By COLlive reporter
A battle to halt the sale of a historic Brooklyn synagogue to a private developer has received temporary support by the Kings County Supreme Court on Thursday.
Judge Marsha Steinhardt issued a “temporary restraining order” against the planned demolition of “Anshei Lubavitch of Boro Park – Beis Yitzchok” located at 4024 12th Street.
The shul is historically known and registered as Chevra Anshei Lubawitz of Borough Park and is the oldest running shul in the neighborhood. Its current name was a tribute to its respected Chabad rov, Rabbi Yitzchok Dov Ushpal OBM.
Williamsburg developer Moshe Karpen recently purchased the shul property for $3.1 million. He planned to build an apartment building on the space, a plan which was approved by the Attorney General of New York State.
But board members of the shul claim that the property was illegally sold as they have only learned of the sale after the deed has been delivered to Karpen.
They said the purchase price was “grossly inadequate and does not represent the actual fair market value of the property.” They said the sale was “the product of a personal relationship between a trustee and Karpen.”
Although the shul isn’t frequented by Lubavitch chassidim, it holds historical value to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Founded in 1914 (Sivan 5674), it was one of the first institutions in the USA bearing the name of Lubavitch.
A person involved in the case told COLlive.com that the Frierdiker Rebbe visited the shul and that the Rebbe opposed the sale of the Shul property in the past.
Judge Steinhardt ordered that no sides take “any step to proceed with the demolition of the current building or in any other way changing or altering” it.
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The Shul’s constitution written in 1914, which some say the Frierdiker Rebbe was involved in writing.
Rabbi Rabinowitz, a rabbi in the Bronx, would sit in a corner of his shul and learn. Strangely enough, he did not sit at the head of the table. He sat on the right side. That is where R’ Michel Vishedsky found him. R’ Michel was even more surprised when he wanted to sit in the empty seat at the front of the shul and the rav stopped him, politely but firmly. “Nobody sits there,” he said. “When you hear what I will tell you, you will understand,” said the rav. “After the Holocaust, I met Chabad Chassidim in Russia… Read more »
Reading these posts
Nothing anyone says is of importance
Firstly it is in civil court
Secondly without a Pesak Halacha NOTHING can happen
When, if that time comes there has to be transparency.
Borough Park is not exactly a back-water
Can not happen at dead of night
….to demolish a shul for a private developer’s (and other’s) financial gain. It took several generations for his talmidim to stoop that low.
It is unthinkable that in the midst of the chareidishe tzibbur, such a public bizayon of Halacha should even be attempted!
It’s no wonder that the “Rabbi” supposedly allowing this behavior remains so “mysterious” and “anonymous”…
Why does he refuse to let us see his shtikel toirah explaining this unprecedented permit to sell and demolish a mikdash me’at??
And what did he base his psak on to go keneged the halacha??
(If in fact such a “Rav” even exists..)
To # 26 – Your attempt to FALSIFY the halacha will not be tolerated. There is NO HETER to demolish a shul just because you claim to construct a larger shul instead. How dare you speak שקר. It is mefurash in all the poskim that this is absolutely forbidden. In fact, doing so would constitute being עובר an איסור דאורייתא בפרהסיא of לא תעשון כן לה’ אלקיכם… Any Rav worth his scruples knows this basic halacha. So stop trying to fool others by spewing your am haratzus. You will not get away with it. !יש דין ויש דיין.. ועתידין ליתן… Read more »
This sounds like the Zayde was young tape where city hall saved a shul from being torn down.
