Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Young rabbis visit detention center to lead Rosh Hashanah services
Rabbi Chezky Weiis, left, and Rabbi Joel Pesso , right, will offer their services to Jewish inmates at the Federal Metropolitan Detention in Brooklyn during high holidays, starting with Rosh Hashanah this Wednesday evening. (Photo: Paul Martinka)
By Reuven Fenton
September 3, 2013 | 1:35am
Two intrepid young rabbis are going “up the river” for the High Holidays — to a federal lockup in Brooklyn, where they will lead Rosh Hashana services for Jewish convicts.
Hasidic Rabbis Yoel Pesso and Chezky Weiss, both 23, are turning the chapel at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park into a temporary shul this week so that some 30 inmates can atone for their sins.
“Everyone deserves to have a connection with God,” said Pesso, who is a Crown Heights-based Lubavitch Hasid, along with Weiss. “Even if you commit a crime, it doesn’t sever the connection.”
The detention center houses about 1,000 inmates, about 60 of whom are Jewish, according to the Aleph Institute, a Miami-based organization that provides services to Jewish inmates at 30 prisons.
http://nypost.com/2013/09/03/young-rabbis-visit-detention-center-to-lead-rosh-hashanah-services/