Brooklyn Jews

What started as a weekly Shabbat group in the home of Rabbi Andy Bachman and his wife Rachel Alstein, Brooklyn Jews has blossomed into a grassroots community effort in Brownstone Brooklyn for unaffiliated Jews in their twenties, thirties, and early forties. These Brooklyn Jews are no longer in institutional settings, rather they have self-organized into a more comfortable and intellectually challenging milieu. 

Weekly learning draws approximately 40 people to each session, and High Holiday services were moved to the Brooklyn Lyceum to accommodate nearly 500 people who wanted to attend. Participants have begun to arrange myriad programs to meet their evolving needs including literary discussions on Chosenness, Ethics, Jews, and Humor. From social action projects to Hebrew classes for children, Brooklyn Jews’ programming continues to expand. 

Still early in its development, Brooklyn Jews has begun to build a new Jewish life that is “creative, joyous, meaningful, and rooted in learning for this population that demands authentic connection, intellectual content, and fun.” If you are in the ‘hood, check it out and if you are in the ‘hood with an empty storefront to offer, Brooklyn Jews is looking for a new home.