In July we celebrated a Siyum, mourned for the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, cooked together, and listened to great classes. This month Bertha and Dayana gave a cooking class on how to make traditional Gorsky Tandir bread and Dolma. What are Tandir bread and Dolma? Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes that originated in the Ottoman Empire. During the winter months, cabbage was the main food of peasants in Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and it spread to the Balkans as well. Jews in Eastern Europe prepared variations of stuffed cabbage rolls with meat—golubtsy in Russian, holubtsi in Ukrainian, holishkes or teibel in...

The summer started at Beit Juhuro, the renovations are completed, and we are continuing to learn and grow together. On May 9 close to 40 people of all ages got together at the Holocaust Memorial Park to show support to WW2 veterans and Holocaust survivors. Many powerful speeches were given at this event. We thank everyone who joined! Mazal Tov to Moshe and Nana Rabaev on the birth of a baby boy! Mazal Tov to Arkady and Jessica Isakov on the birth of a baby girl! May both families watch their children grow up to be healthy, God-fearing,...

According to the World Congress of Mountain Jews, there are currently 40,000 Gorsky Jews living in the US but no Gorsky Jewish schools, and, until recently, only one existing Gorsky synagogue. The cultural and educational center Beit Juhuro was founded in 2014 with the goal of preserving the unique identity and culture of the Gorsky Jews and is one of the few Gorsky Communities in New York. Starting with just five people we have rapidly grown into a community of about 200 people over the years and earned a reputation within  New York City as a...

  With spring there come new beginnings. We celebrated Pessach, the leaving of Egypt, started counting the 50 days of the Omer, and soon going to celebrate Shavuot, the holiday of receiving the Torah and becoming a Jewish nation. There have been many new beginnings at Beit Juhuro too. We sometimes feel like we have also traveled through the desert, constantly moving our “Mishkan” wherever Hashem would send us until we eventually found a permanent place at 2320 Avenue U. After weeks of waiting for permits, finding an appropriate contractor, and planning the layout and design of the space we...

February at Beit Juhuro was phenomenal. We went on a ski trip and a shabbaton with over 70 people, threw a very lively Purim Party, listened to Megillah readings, and enjoyed a few excellent classes on controversial topics. In the month of Adar, Jews celebrate Purim. Purim is a very happy holiday that commemorates the entire Jewish nation being saved from annihilation during the time of the Persian exile. Our Purim party was  a lot of fun! We listened to the Megillah, played games, danced, enjoyed good drinks and delicious Gorsky food, laughed, and just had...