| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
"Insider's Access" to a fascinating community
|
| Sun, May 10 10:00 AM |
karenniemann |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| We were a family of 5 -- three adults and two kids. I would say this is more of a teen or adult tour, but our kids found it interesting. We were able to view the floor of the bustling synagogue, a fascinating glimpse into this community. The men and my 6 yr old son entered the synagogue and conversed with some of the rabbi; we watched them from the "viewing room" above. This was definitely the highlight of the tour. Learning about 770 and the Rebbe was educational and interesting.
Rabbi Epstein seems a wonderful man who enjoys sharing his knowledge of his community. Thank you Rabbi!
Strongly recommend this tour to anyone interested in learning more about Chassidic life or Judaism. |
|
|
Fascinating and informative
|
| Tue, May 5 10:00 AM |
mkindereit |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Unspecified |
| Fascinating and informative |
|
Fascinating & informative
|
| Fri, May 1 10:00 AM |
wkludwig |
Female |
60-69 |
Unspecified |
Other |
| This tour was recommended to me by a family member, who was extremely enthusiastic about it's content and guides. After taking the tour myself, I agree completely, and encourage anyone interested in knowing about ways of living one's religion and learning about being happy in one's life choices, to join this tour. No question to either of the guides was off limits and I felt as if the community was unselfishly sharing itself with me. Thank you. |
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|
viewing anoher culture
|
| Thu, Apr 30 10:00 AM |
DavidDaniels |
Male |
70+ |
Local |
Other |
| Hosts were pleasant. Interesting view of a different culture. The word of "delicatessen" should be eliminated from the luncheon description. |
|
|
And Now For Something Completely Different...
|
| Sun, Apr 19 10:00 AM |
sooke54 |
Male |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| If you ever wondered, as a tourist coming to NYC , about the bearded men with black coats and fedora hats you encounter on the streets, then this is the tour for you. The Lubavitch Chassidic Community in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights have a tour that attempts to explain their philosophy of life, and have a look at their synagogue, yeshiva, and mikveh ( woman's ritual bath).
Our guide, Rabbi Kaplan, enthusiastically answered all the questions I had about how they dealt with homosexuality, the theory of evolution, and the Middle East. I wished I had learned more about the ongoing tensions between his group and the rest of (mostly black) Crown Heights, but there only so much to fit in during the 3 1/2 hours.
Our Sunday group contained five people and the price included lunch at a local deli.
I thought the tour was an excellent value for the money. |
|
|
A Memorable Behind-the-Scenes Tour
|
| Sun, Apr 5 10:00 AM |
postcards |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Individual |
| A wonderful opportunity to discover and experience the culture and heritage of the Hassidic community that from a distance can seem remote and foreign even in a city with the cultural diversity of New York. I went away with renewed respect and a better understanding of this Orthodox community after being lead behind the scenes by rabbi. One is free to ask as many questions as you like of the extremely knowledgeable and gracious guides. As I write about New York in my publication Postcards from New York, I look forward to sharing the experience with my readers as I highly recommend the tour as one every New Yorker should experience. |
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|
Very educational and interesting tour
|
| Tue, Mar 31 10:00 AM |
kathymcdanie |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| Myself and my fourteen year old son decided to take this tour after researching sightseeing choices on the interenet. We took the #3 train from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The directions that they gave us were very good, except we had to be pointed to the library where we were to meet. It isn't your typical library building. We met with two very friendly Rabbis and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Our group ending up being a senior citizen group from Queens. They were a "hoot". The tour started off with a lecture on the background and history of their Chassidic group. From there we walked across the street to their synagogue. This is where the men were separated from the women. The women went upstairs and I guess the men actually got to go in the synagogue, but I am not sure on that. We met with a young Chassidic woman who told us many interesting facts about their synagogue traditions. From there we walked to the place where the women take their cleansing baths - sorry but I forget the term for it. Then we all met back together and headed on a bus to a deli. The lunch was good and there were about four or five different choices. From there we went to a bakery and a scribe. I am so glad that we took this tour and my son felt the same way. It is something that we will never forget, and it was very interesting to see such a different culture, especially since we are Christians. |
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|
Excellent! One of our New York highlights!
|
| Fri, Mar 27 10:00 AM |
hscuzz |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| After returning home we spent some time talking about our trip to New York and everyone said the Jewish Tour was the best. We enjoyed the education, the openess of the guides and the sites we saw. Rabbi Yisrael even made a special effort to find my daughter an appropriate mezzuzah along with teaching her about the use and including the kosher parchment. We will always remember the sites of the neighborhood and hope to return just for a visit on our next trip to New York. |
|
Disappointed
|
| Tue, Mar 17 10:00 AM |
ansimon11 |
Female |
30-39 |
International Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| First off, my experience might not be representative because I was the only visitor on the tour that day.
Other reviewers mentioned two tour guides and talking to people from the community. The only people who I talked to were my guide, Rabbi Epstein, and a friendly man at the library who kept me company until the rabbi arrived (late!). I think meeting others and chatting with them would have made the tour much better.
I would have appreciated to start off with a quick overview of the structure of the tour.
We stayed in the library for a while (longer than I expect from a walking tour) and the rabbi explained a little about the faith and answered questions.
Then he took me to the synagogue (looked inside through a two-way mirror) and the museum, showed me places where torahs are restored, teffilin are made, and the matzoh bakery. I felt a little rushed from one place to the next; I didn't find out where we were going until we arrived and didn't get to see much of the neighboorhood itself. We did hardly any walking.
The people working in the places we visited ignored us, which made me feel not welcome and uncomfortable asking questions and taking pictures. Maybe it was because I am a woman and most of them were men. I asked about this in the beginning of the tour but didn't understand the rabbi's answer (too abstract).
The last stop was lunch, which was not at the regular Deli I think (they didn't serve the meals mentioned in the FAQs). I had a tuna sandwich that wasn't very remarkable.
Although part of the tour description, there were no stops at (or mentioning of) other eateries and merchants. |
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|
A memorable trip--I'm still thinking about it
|
| Sun, Mar 15 10:00 AM |
sharidiamond |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| I was very impressed with the depth of explanations. Both our guides really wanted us to fully understand the beliefs behind the observances. They were open to questions and did everything to make us comfortable. And the range of things we saw was quite wonderful--I especially loved seeing the scribes and the museum of manuscripts. I felt I had traveled to another part of the world and learned a great deal. I recommend the tour very highly. |
