Goal and Mission
50,000, roughly, Russian-speaking Jews are residing in the South Brooklyn area. People, whose heritage was denied from them in their home country. Coming to the USA opened many possibilities to explore the Jewish tradition. However, there was a social and cultural gap between the immigrants from the former USSR and the American Jewish community.
Many organizations were working to eliminate the gap and welcome the Russian-speaking Jews into the established communities. Unfortunately, not all efforts yield the desired results. The main reason was the lack of grassroots initiatives from within the Russian-speaking Jews.
Sixteen years ago few enthusiasts approached Rabbi Asher Altshul and expressed a desire to explore Judaism in an informal way of a home study group. Very quickly, a small private initiative evolved into a fully functioning, self-funded community.
Today it’s a family-oriented community with over a thousand affiliated members. Daily classes in Judaism, Hebrew and Jewish history, religious services, community, and personal celebrations are just a few examples of Or Azion’s vibrant life.
Our community is a place where people can feel Jewish, regardless of their background, education, degree of religiosity, or social status. The main thing is that they feel comfortable here, find like-minded people, friends and live a full community life.
A place that we will call home and where we will feel at home.
We are currently based in the Jewish center – it is a large building, where several organizations are located. At first, we were just one of their programs, but gradually we grew into a whole community. Now we are in a stalemate situation – this place is too small for us, and we have no opportunities for development. Therefore, we got an idea to buy our own building, and we decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for it. One of our options is to buy the building we are currently in, but we are also considering other houses.
The time has come for our community to acquire its own place where it can continue its growth.
