Recently, Congregation Magen David of Union Square (also known as MDUS) held a brunch at the home of David and Julienne Dweck in honor of its generous donors and sponsors. Although MDUS was founded in 2001 to serve an ever-growing contingent of community members residing in downtown Manhattan, many community members in attendance were introduced to MDUS for the first time.
David Dweck, an MDUS member and the gracious host of the brunch, described the founders of the synagogue as “people with vision.” Dweck remarked, “Forty years ago, we did not have one shul in Deal or the surrounding Shore neighborhoods: now there are 12. Eight years ago, Magen David of Union Square was a vision: today it is a reality. When you have 140 people for each megillah reading and 120 singles at every Friday night Shabbat dinner you know the vision has come to fruition.”
For a small synagogue that has been quietly serving our community for nearly a decade, its accomplishments are astonishing. Serving a diversity of Manhattan neighborhoods, including Union Square, the West and East Village, Flatiron, Chelsea, Gramercy, Murray Hill, Soho and Tribeca, the mission of MDUS is to provide our community members a place to continue to maintain a tight-knit Sephardic community and to nourish our long-standing and unparalleled culture, customs and traditions. Located at 3 West 16th Street, off Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, MDUS is devoted to prayer in the Syrian liturgical tradition, Torah learning and hosting a variety of Sephardic cultural events.
In addressing the breakfast attendees, Elliot Haim, the President of MDUS, said, “Today’s brunch was a great opportunity for congregants of Magen David of Union Square to thank all the donors and sponsors that have helped us build a sanctuary that our community needs. There are a lot of people from the Syrian-Sephardic community that live in downtown Manhattan as well as other Sephardim from around the world that need a place to call home where they can pray, learn and meet. Magen David of Union Square is the only fully functioning Sephardic synagogue in downtown Manhattan.”
MDUS programs are of a particularly high level of quality and include weekly Talmud classes and Shabbat learning sessions, as well as frequent lectures by esteemed authorities on a wide array of topics related to Sephardic culture. MDUS members place an emphasis on hesed and actively promote hospital visits, coat drives and other fundraising activities, and arrange assistance for individuals in times of need. MDUS is at the forefront in actively promoting and celebrating Sephardic tradition and culture. Cultural events have included concerts featuring hazzanim and musicians from our community renowned for their distinct Middle Eastern pizmonim, exhibitions showcasing art produced by community members, and lecturers on Sephardic culture.
MDUS’s location is ideally suited to serve the hundreds of students from our community attending NYU, Baruch, New School, Parsons, FIT, New York Law School, Touro and several other educational institutions. The synagogue has also attracted visitors from our sister communities in Brooklyn and Deal, as well as Manhattan residents originally raised in other Sephardic communities all over the world.
Membership dues collected by MDUS support its entire budget for programming, including Shabbat services and dinners, weekday and holiday services, Talmud and cultural classes, art exhibitions and hesed activities. The members of MDUS greatly appreciate the continued support of fellow community members for this hidden gem of a synagogue.
For more information about the best kept secret in downtown New York, please visit MDUS in person during services or online at www.magendavidny.org.
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Ellen Ades is a certified life coach and Ariela Ades works fulltime with the Jewish Enrichment Center in Manhattan and serves as secretary of MDUS.
