SEPTEMBER 1 • 2022 | 25

staff, no paid rabbis, 
everything is free-
will contributions 
and what people 
choose to put into 
it. It’s a unique and 
special place,
” she 
said. 
Though not full-
time, Rabbi Azaryah 
Cohen, Rabbi 
Eliezer Cohen’s son, 
is co-rabbi of the 
shul with Rabbi 
Louis Finkelman. 
Or Chadash has 
services on Shabbat 
and on all of the holidays but 
does not have weekday services. 
As things are starting to get 

back to normal and younger 
kids have been able to be vacci-
nated, Or Chadash is ramping 
up its in-person programs and 
social events. 
In years past, kids have 
been able to take advantage 
of Or Chadash’s fully stocked 
children’s playroom, children’s 
programming for Purim, 
Chanukah and Sukkot, and a 
Sukkah Hop. There will also be 
children’s programming for the 
High Holidays. 
“One of the key things is 
we’re very open and kid-friend-
ly,
” Kofsky-Apap said. “This 
is not a shul where people are 
shushing kids that come run-
ning into the sanctuary. We 

want them to be there and to 
feel welcome.
“We’re hoping to get back 
to the things we used to do — 
weekly kiddushes, the Sukkah 
Hop, monthly potluck dinners 
on Friday nights — we’
d have 
this beautiful musical Kabbalat 
Shabbat with families, and then 
everybody would bring a dish 
and we’
d all eat together in the 
social hall. I would love to get 
back to that.
” 
Or Chadash provides free 
tickets to High Holiday services, 
not charging for any service 
whatsoever. Kofsky-Apap says 
it’s really the people who show 
up and participate that make 
the shul what it is. 

“I think there’s probably 
20-30 core families that are 
regulars, and then we get a 
lot of people who pop in for a 
Shabbat or holiday and they’re 
just as welcome as people who 
are there every week.
“We’re warm, welcoming, 
a little on the quirky side, but 
definitely worth checking out. 
And, importantly, no dues. This 
was actually written into our 
bylaws as part of the ethos of 
the shul that nobody should feel 
they’re better or lesser than any-
body else because of financial 
contribution. That’s not what 
we’re about. We’re about show-
ing up and forming a warm and 
vibrant community.
” 

Rabbi 
Azaryah 
Cohen

Rabbi Louis 
Finkelman

ABOVE: Rabbi Azaryah Cohen holding the Torah 
commissioned in memory of his father, Rabbi 
Eliezer Cohen, by his family. LEFT: A women’s 
megillah reading.

Or Chadash 

