Crown Heights Tour Earned Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere Award”

By Mendel Levy

Airbnb Experiences is where tourists and sightseers go to find new experiences in places that they visit. Incredibly, with everything that New York City has to offer tourists, the Hasidic Brooklyn tour of Crown Heights by Rabbis Yoni Katz and Mayer Friedman has become one of the top three most popular destinations on Airbnb Experiences in New York City. They were even awarded Airbnb’s coveted “Belong Anywhere Award.”

A quick perusal through the 1,039 reviews of the tour brings up these snippets. (All caps in the original):
“Easily the BEST tour I have ever done.” – Mark

“This is THE BEST experience I have ever had from Airbnb.” – Vanessa

“The best guided tour I’ve experienced personally.” – Aditi

“Probably the best walking tour we have done to date in any country and we have done them all over the world.” – Joanna

“The BEST part of my trip to New York.” – Lauren

Global interest in Chasidic life in Brooklyn exploded after numerous YouTubers captured elements of the tour for their channels and their viewers couldn’t get enough.
The tour’s astonishing popularity with people of culturally and religiously diverse backgrounds is not only a pleasant surprise but also a much-needed educational experience for people exposed to half-truths about Chasidic life.

“Seeing all the negative attention that Chasidic Jews get bothered me a lot,” explained Katz, “so we decided to do something about it and give people a look at our life from the inside.”
Visiting a Chasidic home is an education in itself so the groups begin their tour with Katz’s mother in law, Mrs. Bracha Friedman, who invites them into her home on Montgomery Street. They are served traditional Chasidic refreshments and given a crash course in the laws and traditions of a kosher kitchen and home.

Mrs. Friedman’s dining room table is the scene of a no-holds-barred Q&A session on Judaism with Katz and his wife Rivky. She encourages all questions and responds honestly and convincingly about the intricacies of Chasidic family life.

Then it’s off to Hasofer, Zlata Wigs, 770, WLCC, a Mikveh, the Levi Yitzchok Library, Gombos Bakery, Primo Hatters, and more. On special occasions, a group will experience a conversation with renowned lecturer and teacher Rabbi Manis Friedman or a Chasidic kumzitz with singer Eli Marcus.

“The real secret of the tour’s success is the locals,” says Friedman. “Visitors are constantly amazed by how warm and welcoming the people in Crown Heights are to them. In direct contrast to what they have been told, they discover authentic kindness and respect in our community.”

Wherever they go and whoever they encounter, they find smiles and openness. Nothing is hidden, there is no suspicion, and the kindness is palpable.

“It amazes me that a group of people can be so intensely religious and so incredibly approachable at the same time,” wrote one of the visitors. “This tour has revived my faith in religion.”
Rabbi Shlomo Friedman of Lubavitch Youth Organization oversees the Hasidic Brooklyn tour. “I am very proud of what the tour has achieved,” he said. “The world needs an experience like this now more than ever. So much is being said and written about Jews and Jewish life, but so few have actually seen or experienced it for themselves. The tour transforms them.”

“The tour is popular precisely because it is transparent,” says Katz. “People feel the sincerity and it moves them deeply. For that, we salute the Crown Heights community and thank them for helping our guests learn the truth about Judaism.”

“We haven’t created anything new,” adds Friedman, “we’ve simply removed the barriers to allowed visitors to see the culture and spiritual beauty that has been here all along. So thank you Crown Heights!”

To learn more, find the Hasidic Brooklyn tour on Airbnb or visit JewishBrooklyn.nyc.

To reach Rabbi Yoni Katz directly about media requests, please email [email protected]