New Feature on COLlive.com: The Shul Where Everyone Feels at Home

The two minyanim were only a few doors away from one another, but they had a deep and profound commonality. “We wanted a place where everyone felt comfortable.”

Beis Gimpel Chaim-Shmuel Leib, or just Beis Gimpel, has become a Crown Heights institution for hundreds of residents living on New York and Brooklyn avenue, but when the two small Minyanim that comprised its core members began, nobody would have imagined the impact it would have.

The first Minyan began about 15 years ago, when Reb Shmuel Leib Strauss began to have trouble making his way to Shul on Shabbos. A group of friends, including Shmuli Brashevitsky, took the initiative of helping him with a Minyan. It wasn’t easy – many of the members were walking quite a distance – but they knew Reb Shmuel Leib needed a Minyan.

In 2012, nearly 3 years after Reb Shmuel Leib passed away at the young age of 66, a group of young men began a Minyan with the mission of building a Shul in which everyone felt comfortable and at home. They started small, with a group of friends that included Shloimy Greenwald and Shaul Dahan, and slowly grew. Only a few doors away from one another, the idea that they combined with the dwindling Beis Shmuel Leib seemed natural.

By 2014, their small Minyan had become a vibrant community that needed a new home, which they found at 309 New York avenue. As a community, they fundraised to renovate the bottom floor of the building into a beautiful shul and the Nemes simcha hall. The dedication, a landmark event highlighted by a lavish dinner and a performance by beloved singer and composer Yossi Green, was incredibly moving to those founding members.

“For me,” said Gabbai Shaul Dahan, “the moment that they brought the Torah in, dedicated to my grandparents, was particularly moving.” The Torah, and the shul, had been dedicated in memory of Reb Gimpel Orimland and Reb Chaim Gastfrend, and the fact that this Torah would be used in this space was profound.

It brought to mind the story of his wife’s grandfather, Reb Gimpel Orimland, who had bid a considerable amount on one of the Hakafos in 770 on the Rebbe’s recommendation. After the following year saw him enjoy considerable success, he asked the Rebbe to suggest a bid the next year. The Rebbe recommended a paltry sum.

Stunned, he asked the Rebbe the reason for the enormous drop.

The Rebbe replied, “the idea is to give Tzedakah when you don’t have.”

Six years later, the Shul continues its mission of building a home where everyone had a Minyan. They have two Shachris minyanim, along with Mincha and Maariv, and an Ein Yaakov Shiur twice a week. A shiur Friday night draws in many from around the neighborhood, while a Shabbos morning shiur in Likutei Torah in English at 8:45 am, children’s program, and beautiful Kiddush after davening keeps the Shabbos day Minyan crowded. The Shul even hosts a successful Sunday Kollel in honor of beloved educator, Reb Mordechai Tzvi Greenwald, with topical Shiurim and a hot breakfast served. The Shul, which is beautifully maintained by Shul treasurer Mendel Sufrin, is also rented out regularly as a popular venue for L’Chaims and other events.

Reb Gimpel’s shul draws in everyone. “It is a place where everyone feels comfortable,” Rabbi Shloimy Greenwald said. “We have people ranging from about 18 to people in their sixties and seventies. Religious, non-religious – everyone is welcome.” The way Shmuli Brashevitsky put it, “we have 9-year-olds and ten-year-olds, and we have their great-grandparents.”

While most would be satisfied with the Shul’s success, Shloimy Greenwald says that they are hoping to expand their space. With hundreds of people passing through their doors on a weekly basis, he says, “We’re bursting at the seams.”

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Beis Gimpel Chaim
309 New York Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213

Schedule for Beis Gimpel:

Shacharis:
Sun: 8:15am Followed by Kollel.
Mon-Fri: 7:00am & 8:00am
Shabbos: (regular): 10:00am (Shabbos Mevorchim) 10:30am

Mincha:
Sun: 4:00pm (Winter only) 7:00pm (summer only)
Sun-Thurs: 7:00pm (Spring-Fall only)
Fri-Shabbos: at Candle lighting

Maariv
Sun- Thurs: 9:00pm year round
Fri-Shabbos: 1 hour after Candle lighting

For more information regarding Beis Gimpel or the Nemes Hall, check out their website, thenemes.com, or you can reach out by phone 917-426-6594 or email [email protected]