Brooklyn
Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City in New York State in the United States, and is the most populated borough in the city, with approximately 2.7 million residents.
In Brooklyn Borough is found the main building of Bnei Yisroel - the largest Charedi concentration in the world, in the Borough Park neighborhood and other neighborhoods.
History[edit | edit source]
The borough was founded as an independent city by Dutch immigrants to the United States, and named after the Dutch city 'Brooklyn'. With the English conquest of the 'Dutch West India Company' that founded the city, it was united with six neighboring cities under the name 'Kings Borough' after England's King Charles II.
Over the years, the local settlement developed along with commerce and economy. The nearby cities and colonies were united under a single local authority, and it became the third largest city in the United States, and one of the most influential on culture, commerce, and politics in the United States.
Brooklyn's various neighborhoods mostly maintain the ethnic character of the residents who lived there before the unification with Brooklyn Borough.
Neighborhoods[edit | edit source]
The Chabad Settlement in the Borough[edit | edit source]
When the Rebbe Rayatz arrived in America, he promptly settled in Brooklyn in the Crown Heights neighborhood. Although initially there was thought that he would settle in other Jewish centers, and he even celebrated his first Pesach outside of Crown Heights, he stated that he would follow the words of the verse "within my people I dwell," and establish his residence in Brooklyn Borough where most American Jews were concentrated, despite the difficulty involved. Following the Rebbe Rayatz, the Rebbe also led his leadership in Brooklyn, which became a name identified with Chabad Chassidus and its activities worldwide.
Following the Rebbe's settlement in the borough, many Chabad chassidim immigrated to the area, and around the Chabad institutions and Chabad activities in the area, the number of Chabad chassidim residing in Brooklyn Borough grew, and currently stands at about 5000 families, some of whom live in neighborhoods adjacent to Crown Heights and engage in spreading Yiddishkeit and Chassidus.
When Rav Mordechai Eliyahu visited the Rebbe and told him that it is written in seforim that Moshiach will come from the Galilee, the Rebbe answered him: "No one will mind if Moshiach comes from Brooklyn."