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Giant Mechitza erected outside 770 Women section

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Last week, several prominent rabbis in Crown Heights came out with a letter protesting against the intolerable situation that has developed outside 770 during Shabbosim and Yom Tov that create “Tznius” problems. The rabbis issued a series of regulations to prevent this problem. (see letter in the extended article). As a result, a giant mechitza was erected outside the entrance to the women’s section in 770 on Kingston Ave.


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34 Comments

  • joe

    Please note that the Rabbis did not sign the letter, rather, the letter was basen on discussions with those Rabbis.

  • Katcha

    How about mechitza’s on the street, you know two sections…in middle of the block…and…jewish tznius police, directing traffic :) and……….also checking in the houses to make sure in middle of the table there are mechitzas…and they should have mechitza stores, with funky mechitza colors!and…

  • c.h. res

    beautifull kol hakovod to the rabbonim and whoever was involved in putting this together keep it up!!

  • disturbed

    seems to me to be a waste of time.. why not address the tznius problem in its entirity??? Its not only outside 770.. Are they going to provide mechitzahs all over crown heights so that we dont have to look at all the tznius infractions that are occuring in our daled amos?

  • Thank you!

    Thank you! Yom tov was so much more pleasant with the mechizas- without everyone bumping into each other every second! Kol hakavod! Moshiach Now!

  • crown heights activist

    Tznius is most important and we SHOULD be carefull that there shouln’t be anything againt Halacha, and we have to do whats right. So lets make a kidush lubavitch, and br careful not to make leitzunus of matters of importance.

    Gmar Chasima Tova

  • F.M.

    I don’t like the suggestion of walking home without meeting family.
    What happened to the fact that it’s UNSAFE to walk alone ESPECIALLY at night!?!
    Is tznius more important than safety?
    Obviously, if there are 100 families from across town (in either direction) that walk home together, and there are only about 10 corners to wait at “a block away”, then it’ll make 10 families at each corner. That’s quite a big crowd! So, should we just live in 770? Bec. we have no way home?

    And those police barriers going from women’s section towards Union St. – I hope it’s only for Tishrei! For those who live anywhere on Eastern Pkwy – it’s a real pain! Need to walk all the way to Union Street and come back!

  • a curious resident.

    Didn’t the Rebbe approve of the plans when 770 was redone?
    And while we are on the topic of Tznius – how about the chuppahs the are in front of 770? That is ok?!?!?

  • ?????

    this is about the dumbest thing I have heard of, people need to stop making their own halachas….

  • izzy

    wow, it is about time for people to realize that this is not Beth Israel im sure the rebbe is smiling!!

  • A 770 visitor

    Finally, it was time for something like this.
    It was a big problem that at least won’t be in our face as much when we leave 770.

  • I think the rebbe wouldn-t have approved

    Chauvinistic Pigs!

    I think a mechitzah is a great idea and sorely needed, but I think it betrays a very un-chabadlike mentality to be so concerned about the possible tznius hazzard without giving two hoots about the ladies feelings.

    If you’re putting a mechitza it is UNACCEPTABLE to wrap the ladies section in tarp and garbage bags. It looks disgusting and makes one feel like a piece of garbage!! Make a mechitzah out of a floral print, or something which looks somewhat respectable and I’ll even be happy to donate some money towards it, but for crying out loud think how a person feels to be boxed in garbage bags!

  • willyb here we come!

    perhaps they should reconstruct 770 entirely… make it like a shul in Williamsburg I once went to…. Women are above the men on the 2nd floor and there is no connection to the men’s section except for a large opening above eye level so they can hear the minyan.
    the women’s entrance is the other side of the building, which is around the block.

    u know what.. while we r at it…
    the rabbonim should bannish sheitelach. now all chabad women should be required to wear a turban with a shpitz and seamed brown stockings!

  • john

    i hope they change the tarps for something nice and let this be a gr8 beggining!!! for all year round!! let us unequivocally make operational lubavitch nice and modest and those who are outside whould be on the outside but organized active lubavitch should move forward this will bring only blessings and above all success

  • Got Rid Of My Sins Already

    Long overdue but it probably won’t work. For example, by Tashlich there was a place for the women on the plaza. Full of dead fish because all the kids tortured them to death. Nice, huh?

    So where did the women do Tashlich? By the pond by the Kollel, which was reserved for the men.

    Why don’t they bring back the Vaad Hamasader to watch the Tashlich ponds so a) it’s Tznius & b) unsupervised kids aren’t destroying the fish.

    these barriers on Kingston by 770 are a joke! I didn’t know if I should be behind the barrier as I wasn’t going into 770 at all just round the corner to EP.

    But I have to say it’s a start. Now if they’d put signs up with CLEAR instructions in Hebrew & French it would help.

  • In the hood

    I always knew the problem was that first block from EP until Union! That first block should have an entire Mechitza down the middle of it cuz that’s the problemos!

