Welcome to The Carlebach Shul
The uniqueness
| The uniqueness of The Carlebach Shul lies in its ability to bring together and inspire a wide spectrum of the Jewish population. The unaffiliated Jew, the modern-orthodox, the traditional Chassid, as well as a host of scholars-in-residence all come to pray, sing, dance, and learn together in an environment that embodies holiness, spirituality, and joy. Through Rabbi Carlebach’s inspiration, Friday night has become a time for Jews of all backgrounds to gather at The Carlebach Shul to live the paradise of Shabbos. This legacy is being continued today with fervor and excitement by our spiritual leader, Reb Shlomo’s great-nephew, Rabbi Naftali Citron. The synagogue has blossomed into a haven for hundreds of Jews who come every week to live 25 hours of Shabbos bliss. What is the secret of our success? |
Our secret
Our secret is rooted in two fundamental Torah teachings: Neshama Yeseira, a special soul we receive on Shabbos, and Lechem Mishnah, the two loaves of bread we have on Shabbos commemorating the double portion of Manna we received in the desert for Shabbos. Finding the special Shabbos souls who are hungry for G-d (the Neshama Yeseira) and feeding them the double portion (Lechem Mishnah) is our goal.
Reb Shlomo's teachings
Indeed, in order to reach the lofty goal of a never-ending Shabbos, The Carlebach Shul, together with its rabbi, is dedicated to bringing Reb Shlomo's Torah teachings to Jews of all backgrounds in an atmosphere of warmth and joy.
Special times
Although every day is truly special at the Carlebach Shul, there are certain days and certain events that are a must for us. Among the most special times at our synagogue are Selichos night, Hoshanah Rabbah, Simchas Torah, Chanukah, Tu B'Shvat, Purim, our beautiful and touching weekend-long commemoration of Rabbi Shlomo's Yahrzeit, and our Yom Tov celebrations.
Membership
Make membership in the Carlebach Shul your gift to yourself! Commit to helping the Carlebach Shul grow and continue to spread the message of our beloved Reb Shlomo, zt'l!
Our History
Congregation Kehilath Jacob, known as the Carlebach Shul, is an established landmark of Manhattan's West Side. It is certainly one of the most unique synagogues in New York City, possibly in the world.
Our Rabbi
Team Members
Rabbi Naftali Citron
RabbiOn October 15th, 2002, the membership of the Carlebach Shul endorsed the Board’s decision to appoint Rabbi Naftali Citron as our new rabbi. Rabbi Citron assumed full-time responsibilities immediately following Pesach.
Immediately before coming to the Carlebach Shul, Rabbi Citron served as the spiritual leader of the Highland Lakes Shul located in Aventura, Florida. Under his leadership, that synagogue has become one of the more dynamic Orthodox Jewish institutions in the South Florida region. At Highland Lakes, Reb Naftali established numerous classes, events and programs leading to almost a tripling of its membership in four years. Reb Naftali’s approach to Judaism is infused with a joyful spirituality in the service of G-d inspired by the legacy of his late grandfather, Reb Eli Chaim Carlebach, zt”l, and his late great-uncle, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l.
Since assuming the pulpit once held by his grandfather and great-uncle, Reb Naftali has brought an energy level to our shul not felt here in many years. He has also initiated and been the driving force behind several new and exciting programs, such as: The Rosh Chodesh Institute, Torah in the Park, Saturday morning shiurim, and a fabulous community-wide Lag Ba’Omer celebration in Riverside Park.
Rabbi Citron received his Rabbinical ordination from Tomchie Tmimim Lubavitch in 1994. Because of the influence of Reb Shlomo, zt”l, he remains committed to openness and diversity in the Jewish community. Reb Naftali has studied extensively the works of the great Chassidic masters as well as the traditional Jewish philosophical works.
Click Here to read the Jewish Week’s June 2003 article on Rabbi Naftali Citron.
Our President
Team Members
Shy Yellin
PresidentBoard of Trustees
Shy Yellin
Hadassa Carlebach
Daniel J. Goldschmidt
Sherri Daniels
Leon Sutton
Barbara Chazan
Dr. Jeremy Chess
Ted Cohen
Raphael Kellman
Team Members
Shy Yellin
PresidentTeam Members
Hadassa Carlebach
Vice PresidentTeam Members
Daniel J. Goldschmidt
Corr. SecretaryTeam Members
Sherri Daniels
Recording SecretaryTeam Members
Leon Sutton
TreasurerTeam Members
Barbara Chazan
Board MemberTeam Members
Dr. Jeremy Chess
Board MemberTeam Members
Ted Cohen
Former PresidentTeam Members
Raphael Kellman
Board MemberOffice Staff
Team Members
Avi Dubin
Director of OperationsTeam Members
Peter Atkin
Teachers
Dr. Moshe Sokolow
Rabbi Naftali Citron
Rabbi Meir Fund
Yitzy Weinberg
Rabbi Avraham Newman
Raphael Kellman
Team Members
Dr. Moshe Sokolow
Dr. Moshe Sokolow is an Orthodox Bible scholar and educator who has been sharing his erudition with students and general audiences for 50 years. He is the Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education where he holds the Fanya Gottesfeld-Heller Chair in Jewish Education.
