The Spuyten Duyvil Congregation (“SDC”), also known as Bais Sholom of South Riverdale, was formed to serve the Orthodox Jewish residents of the southern third of the Riverdale neighborhood in Bronx, NY. Because all of the major orthodox synagogues in Riverdale have been located between West 237th Street and West 246th Street in Central Riverdale – or between West 254th Street and West 260th Street in North Riverdale – the southern portion of the community (generally described as extending from West 232nd Street in the north, to the equivalent of West 225th Street in the south) contained many residents who desired a closer place to daven on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Their family synagogues were generally one half mile, three quarters of a mile, and over one mile, respectively, from their homes, and, while walking to Saturday morning services, or driving to weekday services, presented no real challenge, they sought a briefer walk, particularly in bad weather, or with small children in tow, for evening services which were less than an hour in length.
The SDC has significantly expanded its purview since its early days, as its history will describe below. Presently, it offers services during every evening connected with a Shabbos or Yom Tov throughout the year, whether such evening begins, or ends, or is in the middle of, the yom tov/Shabbos day(s). If there is a halachic impediment to driving a car in either direction, because of Shabbos or yom tov, the minyan is in session. As examples, the minyan meets on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons, as indicated above, and also on the nights of Rosh Hashana, Pesach, Succos and Shavuos, including on Simchas Torah night. Additionally, the minyan has met for years on Kol Nidre night, and, as of 2016, began to meet as well for Mincha and Ne’ilah on Yom Kippur. When either Purim or Tisha B’Av begins on Saturday night, the designated Megilla is read after Maariv at the SDC.
As an additional community service, the SDC has often instituted minyanim on the mornings of Pesach, Shavuos and Succos, to accommodate nearby families who have older parents and parents-in-law in their homes for yom tov and need a more accessible synagogue for the guests. During some years, all of the yom tov mornings see minyanim in session. An email list of all members and non-member participants is maintained by Mr. Paul Wolf, who keeps more than 70 local families informed of all SDC activities, including the schedule of minyanim.
Beginning in mid-2016, in response to popular demand, the SDC expanded its offerings to include one Saturday morning minyan each month, on the first Sabbath of the secular calendar month. This accommodates not only people who want or need closer services, but also those who long for a small, intimate, low-key and welcoming Shabbos morning minyan, worthy of its name “Bais Sholom.” Davening is always followed by a full Kiddush.
It should be noted that, on Saturday mornings, as well as on other occasions when women worshippers are expected (such as on Yom Kippur), a special women’s section is set up. (If one or two women do seek to attend at other times, as happens on occasion, they are accommodated with sensitivity and space is made for them).
The year 2016 constituted a major departure for the SDC in other ways as well. For the first time, the minyan had available to it the great talent of Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, shlita, a neighbor, friend and guide to most of its members and participants, whose recent retirement after three decades of service at a major synagogue, freed him to answer the call of SDC members for his involvement. He has begun providing divrei Torah (sermons) on Saturday and Yom Tov mornings, and shiurim (classes) at certain afternoon services. In addition, the SDC has begun sponsoring classes given by Rabbi Rosenblatt “off-campus,” in the homes of members or at some public venues in the area. These are extremely well attended, drawing on participants who live farther away, as well as on SDC members.
Because the classes given by Rabbi Rosenblatt have evoked such a groundswell of enthusiasm, the SDC has undertaken to make them as widely available as possible. The classes which are not given on Shabbos or yom tov are recorded and will be made available to the public through links on this site to one of the Rabbi’s own websites. The SDC’s web presence has been established for the purpose of ensuring that its services are known to all who can benefit, as well as for the purpose of spreading instruction in Torah that is in consonance with traditional Orthodox Jewish values and concepts.
Membership in SDC is set at $25 per year, as there is little in the way of overhead costs. All services are provided on a volunteer basis, and dues are used mostly to purchase religious articles needed for services. To date, the SDC has never solicited funds. (Even those desiring membership are advised that they will receive the same kibbudim and notices if they choose to remain non-member attendees). With the start of the current effort at on-line dissemination of religious materials, however, the SDC has now begun to accept financial support of its projects, as this website indicates.
For those interested in how the SDC came to be the communal presence it is today, the history below may be of interest.