After Tishrei Thoughts: Can We Host Better?

By E.G. – a long-standing community member

Tishrei in Crown Heights is like nowhere else. Thousands come to be with the Rebbe, our shuls overflow, and the streets are alive with simcha. We should be proud of it. But now that Yom Tov is behind us, it’s worth stepping back and asking: are we doing this the right way, for our guests, for our own community members, and for our neighbors? And are we making a kiddush Hashem?

1. The Rubashkin Sukkah/home
The Rubashkin Sukkah is an incredible chessed. Reb Moshe Rubashkin gives his time, his home, and so much more, and he deserves real credit, including for taking it down quickly this year. But the location burdens the whole block. President Street from Nostrand to Troy deals with congestion and loses its parking for weeks, and the constant flow of people leaves a mess behind: plates of food dropped on the sidewalk, garbage piling up, and rats. It creates chaos for our own shchuna members, who also deserve an enjoyable Yom Tov. Teaming up with a school and using its parking lot would let the same chessed happen without burdening an entire street.

On a side note: while the home is filled with chessed, it also draws many people struggling with addiction and homelessness, which leaves our community members vulnerable to serious safety risks.

2. Simchas Beis Hashoeva
The joy is the point, but the setup isn’t working. Music running until 6 a.m. reaches every family from Union Street to Empire, and late nights on the street draw kids from the wrong crowds. Even when it’s over, it isn’t really over: it takes the police a good hour to clear the street, with constant sirens and announcements, because people simply don’t listen. That is a real chillul Hashem. In Israel, Simchas Beis Hashoeva is over at 1 or 2 a.m. We could do the same, or move it to a more confined, secluded space, like Oholei Torah or Lefferts Park. That would ease the burden on the police and on our volunteers at Shmira and Shomrim, and let people dance without traffic chaos or keeping a neighborhood awake. Yes, guests come for Tishrei, but life goes on for the locals, and for many of them it is extremely hard.

3. The Ohel buses on Eastern Parkway
This isn’t only a Tishrei issue. It happens every Rosh Chodesh and on every special Chassidic Yom Tov, but especially throughout Tishrei. Eastern Parkway is congested as it is, even more so with the new traffic patterns. When the Ohel buses take up a full lane on top of that, it creates long backups for everyone driving through, and a chillul Hashem. The service road, or a side street, would keep traffic moving and keep the frustration off our name.

A word to our guests

Can we ask our guests to be more mentchlich and respectful? Can our yeshivos around the world, and parents, encourage this kind of behavior? The basics go a long way: garbage goes in the trash bins, no urinating in the street or on private property, and no shouting, especially late at night on residential blocks. If you’re a guest reading this article, please take it to heart. We love when you come, but help us help and continue to want you to come. 

Looking out for each other
We, Anash, are constantly there for our guests: the Tishrei guests, the Kinus Hashluchim, the Kinus Hashluchos, the CTeen and Campus Pegisha Shabbatons, the JLI Retreat, the constant flow of guests for simchos, baruch Hashem, and so many other occasions. It’s time we also look out for each other, and think about the good of our very own kids, community members of all ages, the gentile neighbors we live with throughout the year, and Hatzalah and Shmira/Shomrim.

A call to our leaders
I’m calling on the organizers of these programs, our community askanim, and the Crown Heights Community Council board to plan ahead. Let’s keep everything that makes Crown Heights special in Tishrei and throughout the year, and do it in a way where no one gets hurt. That is a real kiddush Hashem.

And a big shout-out to Mr. Sam Stern, who year after year arranges cleaners along Kingston Avenue to keep up with the crowds. That’s exactly the kind of planning we need more of.