Eleven years ago, four young families moved to East Meadow, Long Island, with the dream of building a new religious community in the heart of Nassau County. This past Sunday night, November 8, close to 200 people gathered for a beautiful celebration of a milestone in this community’s growth.
Only a decade after its modest inception, the k’hilah of East Meadow has gained a reputation as a warm, welcoming community for families and individuals of all ages. Congregation Shaarei Zedek of East Meadow is the heart of the k’hilah, where the members of the community connect as they daven together, learn together, and celebrate simchos, kiddushim, siyumim, communal Shabbos meals, Yom Tov programming, and more. The shul is alive with a vibrant, positive energy, and it’s not only a place where the adults feel at home. No teen minyan is necessary at Congregation Shaarei Zedek, where the young men and boys feel the importance of their roles as members of the minyan, sharing responsibilities for leining and davening from the amud. The teenage girls lead Bnos groups for the younger girls in shul and run in-between camps and special programs throughout the year.
On Sunday night, Congregation Shaarei Zedek hosted a dinner to celebrate the inauguration of its new Rav, Rabbi Geilan Grant. Rabbi Grant learned at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and the Yeshiva of Staten Island and received semichah from Rav Dovid Feinstein zt”l. He currently serves as a rebbi at Yeshiva Kol Torah and has extensive experience delivering shiurim on a wide range of topics, including Daf Yomi, Talmud Yerushalmi, and halachah. He has also contributed to numerous ArtScroll publications as a writer and editor. Rebbetzin Gittel Tova Grant, a granddaughter of HaRav Reuven Feinstein shlita, serves as head of the STEM department at HAFTR. The curriculum she developed is used in schools throughout the country. She has also delivered numerous shiurim for women on a broad range of topics and organized shul programming for girls. Together, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Grant bring a wealth of Torah knowledge, educational experience, and dedication to the growing community of East Meadow.
Before the dinner began, families in the community gathered in front of the shul for the special opportunity to welcome Rav Reuven Feinstein shlita, Rosh Yeshivah of the Yeshiva of Staten Island. Rav Feinstein asked to speak to the children in the shul, and he addressed his words of chizuk specifically to the children of all ages who were in attendance. Each child then received a brachah from the gadol.
Shortly thereafter, the venue filled with community members, distinguished rabbanim, and guests. Speakers included Rabbi Moshe Turk, community member and co-director of the Jewish Heritage Center; Rabbi Shaya Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Zichron Aryeh; Rav Shaul Yechezkel Schwartz, the Debreciner Dayan; Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman, Mashgiach Ruchani of Yeshiva Ohr HaChaim; Rav Reuven Feinstein shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Staten Island; and Rabbi Geilan Grant. Rabbi Shalom Kaminetzky was unable to attend but sent a personal letter to be read, expressing his warm feelings and divrei brachah for the k’hilah and its new Rav.
A common theme among the speakers was praise for the warmth and achdus of the community, as well as its dedication to serious, consistent Torah learning and growth. They focused on the unique ability of community members to facilitate both kiruv k’rovim and kiruv r’chokim as they build a strong, Torah’dik community that can impact the thousands of unaffiliated Jews in the greater Long Island area. The rabbanim also lauded Rabbi Grant for his outstanding chochmah and Torah knowledge, his midos tovos, authenticity, humility, and ne’emanus. In his concluding address, Rabbi Grant expressed that he was attracted to the warmth of the k’hilah and the impressive group of b’nei Torah who have built the community on a solid foundation of limud haTorah and musar, and a desire to follow mesorah and daas Torah. He and the other speakers extended their brachos that the k’hilah and the shul continue to grow and thrive in Torah and avodas Hashem.
To learn more about East Meadow, visit cszem.org.
