Chabad leaders’ vision for a Jewish Community Center at 2174 Hewlett Ave., neighboring the newly renovated Merrick Mall Stop & Shop, is becoming a reality. more

The warning siren suddenly blared, and Rabbi Charles Klein, spiritual leader of the Merrick Jewish Centre, knew precisely what to do. Run. The siren, he said, “gave us 20 seconds to find a shelter.” Five seconds earlier, a Hamas rocket had pierced Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, which is capable of shooting down 90 percent of the rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Ten percent of Hamas rockets, however, make it through, as one did in late August, while Klein was touring Ashkelon, a city of 117,000 eight miles north of Gaza. Klein found shelter and survived the attack unscathed, but that moment of terror, he said, will remain with him for life. more

Bellmore-Merrick residents were able to gather around a festive table to commemorate the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt 3,300 years ago, thanks to the Chabad Center for Jewish Life. The … more

Chabad of Merrick-Bellmore-Wantagh transformed the Merrick Park golf clubhouse into a palace of sorts last weekend, when the Jewish organization hosted its eighth annual Purim celebration. more

The Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores marked the end of Hanukkah with a burst of light, as the organization hosted its annual celebration of the holiday on Dec. 4. more

The Bellmore Jewish Center will welcome its new spiritual leader to the community this summer, as Rabbi Dahlia Bernstein is preparing to start her tenure as rabbi of the synagogue. The center, located at 2550 Centre Ave., is a full egalitarian conservative synagogue that officials said emphasizes family services and programs. President Ian Wald said congregants would have the chance to meet Bernstein at their “Shabbat Under the Stars” open house at 6 p.m. on July 12 before she officially starts on Aug. 1. more

In the spring of 1962, six local Jewish families joined to found an Orthodox synagogue in Merrick. They rented a store on Merrick Avenue to gather and pray. Half a century later, the synagogue that they founded, Congregation Ohav Sholom, boasts 300 member families, is housed in a large brick building at 145 Merrick Ave. — roughly a half mile south of the original site — and is fully integrated into the fabric of the community’s religious life. more

Temple Beth Am of Merrick-Bellmore recently celebrated Simchat Torah, a festival marking the completion of the annual Torah-reading cycle. The Torah, Judaism’s most sacred text, contains the five books of Moses and is the source of the Ten Commandments. Simchat Torah means “rejoicing in the Torah.” more

It’s hard to imagine Rabbi Charles Klein, spiritual leader of the Merrick Jewish Centre, as a rebel. He is as friendly and mild-mannered as they come, with a smile perpetually etched across his face. The father of four and grandfather of six dresses in smart suits and is a fierce adherent of Jewish tradition. But, for a cause, he has risked arrest and even been arrested more than once. more

While running across the Queensboro Bridge during mile 16 of the 2010 New York City Marathon, Rabbi Scott Hoffman said he heard nothing. While usually flooded by cars headed to and from Manhattan, … more