Sulitz, noun (sűl′ĭts) warmth, connection, tradition.
These words were not taken from a dictionary.
They were taken straight from the mouths of members of the Sulitz Beis Midrash in Far Rockaway.
These words define Sulitz.
Some of the members moved to different neighborhoods as long as 25 years ago, but these were the memories which the word Sulitz instantly evoked.
Other common words were vaaremkeit, farbrengen and derhoiben, which was surprising. After all, Sulitz is in the heart of Far Rockaway — not exactly a chassidish community.
But the close-knit 100+ members of Litvish, Yekkish and Sefardi yidden who proudly call Sulitz their shul, speak this language.
It’s a language they’ve grown to bask in. An atmosphere they’ve grown to relish. A mesorah they’ve grown to value.
What is the secret of this beloved abode called Sulitz?
Citadel of Chassidus
In 1951, when yidden were emerging from the dark and transplanting their roots, the Sulitzer Rebbe, Rav Shmuel Shmelke Rubin zt”l, moved to Far Rockaway.
Far Rockaway was a dawning community, yearning for the flame of Yiddishkeit. When the Sulitzer Rebbe arrived, he brought life and warmth, sharing the mesorah of his noble dynasty with those who clung to his style. They had never encountered chassidus before and the Rebbe wasn’t on a mission to spread chassidus, but the people came to embrace it.
Once they tasted it, they craved the warmth and realness it had to offer.
And so, he built Far Rockaway’s first mikva — and never charged users a penny. Still today, 70 years later, when his gabbaim urge Rabbi Rubin, shlita, the Rebbe’s son and successor, to instal a turnstile to cover the mivkah’s upkeep, he refuses. As his father instituted, a humble sign invites donations, but nothing more.
Tower of Chesed
Sulitz boasts an open-door policy, not only in the literal form.
There is no lock on the front door of the familiar building on the corner of Beach 9th and Roosevelt Ct. Despite the members’ urging the Rebbe to make a more secure front door, the Rebbe unwaveringly quotes his father, “Men shlosst nisht a Beis Midrash. – you don’t lock a Beis Midrash.”
Because a mikdash me’at and makom Torah should be available to all, no questions asked. And so, many yidden, young and old, have stepped over the threshold of that open door and emerged richer.
It is an open door…in the nurturing form, with a table loaded with mezonos goodies in the foyer every day. Many baalei batim grab a snack on their way out to work from Shacharis, while bochurim and kids pop in on the way past, to collect a quick treat.
It is an open door…in the spiritual form, with heartfelt, unhurried tefillos every day that start their day off on the right note. The elevating Sheves Achim tish raises their Shabbos to another level — the timeless zemiros and heimish delicacies nourishing their body and soul. So attached and close-knit is the Sulitz membership, that even after they marry and move away, past members flock in on special days like Rosh Chodesh or Hoshana Rabba, to bask in the emotionally-stirring tefillos of the Rebbe — a master baal tefillah.
It is an open door…in the emotional form, with people unloading their deepest woes to the Rebbe and coming away buoyed with sound, sensible advice.
It is an open door…in the financial form, with the shtiebel’s generous loan gemach and grocery-voucher distribution.
In fact, in Far Rockaway’s early days, Sulitz was the community’s launchpad of chesed. The Rebbe zt’l was one of the pioneers for Hatzolah in Far Rockaway. The local Bikur Cholim was founded by the late Rebetzin a’’h. Her legendary chesed is maintained by today’s Rebetzin, in many forms. She hosts many guests for Shabbos — some of them resident fixtures for over twenty years — as well as feeding needy visitors three nutritious meals a day, many of them strangers.
This is the way in Sulitz. Everyone’s welcome, no matter their background or status. There are Roshei Yeshiva rubbing shoulders here with wandering yidden, and there is respect and shalom among all.
Fortress of Tradition
Tradition has been the bedrock of the Sulitz Beis Midrash since its founding in 1951. The Rebbe does not make a move without reflecting on what der Tatte, zt’l, would have done. Every dvar Torah starts with ‘Der Tatte hot gezugt- My father would say…” Every decision is based on his father’s approach.
And so it was with the previous Rebbe. Which grants the members an authentic old-world Yiddishkeit fin der heim — albeit on modern American shores.
“It doesn’t matter what’s popular,” relates Moshe Mandel, long standing member who walks in from Lawrence every Shabbos. “It doesn’t matter what ‘the flavor of the month’ is. All that matters to our Rebbe is the mesorah. It’s an emesse place. And this talks to me tremendously.”
A thriving kollel, a heartwarming avos u’banim, a busy schedule of minyanim are but some of the sought-after aspects of the Shul. The Rebbe zt”l also started and supports a Tehillim kollel at the Kosel — way before it was ‘in style’ — to daven for the wellbeing of the community.
There are no hefty membership fees or fancy board committees. It’s a close-knit shtiebel, exactly as it was when it began — only it has grown in membership and demand.
After decades of uninterrupted operation serving three generations, the building needed extensive refurbishment.
A $1.7 million renewal project was launched, to fund the urgently needed new roof, plumbing, HVAC, restrooms, windows, and the interior of the first-level Beis Midrash and adjacent multi-purpose room.
The shul moved into temporary trailers, to allow for the works and, b’’H, thanks to generous benefactors, the beautiful crowning edifice is now nearing completion.
However, the kehilla is still $360,000 short of the final funds.
Help complete this historical gem and ensure the continuity of this center for Torah, mesorah and warmth, while gaining valuable zchusim.
Donate to the Sulitz $360,000 campaign, June 10-June 17 at www.renewsulitz.com, and restore an icon of light and warmth in our community.
