Hoboken sees first new Jewish temple in 100 years

HOBOKEN—This past Sunday, the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Center of Hoboken marked two equally important milestones. The first was the opening of its permanent home at 80 Park Ave., the first new Jewish temple in Hoboken in over 100 years. The second was the completion of a Sefer Torah, a fully handwritten scroll containing the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.
Once the ink was dry, at least 300 people marched the scroll up First Street to Washington Street and back to the center. Children held torches and flags and upbeat music boomed from the Korn’s Hachnosas Sefer Torah Truck leading the processions.
For Rabbi Moshe Schapiro, the founder and leader of Hoboken’s Chabad Center, the new scroll is a symbol of the mission he hopes to accomplish. “Every Jew is a letter of the Torah,” said Schapiro, “so if we have one Jew that is not yet involved in Judaism, the whole of Judaism is not yet complete.”
Chabad’s leadership is orthodox and Hasidic, but their philosophy is outward-facing, aiming to bring in every Jew regardless of their sect or level of observance.
Schapiro’s new temple is the only Chabad House in Hudson County, but there are already 46 in New Jersey and over 4,000 worldwide.
In addition to celebrating the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, the Chabad Center of Hoboken offers Hebrew school classes for children, events for young Jewish professionals, and weekly Torah study for adults.
Several local public officials were on hand to honor Chabad’s achievement, including Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, Hoboken Police Chief Edelmiro Garcia, and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
“Today our tapestry in Hoboken got even more colorful,” said Zimmer after the Torah procession. “We have amazing diversity in Hoboken, we have so many homes of worship, and I’m thrilled to be here today to welcome a new home of worship.”
Over the next month, the Chabad Center of Hoboken will host services for the Jewish High Holidays. Rosh Hashanah is this Thursday and Friday, Sept. 24-26, followed by Yom Kippur on Oct. 3-4. No memberships or tickets are required to attend. For more information, go to chabadhoboken.com or call 201-386-5222.