Saturday, May 18, 2013
| Founded in 1979, Ahaba Ve Ahva (a not for profit
organization) opened its doors to the Egyptian community in Brooklyn NY.
The members of the community who moved to Brooklyn from Egypt looked to
formulating a sanctified place for daily and Sabbath prayers as well as
Talmudic study. Today, the shul (synagogue) maintains a wide schedule of
prayers and shiurim (talmudic study) and a Talmud Torah program for the
youth of our community. Recently completed, the new Ahaba Ve Ahva Gabriel
and Marcelle Chehebar Building, is located on Ocean Parkway between
Kings Highway and Quentin Rd. The new building offers many new services,
such as, handicap access, 24/7 security surveillance cameras and
security gaurd, a Rabbi’s office, a fully staffed kitchen, catering
hall, elevator with Shabbat operation, a daily prayer sanctuary and a main
sanctuary seating over 800 members.
Click here to view a gallery of the
new synagogue. We hope you enjoy your welcome at Ahaba.org where we've created a forum to read about our minhagim and halachot, listen to our music and events, learn about our community, ask the rabbi a question and read past questions. Register today to receive our weekly torah email. Stay tuned for constant updates... |
The New Synagogue, from concept to reality. |
| About Ahaba.org Website of the Future |
| Ahaba.org offers its congregants the ability to access their
shul accounts online! A congregant can pay pledges online, securely, via
any major credit card. Congregants that register an email address under
their account, will receive an email after the Shabbat they made a pledge,
thanking them first and foremost for their support to Ahaba VeAhva, and
providing them with a secure encrypted link to “Pay Now” online via credit
card. All payments and donations are catalogued and reflected in real-time
on the Ahaba.org website. Ahaba.org has made paying donations easy, and
even fun. Congregants can view past payments made to Ahaba, and print receipts
for tax purposes whenever they like. Congregants can also login at any time
to view their outstanding pledges, and even email an administrator if they
feel that there has been a mistake. Congregants can also update their contact
information on their own! They can store a home and a work address, and
even select which address they prefer to receive their Ahaba mail. Congregants
can also select to not even receive statements by mail, but rather get emailed
paperless statements once a month. Besides this recent online addition, Ahaba.org already offers many features to the publics at large. Hear Rabbi Alouf’s precious havdalot or Megilat Esther, which was recorded live on Purim several years ago. Other multimedia available on Ahaba.org includes pictures and video from Ahaba VeAhva’s world-renown annual Seder Tawhid. Around every Rosh Hodesh Nisan, Ahaba celebrates “Seder Tawhid” a proud Egyptian tradition from several hundred years ago, to recognize the beginning of this very special time of the year. The Tawhid was a time to learn, reflect, and read about Korban Pesah. Over time, mizmorim were added, with great singing and joy. Several years ago, Rabbi Alouf was interviewed on Israeli radio about the Seder Tawhid. It was believed that the tradition was lost, but the rabbi explained how the tradition was growing stronger in our thriving Egyptian community in Brooklyn. Great hazanim have since joined the celebration, including Moshe Habusha, Hazan Shiro, as well as the other talented Ahaba hazanim, with live violinist and band accompaniment. Recent website expansion plans will enable us to stream even more Tawhid video on the Internet. Our multimedia section also includes web pages and links devoted to such Egyptian hazanim as Yosef Hamaoui z”l, Felix Torgueman, Jack Salama, Charles Chehebar, with more web pages being planned. For example, on the Yosef Hamaoui z”l webpage, one can hear his rendition of Megilat Esther, various pizmonim, organized by Ma’am, and the entire Tehillim. Files can be played streaming over the Internet, or even downloaded for one to listen to when not connected to the web. Besides multimedia, Ahaba.org offers above-average Divrei Torah on every parasha. Similarly, Divrei Torah are offered for each holiday during the year. Anyone can visit www.ahaba.org and register their email address to receive a weekly email of halacha or parshat hashavouah. Ahaba recently approved plans to expand their halacha section, specifically with the laws regarding Shabbat. Those who registered are receiving weekly real-life examples and applications of the laws of Shabbat. There are other features that are opened to the community. For example, selling hametz online, has been a great attraction at Ahaba.org. Over the last five years, thousands of people, from the Egyptian community and the larger Sephardic community, have used this feature. Simple to use, all one has to do is enter an email address, exact location of the hametz, and submit their appointment of the rabbi to sell their hametz on Ereb Pesah. Sit back, receive a confirmation email, and sell your hametz in style! Another feature on Ahaba.org that has begun to take off is text messaging Shabbat times and important events. Open to anyone with a cell phone, on the Ahaba.org homepage, you can enter in a cell phone to receive weekly reminders via text message, on the time of Minha, candle lighting, etc. Stay on the go, but stay in touch. With the completion of our new building, we are excited to refocus our efforts in expanding our website with: more halachot and Divrei Torah, new digital recordings of Rabbi Alouf and Ahaba’s other hazanim, expanded video of our annual Tawhid celebration, archival picture albums, storing Ahaba VeAhva Talmud Torah events and other main events, virtual tour of our new building & celebration hall, and much more! Enjoy the website and stay connected with ahaba.org!  |