The Shul of Bal Harbour

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The Shul of Bal Harbour
StatusActive
Location
Location9540 Collins Ave,
Surfside, Florida,
 United States
Geographic coordinates25°53′09″N 80°07′22″W / 25.885843°N 80.122723°W / 25.885843; -80.122723Coordinates: 25°53′09″N 80°07′22″W / 25.885843°N 80.122723°W / 25.885843; -80.122723
Architecture
Completed1994

The Shul of Bal Harbour is a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue in Surfside, Florida named by Newsweek as one of America's 25 most vibrant congregations.[1]

History[]

The Shul was founded by Rabbi Sholom Lipskar,[2] who was sent as an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi , to Miami Beach in 1969.[3]

After finding no active Jewish community in the Surfside area, Lipskar initially met in hotel rooms before moving to a storefront.[3][4][5]

In the early 1980s, Surfside was not welcoming to Jews with real-estate agents refusing to deal with Jewish clients. In 1982 the local Bal Harbor Club dropped its policy banning Jewish and Black people after a discrimination lawsuit.[6][4]

The Shul moved to its current site in 1987.[4]

Building[]

The $9 million, 34,000 square foot building was completed and opened in 1994 in time for Rosh Hashanah.[7] The building is colonnaded and the design resembles ancient Jerusalem sandstone.[4]

Expansion[]

In 2016, The Shul announced a 40,000 square foot expansion at the cost of $20 million to be finished in two years. The expansion includes an all-glass wall 40 foot high social hall with glass ceilings accommodating crowds of up to 700 people.[4]

Membership and services[]

The congregation membership has 700 families representing 3,000 people. Programming includes adult education, programs for Latin American Jewry, early childhood, and five daily minyans.[4][8]

The Shul is also the headquarters for the Aleph Institute, an organization assisting Jewish prisoners and military personnel, also founded by Lipskar.

Surfside Condominium collapse[]

After the Surfside condominium collapse, The Shul raised over $500,000 for families of the victims and distributed aid to displaced community members.[9][10][11]

References[]

  1. ^ "America's 25 Most Vibrant Congregations". Newsweek. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. ^ "NAME: Rabbi Sholom Lipskar". The Miami Herald (pay-per-view). The McClatchy Company. 7 March 1985. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b Veciana-Suarez, Ana; Teproff, Carli (23 September 2014). "Rabbis follow in family traditions during High Holy Days". Miami Herald. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Berkowitz, Evan (8 July 2016). "Shul of Bal Harbour to double its size in $20 million building expansion". Miami Herald. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Karen (2 April 2017). "Bursting at the Seams, The Shul of Bal Harbour Gets a $20 Million Addition". Chabad.org. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  6. ^ "FLORIDA CLUB DROPS BARRIERS IN FACE OF DISCRIMINATION SUIT". The New York Times. Associated Press. 12 December 1982. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Miami Beach Journal; Kosher Pizza: Sign of a Jewish Revival". The New York Times. 25 November 1994. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  8. ^ Smilk, Carin M.; Robenstein, Mindy (23 February 2015). "Dramatic Chabad Growth in South Florida Latest Sign of 75-Year 'American Jewish Revolution'". Chabad.org. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  9. ^ Taylor, Derrick Bryson (25 June 2021). "How to help survivors of the Surfside condo collapse". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Jewish community prays for miracles after condo collapse". Miami Herald. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  11. ^ "'Now is not the time to ask why': Surfside's Jewish community ushers in somber Shabbat". Miami Herald. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
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