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Oholei Torah Completes Purchase of New Building

Following a successful fundraising campaign, Oholei Torah – Crown Heightses largest boys school – announced that they have completed the purchase of the building next door to its existing properties.

The Board of Directors of Oholei Torah are pleased to announce the purchase of 639 Eastern Parkway, which now will be part of its Eastern Parkway campus.

A recent campaign secured the funds for the down payment, closing costs and initial renovations. With the purchase of the adjacent 24 unit apartment building, it gives the opportunity for further growth and much needed expansion.

Many friends and supporters of Oholei Torah have followed the purchase with great excitement and have shown much interest in this project.

R’ Avremel Lokshin, a member of the Board, emphasized that this is just the first step in a multi-phase expansion of the Eastern Parkway campus. This expansion will be done in stages, making sure that each step is well thought through and implemented properly. R’ Lokshin said that “the overwhelming support we got from the entire community for this first stage gave us much encouragement to continue working on behalf of the Moisad’s growth. We have confidence that the community will continue to support us throughout this process.

Harav Yitzchok and Rebbetzin Shaindel Raitport took a leading role in securing the funds, together with members the Board of Directors and many from the Chabad community of Crown Heights and around the world.

The Board wishes to thank Oholei Torah’s loyal friends and supporters, R’ Yoseph Yitzchok and Batsheva Popack, for enabling the purchase of the building. Mr. Popack, a real estate developer, has a long standing policy of not selling his properties, but in this particular case, he saw the importance and great need for Oholei Torah’s expansion and readily understood the need and the value the property has to Oholei Torah.

Rabbi Nosson Blumes, Director of Development, together with the members of the Board, will now be planning a long term campaign to raise funds to secure the renovations and future building projects, all with the goal of accommodating the many divisions of the Moisad.

Rabbi Joseph Rosenfeld, Executive Director, often refers to a letter from the Rebbe sent in 1958/5718, upon the purchase of Oholei Torah’s very first building, a brownstone adjacent to the former Brooklyn Jewish Center. In that letter the Rebbe gives a directive that the first purchase should lead to further expansion for the moisad, in an aspect of uforatza, which has been realized over and again.

R’ Shmuel Brook represented Oholei Torah at the actual closing, and the Board together that evening for a chassideshe farbrengen, and to further dedicate themselves for the betterment of Oholei Torah.

Many dedication opportunities are available. To learn more about of the expansion project, please contact the Development Office at 718 483 9000 ext. 2.

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15 Comments

    • Yossi

      “Tzedakah” has a completely opposite meaning (then Charity).
      Instead of connoting benevolence, it is the idea of justice (Tzedek) — that it is only right and just that one gives tzedakah.

      One Reason is, A person is obligated to give to another, for the money is not his own.
      G‑d has given the money to him on trust, for the purpose of giving it to others.

  • RIch get richer

    Popack sells a building to a yeshiva for full price and gets kovod?

    Poor people collecting money for the richest person handing him 8 million for a run down building and he is not embarrassed

    If Rabbi Raitport owned that building he would have given it as a gift..

    • Yossi

      A story is told of a wealthy chassid who once received a letter from his Rebbe, requesting him to give 2,000 rubles to save another Jewish person from financial ruin.
      The wealthy chassid regularly contributed to his rebbe’s charitable activities, but this particular letter arrived at an inconvenient time. So the Chassid didn’t respond to the Rebbe’s request.

      Shortly thereafter, the chassid’s business went bankrupt.
      “Rebbe,” he cried, in Yechidus, “I know why this has happened to me. But was my sin so terrible to deserve so severe a punishment?

      “But you haven’t been punished in any way,” replied the Rebbe.
      “What do you mean? All my wealth has been taken from me!”

      “Nothing that was yours was taken from you,” said the Rebbe. “You see, when my soul came down to earth, a certain amount of Money was allotted to me for use in my work.
      However, my time is taken up with prayer, studying, teaching Torah, & counseling those who come to me for guidance, leaving no time for the task of managing all that money.

      So this money was placed in the trust of a number of ‘bankers’ (people who would recognize their duty to support my work). When you failed to carry out your role, my account with you was transferred to another banker.”

    • The kangeroo

      Right on target.I do not blame the landlord if these people are stupid enough to throw money at him and give him kovod why should he not take it and laugh all the way to the bank.

    • Yitzchok

      I can assure you that no real estate investor in his right mind especially one that owns a building for such a long time would sell the building for any money.. The Yeshivah won the Jackpot and should be eternally grateful to Mr. Popack, he didn’t have to sell it. And if you think that another person would have simply donated a building in Brooklyn on a prime block in the economy, then you are as crazy as Achashverosh.

  • To # 7

    In Williamsburg the Zupnick family and Mandel Families gave 9 building to Satmer for free just to have their names on it. The were used for a Shul and Talmud Torah and Bais Medrash and they also donated entire summer camps in the country to the Kehilah for free to stay. They would never charge. The one above pays back. Mr. Popak is worth 1.6 Billion dollars. For him to take full price for this very very very small piece of his huge empire he inherited from his pops is sad.

  • So much ignorance

    So much real estate ignorance going on here. The building is worth much much more than $8 Million. It has 48 apartments. Each one is worth at least $250,000, so that’s $12 Million.

    2nd, real estate investors like this almost never sell, and I have no doubt that if it weren’t for the Yeshivas needing the space he would never put it on the market.

    So you all really owe him an apology and should think twice before bashing someone in public.

  • Moishe pipek

    To #4 and #10 Well said.My heart cries for the frum honest and poor people in Crown Heights.

  • The kangeroo

    639 Eastern Parkway does not have 48 apts.Not giving any apts to Jews and charging this kind of money to a yeshiva and say that you deserve kovod because you claim you can do worse is beyond hutzpa.and decency

  • The kangeroo

    #14 It does not mean that people can do wrong and you have to kiss them and tell them that they are right.