Jewish faith leaders are hoping to meet a decades-long ask from residents of the Pelham Parkway neighborhood to bring a Chabad center — housing a synagogue and early learning childhood center — to the area this year.
The goal, according to Rabbi Levi Shemtov, is for the long-awaited Pelham Parkway Chabad Center to open its doors to both members of the Jewish faith and non-denominational Bronxites before the start of Passover on April 15.
“(The importance of this Chabad center) is to educate and teach. Let’s face it, probably 80% of the Jewish people don’t know much about Judaism or their Jewish identity,” said Shemtov. “They might go to school for a few days here or there, but they really don’t know anything about the Jewish heritage, the Jewish culture, the Jewish history.”
Chabad, shortened for Chabad-Lubavitch, is one of the largest Hasidic groups in the world but differs from self-segregating, insular Haredi Jewish members, through its community building and outreach to non-denominational or secular Jews.
Chabad relies on emissaries, often young couples, to relocate to locales to build and foster a Jewish community. Shemtov’s journey to the Bronx began in 1992 with his wife Sorah, as both were offered to not only run the Chabad of Riverdale — one of three Chabad centers in the Bronx — but also act as spiritual advisers for Jews in the borough at large.
In a full circle moment, Shemtov is aiming to provide a similar opportunity for a young couple to help start the planned Pelham Bay Chabad Center and is raising funds for a prospective young rabbi and his family to move to the area.
Shemtov said that the new couple will be introduced in a few weeks.
“Once they get married, the husband and wife makes a decision together to see if they want to go open a Chabad center,” said Shemtov. “This is their opportunity to connect with other Jewish couples. Some who are practicing, some who are not, but also the community at large, and provide a space where there is no judgment but understanding.”
An estimated 45,000 Jewish people live in the Bronx, though those numbers were much larger before 2010, when roughly 600,000 Jews lived there in the middle of the 20th century.
Shemtov noted there is a dearth of Jewish day schools, organizations and synagogues to address the needs of the affiliated Jewish community, particularly outreach, education and community services.
According to year-end NYPD hate crime data, NYC saw a disturbing 70% rise in hate crimes — antisemitic attacks rose by nearly 125% year-to-year — across New York City’s five boroughs and more than doubled the number of incidents from a year ago.
The concerning rise unfolded against a backdrop of high-profile figures such as Kanye West making headlines for remarks targeting Jews.
“It’s important to Jewish people to know that they’re Jewish, and to know what it means to be Jewish,” said Shemtov. “The problem is a lot of people like conceal and hide their Jewish identity, but this is also an opportunity for us to connect with other groups, to educate and engage with our history and defeat misconceptions and misinformation.”
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