  • Sara

    Its depressing to see the response of what I’m assuming are Lubavitchers to this new mechitza. You all sound like an irreligious group of Jews who view any stringency in halacha as ridiculous. What happened to Chabad being the great Chassidus? Or how about, what happened to it being a Chassidus stam? No other Chassidus has the tznius problems that Chabad does.That doesn’t mean you need mechitzas in the pizza parlors and turbans on your head but it means that when there is an attempt to make inroads in the tznius problems it should be condoned and not condemned. You say the Rebbe wouldn’t approve otherwise he would have done this himself? I don’t think the Rebbe invisioned that tznius would be such a problem in his schuna! It’s embarrasing!

  • moshiach now

    Its about time they did something like this, it used to be so saddening to come to the Rebbe’s shul and see such mingling. Thank you the Rabbonim!

  • IT-S ABOUT TIME

    KATCHA AND ALL THE REST OF YOU FUN POKERS. CAN MAKE FUN ALL THEY WANT. (ARE YOU RIDICULING IT BECAUSE YOU OR YOUR FEMALE RELATIVES ARE SOME OF THOSE CULPRITS THAT ARE DESTROYING CROWN HEIGHTS?)THE FACT IS THE WAY THE GIRLS ARE DRESSING TODAY THERE SHOULD BE MECHITZAHS SURROUNDING THEM WHEREEVER THEY GO. AND THE YOUNG MARRIEDS ARE NO BETTER. BUT FOR THE RECORD IN SQARE TOWN THEY HAVE DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE STREET FOR MEN AND WOMEN. THEY MAY SEEM WAY OUT TO KATCHA BUT YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THEIR WOMEN DON’T DRESS LIKE – – – – LIKE OUR WOMEN DO. YES THEY SHOULD MAKE IT NICER PERHAPS ARTIFICIAL HEDGES ALL AROUND WOULD LOOK PRETTY AND DO THE SAME TRICK.

  • Mimi

    To: It’s About Time –
    why do you blame the women? It’s just as much the men, who are looking and intermingling!

    In “SquareTown” as you like to call it, there are no problems like here – because they get rid of the problems! TOtally against the Rebbe’s ways! If a boy puts on a pair of sunglasses, he’s kicked out of the community! If someone does something untznius in the community, they’ll “teach them a lesson” by slashing their tires, graffiti on their property as warnings, etc… And anything that does happen in the community is kept quiet or else!
    The Rebbe believed that if we hold onto these youngsters, and show them we care about them and that we’re there for them, then IYH they’ll come back.

    To: Sara –

    You say you don’t think the Rebbe envisioned the community to come to such things? Are you saying that the Rebbe didn’t know what the future hold? Are you saying that the Rebbe only did things to help the current situations? Go get the Nshei CHabad newsletter subscription. Lately there have been a few stories about things that make us realize that the Rebbe helped us then for now.
    For example: (I think it was in Australia?) that someone just found a massive box full of those button pins that say on it to dress tznius. From about 30 years ago! They JUST found it! They wanted some suggestions of what the community thinks should be done with them.
    The Rebbe definitely knew, and I’m sure when the plans for 770 were drawn, and the Rebbe approved, that he thought about the tznius factor.

    To: Got Rid of Sins –

    First of all, why are there kids not being watched by tashlich? All kids should be supervised! Atleast until there old enough AND mature enough to know not to touch the fish, not to walk around the edge of the well (they can fall in. And a child can drown in just a spoonful of water Ch”V!)
    And now that they put that grate over the women’s tashlich area, why are the fish dying? Maybe they just aren’t being fed and cared for?
    And if there is a problem, then go make a mechitza by the well, and allow women a spot for whatever time they need to come! Why were the women kicked out at a certain time, and not allowed to do tashlich? Why are the men more important?
    How about making a little pit in the men’s section, and let the men do it there? All the Years that the Rebbe was here with us, the women were going to the well. Let us continue!

  • To got rid of my sins already

    Just for your info. You don’t need to have fish in the water. As long as its well water it’s fine for Tashlich.

  • batya

    BS”D

    the mechitza always goes up when tishrei comes, at times if not all there is mamash no room inside so everyone davens, learns outside, why not
    the mechitza? don’t find it offending, why can’t we be more sensitive to tzniut?
    bp yid nice to see you here! ;)

  • CRYING FROM LAUGHTER

    THIS IS HYSTERICAL!! THESE “RABBAIM” NEED TO GET A LIFE!!! OMG I CAN’T STOP LAUGHING!!

  • hello

    bunch of nerds— get over yourselves and reallise how normal and ok this is…youre too imature and “liberal” for yourself!

  • So Pathetic

    OMG . only in Crown heights. how embarassing.
    What will the world think?
    Who may I ask will enforce it? Just today I saw a girl, with her nose pointed high proudly marching away in the mens side.
    now what?
    Perhaps use those blue tarps to wrap the untznius girls in, and thne we won’t need mechitzas.

  • GOD HELP US

    OMGGGGGGGG SERIOUSLY GET A LIFE. WHAT DO U WANT US TO BE LIKE? SQUARE? MONSEY? LET EVERYON LIVE THEIR OWN LIVES AND STOP PUTTING MECHITZA EVERYWHERE ITS THE MOST RETARDEST THING IVE EVER HEARD.
    PS WHATS ELZEE DOING IN CH ITS NOTTTTTTT BORO PARK ITS CHHHHHHHHH