Orthodox Jews Worship in Private Home While Awaiting New Synagogue Structure

For the past 10 weeks a small group of Orthodox Jews has gotten together in the home of Henry Pisarz to hold Sabbath services. Pisarz, who is blind, resides with his wife, Anita, and their eight-year-old son, Leslie, in Co-op City in The Bronx. When the Pisarz’ learned that Ahavath Torah Synagogue, destroyed last summer by arson, could not find facilities to relocate in Co-op City where many of the congregants moved, the family offered to convert their living room into a synagogue. Rabbi David Toiv, spiritual leader of the congregation, released this story to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He said that the synagogue, which served the community for more than 25 years, had previously been located on Mt. Eden Ave, in a two-family building. The fire which destroyed the synagogue also damaged five Torah scrolls. After the fire, Mayor John V. Lindsay initiated a restoration campaign and personally presented Rabbi Toiv with $100. Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem, presented the rabbi with a Terah seral that survived the Nazi holocaust in Rumania.

The restoration drive provided for temporary repairs of the synagogue at the Mt. Eden Ave. building. While some of the younger congregants continued to worship there the older members, including those who were disabled, found the distance between Co-op City and the synagogue too far for them to travel. Mrs. Pisarz told the JTA that in order to accommodate the older congregants, she and her husband opened their home for Sabbath worship. “Although the synagogue itself is a brisk 10 minute walk or a short bus ride from where we live, many of the congregants, including my husband, found they could not make it, especially on cold winter mornings,” Mrs. Pisarz said. “There is no other synagogue in our area of Co-op City and even many of the younger people were being denied facilities here.” Rabbi Toiv said that despite all efforts to continue using the Mt. Eden Ave. facility for worshipping, “the synagogue is about to close its doors again due to continuous incidents of vandalism and the shift in population.” He said that efforts are being made to find suitable facilities for the synagogue in Co-op City, the largest co-op in the world and where some 40,000 of the 60,000 residents are Jewish.

Rabbi Toiv related that more than 500 families signed petitions urging Co-op City authorities to provide Ahavath Torah with facilities so that it may continue to serve The Bronx. “The worshippers are anxiously looking forward to occupying a place they can call their own and begin serving the dynamic growing community of Co-op City,” he said. Rabbi Toiv stated that after the petitions were submitted, George Shechter, vice-president of the co-op, reported that facilities will be made available as soon as possible. Rabbi S. Gurary, executive director of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva, hailed the relocation of the synagogue and announced that he is making available all the resources of the Yeshiva to aid Ahvath Torah Synagogue. Mrs. Pisarz said that until facilities are found in her section of Co-op City for a synagogue, those worshippers who used her apartment for Sabbath services will begin to conduct services next Saturday in temporary quarters in a storage room in Building 19. “Our apartment is just too cramped to accommodate all those who want to worship,” she said. “The men have to worship in the living room and the women in the kitchen.” Right now, the congregation is split into two segments but soon, Rabbi Toiv said, “all of us will be reunited.”