Rabbi Rabinowitz, a rabbi in the Bronx, would sit in a corner of his shul and learn. Strangely enough, he did not sit at the head of the table. He sat on the right side. That is where R’ Michel Vishedsky found him. R’ Michel was even more surprised when he wanted to sit in the empty seat at the front of the shul and the rav stopped him, politely but firmly. “Nobody sits there,” he said. “When you hear what I will tell you, you will understand,” said the rav. “After the Holocaust, I met Chabad Chassidim in Russia… Read more »
There is a famous story about a shul in the Bronx where the previous rebbe visited and told the Rabbi “The shul is a shul but the shamash gefelt mir nit…”
BS”D Why not move it to another location than everyone is taken care of I kid you not I have seen houses moved whole off my block where I grew up when they wanted to build a highway
@#2 this shul has no affiliation with Lubavitch whatsoever, Lubavitch never soent one penny on this shul, nor do they have any Lubavitcher members. Also this has nothing to do with Williamsburg or crown heights, this is a neighborhood shul, and you from CH should take care of this shul as much as you did in the past. @#5 comparing askanim t this shul is bankrupt and the structure is falling apart, the only way they can raise enough money to rebuiled a much larger and more comfortable shul, is to make a deal with a developer. @#17 is this… Read more »
Just as a matter of fact, lets address the elephant in the room. This is not a Chabad, or Chabad recognized shul. As even this article states, Lubavitch chassidim dont daven there. Secondly, the issue isnt if it is a chabad shul or not, it is A SHUL. The only sad part in this story other than a controversial move is that the whole conversation here is whether its a chabad shul or not. That shouldnt matter. Why is it only an issue when it comes to if its chabad or not. What would happen if this shul had no… Read more »
To # 20 #21 and # 22
The. Matter is in civil court now
Halacha is the purview of Rabbonim
I am #19
What I said is relevant
If there has been fraud or misappropriation and the posters have hard evidence then by all means turn over the evidence to the beneficiaries
Just to shout Halacha even with sources will rightly provoke the answer that the Rabbonim will have to deal with that
Not ever poster can be the Posek Acheron however much merit he feels he has
Poster either has limited knowledge of the vernacular or limited comprehension
Re read the posts you criticize and see if they don’t SUPPORT your position !
It is so painful to watch this new generation of people who have abused their authority to erase an entire siman in shulchan aruch.
This maaseh chutzpah befarhesya cannot be ignored by any g-d fearing jew! We must all protest this massive עזות פנים to Halacha.
Which siman is up next to be wiped away by people who find certain sections of the shulchan aruch to be inconvenient to their financial planning??
This is a personal appeal to the developer and his gang of trustees who have taken steps to desecrate a shul –
It is Chodesh Elul now. The Yemei HaDin are fast approaching. Hashem gave you a second chance with this TRO to mend your ways and back out of your ill-advised plans.
PLEASE. l’maan Hashem v’Toraso, do Teshuvah! You can still unravel what you’ve done. People will be moichel you, and you will earn great respect for doing the right thing.
PLEASE, put an immediate stop to this unprecedented chillul shem shamayim!
To the same poster at 11, 12, 13, 19 – It is the rogue developer and his small clan of loyal trustees who have been doing all the hiding here! You keep ignoring the most important word in this whole scandal. It’s called HALACHA. This scheme runs afoul of Jewish Law. No constitution or bogus by-laws can ever be interpreted to wipe away the underlying fundamental that unless the desired activities conform to the HALACHA, they are by definition null and void. This is an orthodox synagogue. It is an outright contradiction and an act of blasphemy to desecrate the… Read more »
People are making very strong assertions here
Many if they could be substantiated are of great and grave consequences
To blog anonymously helps no one
Via the privacy of personal communication with the protagonists and with substantive evidential documention or information the situation could equitably be brought to a close to the benefit of the Congregation who prima facia must be the ultimate beneficiaries
Riboina D’alma! This is a heilige beis haknesses we’re talking about. It is asur to demolish it. No deals or agreements of any kind permit violating halacha.
The sefer hachassidim also talks very strongly against unscrupulous individuals who attempt to make a shul smaller in size than what it used to be.
מוסיפין מחול על הקודש ואין מוסיפין מקודש על החול
Do these individuals realize the dangerous extent of messing with halacha?!?
Its crazy. Satmars destroyed their own neighborhood, Williamsburgh for a bit of cash, and now they are ruining any Jewish neighborhood they can get their hand$ on. Anything goes with these people, anything for money. They have no conscience.. Excuse me, but if goyim were doing this, we would be screaming chay vakayom, but if Jew$ do this, its ok? Its bizarre that people can call themselves ‘religiou$’ and be anything but. How could anyone plan to destroy a shul? What world are we living in? The $atmar community has become completely corrupt$$$$$. Money, money, money. Destroy a shul, destroy… Read more »
What many people are unaware of, is that according to the NY State Board of Elections official filings, Governor Andrew Cuomo received a $40,000 contribution from Moses Karpen, owner of Waterfront Property Management. Follow the money trail…
It is mefurash in Shulchan Aruch that it is strictly forbidden to tear down a shul. WHO is the purported Rav that gave a Heter to be oiver this halacha and what was it based on??
