Hasidic Courts Prepare Lavishly for High Holidays Amidst Expansion and Innovation
Hasidic communities across Israel and the United States are making extensive preparations for the upcoming High Holidays, marked by significant expansions of their prayer halls, innovative technological solutions, and unique arrangements for congregants.
In Gur, preparations include luxury viewing galleries for major donors to a new mikvah project, with prime spots costing upwards of 54,000 shekels. Subsidized holiday meals are being prepared for thousands of "avreichim" (married Torah scholars) and yeshiva students, with nearly 7,000 registered for meals at 35 shekels each. Exclusive "boutique" sections near the Rebbe are being sold for as much as 300,000 shekels annually.
In Belz, concerns arose when the Rebbe missed the initial Selichot prayers due to illness. He was hospitalized with an infection but has since been released. Due to overcrowding, thousands of young students will pray in a separate "Groyse Shtub" (large room) during Rosh Hashanah, with the Rebbe joining them for the Musaf prayer on the first day.
Vizhnitz is expanding its main prayer hall and a new gallery, adding hundreds of seats. A significant increase in "parnchenes" (young students) has led to prioritizing them over "avreichim" for seating. A special elevated platform for the Rebbe has reduced seating capacity near him, but a prime spot next to the Rebbe was auctioned for a staggering $170,000.
In Sanz, a modular, wheeled Torah reading platform has been installed to save valuable seating space. The prayer hall has been expanded, and external staircases and passages removed to maximize seating. New comfort facilities and a large, air-conditioned tent for refreshments have also been added.
Slonim will see a historic change as the Rebbe, nearing 90, will lead a separate Musaf prayer for about a thousand students in a large tent on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, due to the main prayer hall's inability to accommodate everyone. This allows students to pray with the Rebbe and provides space for the "avreichim" and laymen to pray with the Rebbe's sons and rabbis in the main hall.
Karlin-Stolin is implementing a digital auction system for Torah honors, allowing anonymous or group bids and real-time notifications for higher offers. This system is an experiment to manage the large number of congregants.
In Ponevezh Yeshiva, despite a record influx of 500 new students, all 3,000 students will pray together in the main hall, "Ohel Kedoshim," after an emergency expansion was constructed. This expansion, built around the existing hall, adds hundreds of seats, though it results in a denser prayer experience.
Modzitz has unveiled a new, exceptionally large and tall Holy Ark, considered one of the grandest in Israel, in time for the High Holidays.
In Uman, Ukraine, the central Sephardic prayer hall will operate a "shtibel" (small prayer room) system with prayer services every 15 minutes to manage the massive crowds visiting Rabbi Nachman of Breslov's tomb. A proposal to build a coffee room within the cemetery was rejected by rabbinical authorities.
In the US, Satmar in Williamsburg has completed extensive renovations on its main synagogue. Skver has introduced an unprecedented technological system for selling High Holiday honors via an automated phone line and website. Bobov in Boro Park is significantly expanding its women's section to accommodate the large number of female congregants. Kassan in Linden, New Jersey, is inaugurating its new permanent synagogue. Rachmastrivka in Lakewood is entering its new synagogue for the first time for Rosh Hashanah prayers.