He is author of In the Company of Prophets: Reflections on Joshua, Judges, Samuel & Kings (2021, co-published by Kodesh Press, Yeshiva University and 929 English), consisting of chapter-by-chapter commentary and insights on Nevi’im Rishonim.
His prior books include Reading the Rav: Exploring Religious Themes in the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (Kodesh Press, 2018), based on his articles on the Rav’s thought; TANAKH, An Owner’s Manual (2015), based on classes he taught at Yeshiva University, and Studies in the Weekly Parashah Based on the Lessons of Nehama Leibowitz (2007), drawing on the time he spent learning Tanakh with her. A collection of essays on timely texts and topics is in press.
He has been giving a weekly class in Parashat Hashavua at Lincoln Square Synagogue for 36 years and is an active member of Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Service on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Team Members
Rabbi Naftali Citron
RabbiOn October 15th, 2002, the membership of the Carlebach Shul endorsed the Board’s decision to appoint Rabbi Naftali Citron as our new rabbi. Rabbi Citron assumed full-time responsibilities immediately following Pesach.
Immediately before coming to the Carlebach Shul, Rabbi Citron served as the spiritual leader of the Highland Lakes Shul located in Aventura, Florida. Under his leadership, that synagogue has become one of the more dynamic Orthodox Jewish institutions in the South Florida region. At Highland Lakes, Reb Naftali established numerous classes, events and programs leading to almost a tripling of its membership in four years. Reb Naftali’s approach to Judaism is infused with a joyful spirituality in the service of G-d inspired by the legacy of his late grandfather, Reb Eli Chaim Carlebach, zt”l, and his late great-uncle, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l.
Since assuming the pulpit once held by his grandfather and great-uncle, Reb Naftali has brought an energy level to our shul not felt here in many years. He has also initiated and been the driving force behind several new and exciting programs, such as: The Rosh Chodesh Institute, Torah in the Park, Saturday morning shiurim, and a fabulous community-wide Lag Ba’Omer celebration in Riverside Park.
Rabbi Citron received his Rabbinical ordination from Tomchie Tmimim Lubavitch in 1994. Because of the influence of Reb Shlomo, zt”l, he remains committed to openness and diversity in the Jewish community. Reb Naftali has studied extensively the works of the great Chassidic masters as well as the traditional Jewish philosophical works.
Click Here to read the Jewish Week’s June 2003 article on Rabbi Naftali Citron.
Team Members
Rabbi Meir Fund
Rabbibio
Team Members
Yitzy Weinberg
Yitzy Weinberg is the founder and CEO of the recently launched real estate investment fund Griffon Venture LLC.
Yitzy also gives weekly shiurim throughout the Upper West Side Community, including the widely popular Thursday night Shiur at The Carlebach Shul.
Team Members
Rabbi Avraham Newman
RabbiTeam Members
Raphael Kellman
Board MemberGuest Speakers
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Rabbi Dr. Nehemia Polen
Dr. Rabbi Itamar Eldar
J. H. (Yossi) Chajes
Daniel and Neira Sharabi
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg
Rabbi Label Lam
Rav Dror Moshe Cassouto
Judith Leventhal
Rabbi David Aaron
Rabbi Nehemia Polen
Emuna Witt
Shimona Tzukernik
Channah Schafer
Rabbi Nosson Schafer
Dr. Moshe Rothkopf
Rabbi Herschel Reichman
Chaya Adler-Poretsky
Rabbi Chaim Miller
Dr. Moshe Idel
Neshama Carlebach
Neila Carlebach
Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald
Rabbi Sammy Intrator
Rabbi Doniel Katz
Dr. Sharon Flatto
Team Members
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Guest SpeakerSince the early 90’s, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin has often come the shul to serve as a guest speaker or scholar-in-residence. He particularly enjoys the learned chevra of our shul and the challenging questions they pose. Rabbi Telushkin is a world renowned writer and lecturer and is the author of Rebbe, Jewish Literacy, Jewish Wisdom, Jewish Humor, and The Ten Commandments of Character, to name but a few.
