About Ohel Ayalah
Our Mission
Service Leaders
Ohel Ayalah History
Why "Ohel Ayalah"?
Our Mission
Ohel Ayalah offers a free, walk-in service to meet the needs of many Jews, in particular young Jews, who do not have a place to pray on the High Holidays. At Ohel Ayalah, it is possible for a Jew to wake up on Rosh Hashanah morning and say, “I feel like going to the synagogue today and being with other Jews.”
The free, walk-in service at Ohel Ayalah means that a Jew can join a celebration of the High Holidays without having to decide in advance. Every Jew should feel welcome in a synagogue on the High Holidays, whether or not he or she is a member, whether or not he or she made advance arrangements to attend, and whether or not he or she purchases a ticket. This is the mission of Ohel Ayalah.
Service Leaders
The service in Manhattan will be led by Rabbi Judith Hauptman, Talmud Professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Student Cantor Josh Gorfinkle, and Hazzan Sheni Stan Alpert.
The service in Brooklyn will be led by Rabbi Josh Cahan and Ba’alat Tefilah Arielle Rubenstein.
Ohel Ayalah History
Founded by Rabbi Judith Hauptman, Ohel Ayalah opened its doors in 2004 on Rosh Hashanah. Nearly 200 seats were filled, about two-thirds by people under age 35. On Kol Nidrei night, there was standing room only, with a crowd of 250. Many who attended the Rosh Hashanah service returned, some bringing friends.
These numbers clearly demonstrated that the services met a real need for Jews who wished to feel “Jewish” and be part of a community during the High Holidays.
On Pesach 2005, Ohel Ayalah held a low-cost, first night Seder. It was fully subscribed. The 162 attendees were mostly under 35 or over 60, with few families and young children. Participants commented that they had found the kind of Seder experience they were seeking–traditional and contemporary at the same time.
In the fall of 2005, the Ohel Ayalah Rosh Hashanah service overflowed. On Kol Nidrei night, a second service was held, right after the first. The combined attendance was about 380. On Passover 2006, Ohel Ayalah again sponsored a first night Seder, and it again sold out.
In the fall of 2006, the Ohel Ayalah HH services were oversubscribed, in particular the second Kol Nidrei service. People sat, stood in the back, on the sides, in the front, wherever. And in April 2007, Ohel Ayalah sponsored two Seders. The first was a Seder for all ages and so people in their 20s showed up, as well as people in their 90s! The “new” second night Seder, for people in their 20s and 30s, succeeded in attracting 100 of them.
In the fall of 2007, Ohel Ayalah was not only filled to capacity on Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidrei night, it even had to turn people away–to the great dismay of its rabbi and cantor. New in 2007 was a Ne’ilah service at the end of Yom Kippur. About 150 people showed up for it and for the break-fast that followed. And in April 2008, Ohel Ayalah again sponsored two Seders: the first night for all ages and the second night for people in their twenties and thirties. The new development in the fall of 2008 was that Ohel Ayalah opened a second branch, in Brooklyn. It too was well-attended, with a total of 240 people on Kol Nidrei night. In April 2009, both OA seders, the first night for all ages and the second night for 20s and 30s, sold out several days before Passover. Total number of attendees: 270.
In 2009, Ohel Ayalah will continue to run services in Manhattan and in Brooklyn.
Why is it called Ohel Ayalah?
1910-1956
Rabbi Judith Hauptman has named this minyan Ohel Ayalah (Tent of Helen) in memory of her mother, Helen Hauptman. She died in 1956 on Kol Nidrei night. She was a loving mother, a high school teacher, and an active member of her synagogue.