Why does the same poster at 11 through 13 refuse to answer this simple question?
A ofene chillul Hashem like this cannot go un-protested by yidden!!
Gelt is NOT more sacred that a makom kadosh!
Let’s get the facts straight. This shul was sold for personal profit of three individuals. This was not done for the good of the kehilla. There was in excess of 1 million dollars of cash as part of the sale that three individuals pocketed.
It is always easier to blame other types of Yidden and feel victimized by the whole Yiddishe Olam. This shouldnt be the Chabad way.
I have no idea what you’re talking about. The fact is that the full membership and officers of the board voted. At every vote, some people lose. That’s a natural part of democracy. There are people today who don’t think Trump is our president. They question his legitimacy mostly because they lost the election. Those are the facts. Everything else is hearsay. Do some members opposed the sale? Yes. Was the sale approved by a wide margin? yes it was. Was the entire membership notified about the impending sale? yes they were. Did they have a chance to voice their… Read more »
I’m quite surprised R Hoffman, that you would inject yourself in a issue that you know nothing about, spreading half-truths about a story you only found out about yesterday. First some background: This is not a recognized Chabad shul. It has never been a recognized Chabad shul. At one point in its hundred-year history, one of the rabbis were afiliated with Chabad. It never had a relationship Chabad or Lubavitch in any way. Secondly, it wasn’t unbeknownst to anyone. The main instigator preventing the sale, was actually present and voted against the sale. How can he claim that he wasn’t… Read more »
“Although the shul isn’t frequented by Lubavitch chassidim, it holds historical value to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement”
So Lubavitchers dont even daven there? Is it held as a museum?
Even though Rav Ushpal Did not have any Bio Children all his Talmidim, thousands carry on his legacy.
We will not let his Shul Be Demolished
the rav in Mezhibush had died and now they were looking for a new rav. And there was a very wealthy woman in town. She sold lots of fabric. Her husband was a talmid chacham. He sat and learned all day. But what she did was she went to the government authorities and she bought the rabbanus. In other words, she paid that her husband should become the rabbi. Now, that was not a nice thing to do. It’s not nice to buy the rabbanus. The rabbanus has to be earned. But be it as it may, he became the… Read more »
WHATS GOING ON OVER HER ? WHY DO THEY WANT TO TEAR DOWN A SHUL ?? I THOUGHT THAT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TEAR DOWN A SHUL, WHAT’S GOING ON OVER HERE ???
To clarify the matter, the building was built for Temple Beth El, which was organized August 28, 1902, as shown on the cornerstone, a photo of which is above. The cornerstone was laid in 1906 and the building dedicated in 1907.
In the 1920’s Temple Beth El built a magnificent much larger edifice in a newer section of Borough Park, at 15th avenue and 48th street, and moved there, which made their older Shul available for another group.
That is how it came to pass that Anshei Lubavitch was there.
The nazi’s destroyed shuls, Russia and many countries who destroyed shuls are giving them back to reopen and renovate. Here you have so called jewish people, so called frum people, so called chassidishe people who are ready to destroy a shul r”l just for a few bucks. Then they will give a few dollars to tzedaka and everyone will call them a tzadik. They will build a little shiebel in the basement and also charge rent for it and will name it in a whole ceremony and again will be called a tzadik. If ch”v this was a goy who… Read more »
the lucous are round on top…interesting for a lubavitch shul….
They are here already respond to post on col about properties and you will see Sam, Saul, Abraham. No they are not their real names but business names if you know…. And yes we have to u it against people who only care about money including crown heights
Stay in Williamsburg or wherever u come from to do your uprooting and don’t dare come to our neighborhood of Crown Heights! You are creating havoc and destroying our neighborhood aesthetic look on Empire between Albany and Troy Aves by demolishing single home units to build high rise condos and bring in whoever will pay your tab. Beware! You are Playing with Fire – by going against The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s will!!! You are putting yourselves and your families in great danger. Tzadik Yesod Olam!
more less than happy news.