to our wonderful shul.”
The shul, like many around New York City and the country, is currently closed. They said that once they reopen, they plan to continue having weekly Shabbos divrei Torah, leining in shul by family members and continued shabbos mevorchim farbrengens.
“Let us all take pride in the fact that our mispallelim keep our shul so sacred and extraordinary as Rabbi Gurary always stressed the importance of not speaking during davening and krias HaTorah,” they stressed.
“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their nichum aveilim, their words of inspiration and for sharing their personal experiences of how they were affected and influenced by Rabbi Gurary.”
VIDEO:
הרב גוראריה היה משכמו ומעלה. בית מרדכי לשם ולתפארת
Ask anyone from the shul about his aseres hadibros leining.
Man, it was powerful.
Rabbi Gurary used to come into Beis Chaya Mushka where his granddaughter learned. He was the most humble and kind man. A true chassid and beloved Zayde.