Crown Heights: Difference between revisions

'''Crown Heights''' is a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn, New York, United States, and is famous as the neighborhood where the Rebbe lives. The neighborhood, located east of Prospect Park, is home to the famous 770 building. The main street in the neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, while Kingston Avenue is the central street in the Chabad community's life. Most Jewish stores and businesses in the neighborhood are located on Kingston Avenue.

Crown Heights was previously one of the largest Jewish concentrations in New York. It had hundreds of shuls, dozens of mikvahs, yeshivas, and other Jewish institutions. Many Rebbes' courts were also in the neighborhood. However, in the early 5720s (1960s), many African-Americans began moving into the neighborhood, followed by many Jews fleeing to other neighborhoods like Boro Park and Williamsburg. The neighborhood emptied of most Jews who lived there, while simultaneously the Rebbe called on his chassidim not to leave the neighborhood. The great exodus caused property prices to drop at a loss, which caused the Rebbe to cry out about Jewish money being wasted without accounting. At the Rebbe's directive, Chabad chassidim remained living in the neighborhood and worked to expand it again.

Today, the Jewish residents' homes in the neighborhood extend to Park Place Street in the north, Rockaway Avenue in the east, Linden Avenue in the south, and Rogers Avenue in the west. Currently, about twenty thousand Chabad [[chassidim]] live in Crown Heights, alongside a population of about one hundred and thirty thousand African-Americans. The neighborhood has 75 shuls and 15 mikvahs.

Crown Heights has central Chabad organizations and large educational institutions, tzedakah and chesed organizations, including: Agudas Chassidei Chabad International, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Machne Israel, CHK - Kashrus, Chabad World Center to Greet Moshiach, N'shei Chabad, Di Yiddishe Heim, Beis Moshiach Weekly, Otzar Sifrei Lubavitch, FREE, Kehot Publication Society, Central Tzeirei Agudas Chabad, Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad, Central Tomchei Tmimim Yeshivah - 770, Eshel Hachnosas Orchim, JEM, OK Kosher Certification, Crown Heights Beis Din, Va'ad Hakohol Crown Heights, Hatzalah Crown Heights, Tzivos Hashem (New York), Tzivos Hashem Museum, Oholei Torah Crown Heights, Lubavitcher Yeshiva, Ohr Menachem Crown Heights, Beis Rivkah (Crown Heights), Beis Chaya Mushka (Crown Heights).

In 5700 (1940), when the Frierdiker Rebbe lived in a hotel in Manhattan, they searched for a suitable residence for Beis Rebbenu outside of New York. They offered the Previous Rebbe a villa as a gift in Baltimore, but the Rebbe refused, saying "B'soch ami anochi yoshev" (I dwell among my people). They also offered to buy the Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim building located in the East Side of Manhattan, but the Rebbe refused this offer.

After searching for a building that would meet the requirements for the Rebbe's house, they found the building at 770 Eastern Parkway, which was a private clinic of a Jewish doctor. The building met all requirements since it had an elevator - a rare feature in a private home in those days. The building was purchased in 5690 (1930) for $30,000, and since then until today, 770 serves as the Chabad World Center and as the Rebbe's beis medrash, around which the neighborhood's life and the Chabad movement worldwide revolve.

The character of the neighborhood during the years when the Frierdiker Rebbe established his residence there was distinctly Jewish, similar to the neighboring areas of Brownsville and East Flatbush. Dozens of kehillos, including rabbonim and Rebbes, established their homes in the neighborhood, built shuls and mikvahs, and maintained a complete Jewish life system.

The Rebbe cried out painfully against this phenomenon and demanded that the chassidim maintain the Jewish character in the neighborhood and avoid selling houses to non-Jews. For this purpose, he established a system of propaganda and an active committee, and delivered many sichos to the chassidim in which he quoted from Torah sources about the prohibition of these actions and the obligation incumbent upon each resident to maintain the Jewish character.

In 5751 (1991), anti-Semitic riots developed in which the neighborhood's Black residents violently attacked chassidim and their property. The riots were called the "Crown Heights Riots" or "Crown Heights Pogrom."

During the events, 188 attacks on Jews were reported, including several serious injuries. Fires were also set and Jewish stores were looted as events spiraled out of control due to incitement by Black figures who used the riots for anti-Semitic racial incitement.

'Crown Heights' - in Hebrew 'Heights/Inner aspects of the Crown' - is located in the 'Gates of Rome' - in New York City, the modern-day Rome in the nations' parlance. In New York State, whose official nickname is the Empire State. New York City is the economic and political nerve center of America (and international) in the Northeast corridor of the USA, an area stretching from Washington D.C. to Boston. In the borough of Brooklyn, whose less famous name is 'Kings' - the borough of kings - like the adjacent borough of Queens.

Over the years, the Rebbe's directives were fulfilled and the number of Chabad chassidic residents continues to grow, and consequently, apartment prices have jumped.

== Beis Din ==

== Va'ad Hakohol ==

The neighborhood residents are represented by the Va'ad Hakohol of the neighborhood, which includes between four to seven members. The Va'ad works for the public good in many areas, such as: maintaining relationships with city officials and helping public institutions and individuals when needed. Handling immigration issues for new residents and dealing with general neighborhood problems. The Va'ad also intervened and helped with the spread of contagious diseases in the neighborhood under the guidance of Dr. Eli Rosen.

== Hatzalah ==

== Agudas Gedalia ==

Medical assistance and guidance. The organization's activity was particularly notable during the Corona pandemic. The organization was established in memory of R' Gedalia Schaefer, a neighborhood resident.

== Central Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva ==

* Machon L'Yahadus - Bnos Anash (formerly Machon Chana) Crown and President

== Newspapers ==

In 5747 (1987), a newspaper called "Crown Heights" began publication with the goal of serving as an information outlet for the Va'ad Hakohol. In practice, only two issues were published.

Beis Moshiach Weekly is a worldwide Chabad weekly for spreading the message of Geulah, distributed in thousands of copies worldwide through direct mailing to subscribers and distribution in stores throughout the globe.

The English edition is published as a separate magazine - 64 pages, and is sent to Hebrew edition subscribers upon request, and in parallel, the English edition has an independent subscription and sales system marketing thousands of issues weekly in the United States, in Eretz Hakodesh and worldwide.