Chabad of Forest Hills North

Rabbi Mendy & Chaya Hecht are honored to be serving Jews from all walks of life in North Forest Hills. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, Rabbi Mendy attended the local Yeshivah College and enjoyed being active in arranging extra curricular programs and community events. He continued his Judaic studies as well as outreach and chaplaincy care in Israel and Canada, and spent considerable time doing even more outreach work in Ukraine’s capital of Kiev. While finishing his Rabbinical studies in New Jersey and then in New York, Rabbi Mendy met his wife Chaya, a graduate of Associated Beth Rivkah Schools in New York and Bet Chana Seminary in Israel. With their varied experience in cultural programming from communities in Arizona, California, Ukraine, London, Israel, New Jersey and more, together with their young charming and kind approach, Rabbi Mendy and Chaya along with Hadassa, Peretz, Akiva, Chana, Fraida, Shterna, Yehudis and Shneini look forward to hosting you at exciting Jewish events year round.

Chabad of Forest Hills North is dedicated to providing every Jew regardless of background, philosophy or level of commitment, an open door environment for strengthening and enhancing Jewish family life. Chabad serves individuals and families looking for an anchor and non-judgmental, accepting, personalized Jewish experience. Chabad offers “Judaism with a Smile,” and a home away from home for everyone who walks through its doors. At Chabad of Forest Hills North great emphasis is put on the mystical experience behind the "rituals and traditions" of Judaism. Our goal is to penetrate beyond the world that appears to our physical senses and to be absorbed in a higher, spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is regarded as true and real. The awareness and experience of it is priceless. The word “Chabad” is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of chochmah —wisdom, binah —comprehension and da’at —knowledge. The above three stages lay at the core of Chabad’s philosophy. The uniqueness of the human condition is in the possibility to grow through knowledge. Each of us arrives in this world with unique circumstances, yet we are united by for we have the ability to grow internally and learn from each other. By accepting that our current knowledge is limited, we become open to the possibility that there is knowledge positioned higher than the prism through which we currently experience life. To live is to grow. We grow though the constant renewal of our conception, the ensuing development, and most importantly, the application of our new realization to our daily lives.

From ChabadFHN.com