Team Members
Rabbi Dr. Nehemia Polen
Nehemia Polen, professor of Jewish thought, director of the Hasidic Text Institute at Boston’s Hebrew College, and an ordained rabbi, is the author of The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto. He is a contributing commentator to My Peoples Prayer Book, a multivolume Siddur incorporating diverse perspectives on the liturgy. A recipient of the National Jewish Book Award, Nehemia has studied with and served as a teaching fellow for Elie Wiesel and was a visiting scholar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He co-authored Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. His recent book, Stop, Look, Listen, reintroduces Shabbos as a totally immersive spiritual experience, based on the teachings of the great Chassidic masters.
Team Members
Dr. Rabbi Itamar Eldar
Dr. Rabbi Itamar Eldar is the head of the Hesder Yeshiva Orot Shaul in Tel Aviv. He teaches at various institutions across Israel and specializes in Hasidic studies, particularly focusing on Breslov Hasidism. Rabbi Eldar earned his doctorate in Jewish philosophy from Bar-Ilan University, with his dissertation centered on Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz, known as the “Holy Jew” of Peshischa.
His teachings explore foundational Hasidic concepts, applying them to contemporary life.
Team Members
J. H. (Yossi) Chajes
J. H. (Yossi) Chajes (Ph.D., Yale University 1999) is Sir Isaac Wolfson Professor of Jewish Thought in the Department of Jewish History at the University of Haifa.
Chajes’s research focuses on the intersection of Kabbalah, magic, and science in Jewish cultural history. He has written on spirit possession and exorcism, egodocuments, women’s religiosity, Jewish attitudes towards magic, and, most recently, on the visualization of knowledge. He co-edited The Visualization of Knowledge in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (2020). Chajes’s first book, Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism (2003) was listed by the Wall Street Journal as among the top five books ever written on spirit possession, alongside Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudun. Chajes’s foundational book, The Kabbalistic Tree (2022) has been lauded as a “monumental achievement that will be valuable to scholars and general readers interested in Judaism, religion, and art history.” In November 2023, The Kabbalistic Tree was awarded the Jordan Schnitzer Book Prize of the Association for Jewish Studies in the category of Philosophy and Jewish Thought. It is also a 2024 National Jewish Book Award finalist.
Yossi was a student and accompanist of R. Shlomo Carlebach for many years, and has been invited by communities around the world to teach and to lead inspirational, musical services. Yossi was the founding Hazzan of London’s revolutionary Grassroots Jews High Holiday initiative. He has also led Rosh ha-Shana and Yom Kippur services for communities in Dubai (UAE, 4 years), Stanford, Ashland, Jerusalem (“Leader Minyan”), and Zichron Yaakov.
Team Members
Daniel and Neira Sharabi
Brothers Daniel and Neira Sharabi were attendees at the Supernova music festival when the Oct 7th attack took place. They were able to help save the lives of some thirty people targeted by the terrorists. They took the initiative, bravely providing cover fire and sheltering them behind a damaged tank, saving their lives.
Team Members
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg
Guest SpeakerRabbi Hillel Goldberg is the publisher of the Intermountain Jewish News in Denver
Colorado. He is a scholar of modern Jewish History and had published books on
Rabbi Yisroel Salanter and the Musar movement.
Team Members
Rabbi Label Lam
Guest SpeakerRabbi Label Lam is a former collegiate athlete and poet. A graduate of Colgate University, Rabbi Lam matriculated at Harvard Extension School. While pursuing his Masters in Education he studied for many years at Yeshiva Ohr Somayach in Monsey before launching a multifaceted career in Jewish Education.
A veteran of the Day School Movement and a former full-time lecturer for Arachim Seminars, Rabbi Lam has been inspiring businessmen, college students, and prisoners, and has taught at Ohr Somayach International and Hamayan Institute, for almost two decades. He is the co-founder of Foundations for Jewish Learning which has outreach projects in the United States and abroad. Rabbi Lam is able to bring his rich life experiences with him to his lectures.
Team Members
Rav Dror Moshe Cassouto
Guest SpeakerRav Dror Moshe Cassouto was born in Jerusalem, and grew up in a Jewish secular family. He studied for a few years in a high school for the arts, traveled around the world, and then drafted into the Israeli army, where he met his wife, Einav. They were married around a year after meeting, and began, together, their return journey to a religious life. Rav Dror studied at the Belz yeshiva, Yeshivat Aish HaTorah, and finally at Yeshivat Chut Shel Chessed, the yeshiva of Rabbi Shalom Arush. Rav Dror remained there for twelve years, and relocated to the Beit Yisroel neighborhood adjacent to the yeshiva. He illustrated and helped to publish the famous children’s books written by Rav Arush. Rav Dror also wrote several books and CD’s for children, and founded an English program at Chut Shel Chessed, which he managed and coordinated for five years. Finally, with Rav Arush’s blessings, Rav Dror founded the Emunah Center in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Emunah Center, which also has the Emunah Channel website, is an outreach center for Jews all over the world. Whether in Israel at the actual Emunah Center, or via the Emunhachannel.com website, thousands of students enjoy the beautiful and inspiring wisdom that Rav Dror teaches daily. Rav Dror lives in Rechavia, Jerusalem with his wife, Einav, and their five children.
