Hoshana Rabba at the Old Broadway Synagogue

The Hoshana Rabba service, which takes place on the last day of Sukkos, is one of my favorite moments in the holiday season. It falls on chol ha-moed, yet the davenning is similar to that of yom tov, including the many hakafos (revolutions) around the bimah. It is also a fascinating blend of Sukkos, which is a time of joy, and Yom Kippur, a time of introspection. Before Hoshana Rabba, we wish one another a "gut kvitl" a"good note" submitted to God on our behalf. I have included some photos below of Hoshana Rabba this past October at Old Broadway.

Hallel on Hoshana Rabba

 The Hakafos

More Hakafos

 Beating the hoshanos... symbolically removing sin.

The Other Old Broadway

It is with mixed emotions that we say zay gezunt (be well!) to Itay Zutra. After spending his years as a graduate student with us, and also a year after graduation, we share his joy in his landing an exciting position as a professor of Yiddish in Winipeg, Canada. At Old Broadway, Itay brought his warmth, his calm spirit, his generous spirit, lots of candy for the children and other treats. Of course, we would like to think that we at Old Broadway influenced Itay as well. Indeed, we would like to think that the warmth of our community, the seriousness of our Yiddishkeyt and our sense of history all had their impact. So much so, in fact, that we see in Itay as a shliach, if you will, for the way of Old Broadway. As you can you imagine, these hopes received a confirmation when we saw that Itay posted the photo below on his Facebook page.

Yes, there it is, another Old Broadway, in Fargo, North Dakota, of all places. We were. of course, thrilled that there is another orthodox shul with the same name is Fargo! I was so surprised and delighted by this find that I decided to learn more about this special shul. Alas, my joy was not to be for long. "Old Broadway" in Fargo, ND is not a shul, but a bar!!! Itay must not have realized since he was only on the outside (at least that's what we see from his photo) and besides, who would ever confuse a shul with a bar - gevalt! I don't think it even has a hekhsher!

In any event, New York's loss is Winipeg's gain. We know Itay will do great things in his new position and we wish him hatzlakhah rabba be-khol ma'aseh yadekha ("much success in all that you do").

Remembering Rabbi Shepsel Broyde for his 25th Yahrzeit

Rabbi Shepsel Broyde, 1946

This year marks the twenty-fifth yarhzeit of Rabbi Shepsel (Shepard) Broyde, the rabbi of our shul from 1940 to 1950. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Rebbetzin Eleanor Broyde, Rabbi Broyde's widow, Rabbi Broyde's son Heshey, and two grandsons, Berish and Shloyme. I used the opportunity to learn more about Rabbi Broyde so that we could have a better sense of the rabbinic leadership of our shul during the decade that he was here. Rabbi Broyde's grandfather, R' Tzvi Yaakov Broyde, brought the family over from Dvinsk (Daugavpils) Latvia, around the beginning of the twentieth century. R'  Tzvi Yaakov became involved with the Jewish community and was the first gabbai of the Adas Yisroel Synagogue (later called the United Hebrew Community of New York). Rabbi Broyde's father, R' Yitzchok Yosef was five years old when the family left Latvia and moved to New York, where he grew up. Heshey Broyde explained that his grandfather was deeply involved in communal affairs and that his home was a bais chesed ve-rachamim - a house of kindness and mercy. As an example of this, R' Yitzchok Yosef filed affidavits of support for European Jews so that they would be able immigrate to this country before the start of the war.  Rabbi Broyde was born and raised on the Lower East Side, where he attended the Yeshivas Rabbi Jacob Joseph (RJJ). From 1932 to 1937, Rabbi Broyde studied (and presumably received his semikhah) at the famed Mir Yeshiva in Mir, Poland.

The Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai, 1942,
five years after Rabbi Broyde left.

In 1937, Rabbi Broyde returned to New York where he worked in his father's real estate company. In 1940, Rabbi Broyde became the rav of the Old Broadway Synagogue, a position he filled until 1950. During these years, the shul held gala 30th and 35th anniversary dinner celebrations. Isador Thornschein and William Joachim were the shul's lay leaders during these years. After leaving Old Broadway, Rabbi Broyde moved to Brooklyn where he continued to work in real estate. Later, he did kashrus supervision for the OK. Rabbi Broyde died in 1987.
!יהי זכרו ברוך May his memory be for a blessing!

Heshey, Eleanor, Berish and Shloyme Broyde

ONE HOLIDAY WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY…

PURIM AT OLD BROADWAY!!!

Shane Baker

Aron Gershman

The festivities will begin on Wednesday, night, March 7, 2012 at 5:30m with Minchah followed by children’s Purim parade. At 6:38, we will continue with Maariv and a Megillah reading by the renowned David Lerner. Following the Megillah, we will have an awesome Purim party with hamentashen, a magic show by the incomparable Yiddish magician, Shane Baker, and then the magnificent music of the maestro of Odessa, 

Aron Gershman.
$15 contribution requested

On Thursday morning, March 8, 2011, at 8:00am, we will have Shacharis and a Megillah reading with the usual guys. Afterward we will have a festive breakfast and  a lively shiur on Purim with Daniel Fridman.

!משנכנס אדר, מרבים בשמחה

OLD BROADWAY SYNAGOGUE:
 THE WHOLE (GANTZE) MEGILLAH!!!

Cholent Review: Exploring New Horizons

As I have written previously on this blog, I have come up with a good recipe for a modified Moroccan cholent called dafina which is easy to make, vegetarian and tasty. I have made it now many times but as much as I like it, I have had to also explore other slow cooker recipes for Shabbos kiddush. One week I tried a veggie minestrone soup. It was very tomato-ey and good but not compelling. Most recently, I have been making a pretty flavorful vegetarian chili. I must confess that I cheat in that I throw in SmartLife ground meat substitute (that's not exactly what it is called, but that is the idea). The SmartLife product is some sort of soy, but like the manna of the Torah, it can take on a number of different flavors. I have been making my chili with the fake ground meat, soaked kidney beans (using canned beans doesn't seem right), crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, wheat berries (for texture) chopped onion, a little olives oil, some salt, pepper, a judicious amount of cayenne pepper (I used about a third of a teaspoon for a whole six quart slow cooker), and lots and lots of cumin. You might think that chili should have chili powder, and to tell the truth, I have been looking for chili powder, but I have not have found any that has met my needs. A small bottle from Fairway might be enough for a single slow cooker worth of chili, but at $3 or $4 a pop, it is too much. Then I tried a bottle of chili powder from a 99 cent store. It was quite orange and super spicy. I think it was mostly or wholly cayenne. In any event, the cumin seems to do the trick. After I mixed all the ingredients, I put it on the fire for 18 or 19 hours. The tomatoes take on a certain tanginess and cooked cumin infuses everything with a rich flavor. The cayenne gives it some heat. It's been a big hit at the Old Broadway Synagogue. Serve with schmaltz herring and scotch.