Team Members
Judith Leventhal
Guest SpeakerJudith Leventhal is a psychotherapist as well as a mesmerizing storyteller and co-author of the Small Miracles series. A few of the titles include Small Miracles for the Jewish Heart, and Small Miracles of Love and Friendship
Team Members
Rabbi David Aaron
Guest SpeakerRabbi David Aaron is the founder and dean of The Isralight Institute in the Old City of Jerusalem. His books have been published by major publishing houses and have sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide. His work includes, Endless Light: The Ancient Path of the Kabbalah to Love, Spiritual Growth, and Personal Power, Seeing G-d, Kabbalah Works: Secrets to Purposeful Living. His newest book is Inviting G-d In: Celebrating the Soul Meaning of the Jewish Holy Days. Rabbi Aaron is a popular lecturer in North America and a frequent guest on radio and TV. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Chana, and their seven children.
Team Members
Rabbi Nehemia Polen
Guest SpeakerNehemia Polen, professor of Jewish thought, director of the Hasidic Text Institute at Boston’s Hebrew College, and an ordained rabbi, is the author of The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto. He is a contributing commentator to My Peoples Prayer Book, a multivolume Siddur incorporating diverse perspectives on the liturgy. A recipient of the National Jewish Book Award, Nehemia has studied with and served as a teaching fellow for Elie Wiesel and was a visiting scholar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His most recent work, written with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, is Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer. His new soon-to-be published book, Stop, Look, Listen, reintroduces Shabbos as a totally immersive spiritual experience, based on the teachings of the great Chassidic masters.
Team Members
Emuna Witt
Guest SpeakerEmuna grew up in Queens and first met Reb Shlomo when she was 14. Her whole life was turned around after attending one of Reb Shlomo’s concerts where he stressed the heavenly beauty of Shabbos. Emuna was inspired to move to the Holy Land where she has resided for the past 51 years. Aside from being an active teacher and lecturer, she is the proud mother of 14 holy Jews, and thank Hashem, many grandchildren. Emuna has made it her life’s mission to transcribe Reb Shlomo’s teachings which she does at every free moment and loves to share Reb Shlomo Torahs.
Team Members
Shimona Tzukernik
Guest SpeakerShimona Tzukernik is one of the foremost female educators on Chassidism. She has a remarkable ability to make her knowledge relevant to people’s lives. Shimona has addressed tens of thousands of participants, empowering her listeners to shift on a personal and ultimately global level. Raised and educated in South Africa, in addition to her teachings on Chassidism, Shimona has also taught art history at Funda University.
Team Members
Channah Schafer
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Rabbi Nosson Schafer
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Dr. Moshe Rothkopf
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Rabbi Herschel Reichman
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Chaya Adler-Poretsky
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Rabbi Chaim Miller
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Dr. Moshe Idel
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Neshama Carlebach
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Neila Carlebach
Guest SpeakerNeila Carlebach is a healer, teacher and therapist. She masterfully incorporates her background in education, Theater Arts and Judaic studies as the foundation on which she has created her individual style of imparting Torah, stories and mystical teachings. She also weaves the deep and beautiful teachings of her late husband, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach zt’l into the fabric of her shiurs as she teaches throughout the United States and Canada. Neila has released two CDs of Hassidic stories and Torah.
Team Members
Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald
Guest SpeakerRabbi Ephraim Buchwald is one of the leaders in the movement of Jewish return in America today. He founded the National Jewish Outreach Program, which sponsors the acclaimed SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA campaign, and established Lincoln Square’s celebrated outreach program. He was also Founding President of the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals (AJOP). Rabbi Buchwald lectures across the country and overseas and leads experiential programs in cities throughout the world, and has been included in the Forward 50, a list of America’s 50 most influential Jews, and Newsweek’s list of the top 50 Rabbis in America.
Team Members
Rabbi Sammy Intrator
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Rabbi Doniel Katz
Guest SpeakerTeam Members
Dr. Sharon Flatto
Guest SpeakerDr. Sharon Flatto is a scholar and professor of Judaic Studies at Brooklyn College, with a focus on the kabbalistic culture of 18th century Prague and Rabbi Yechezkel Landau (the “Noda B’Yehuda”) and his contemporaries.