Marine Park has long been home to a warm Jewish community — but until 2015, a Syrian family moving to the neighborhood had nowhere local to daven in its own nusach. The Sephardic Torah Center changed that: it was the first Syrian shul in Marine Park, and the only Sephardic minyan in the neighborhood at its founding.
Why it changed the neighborhood
A shul is more than a minyan — it is the reason families choose a neighborhood. When news spread that a successful Sephardic shul had taken root in Marine Park, new families began moving in quickly. Within a year the shul had outgrown its first home; within a few years, it had outgrown its second. Today the kehila numbers well over one hundred families, and Marine Park has become a true address for Syrian and Sephardic families in Brooklyn — with more arriving every year.
The traditions we carry
The shul davens in the Syrian Sephardic tradition — the pizmonim, the ta'amim, and the minhagim carried from Aleppo through generations of the community in Brooklyn. Under the leadership of Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Aboud of Ateret Torah, those traditions are not preserved behind glass; they are lived daily, taught to children at youth minyan, and sung at every Shabbat table the shul sets.
An open door
Being first carries a responsibility: every Sephardic family new to Marine Park finds its first Shabbat here. If you are considering the neighborhood — or just visiting — come daven with us at 3609 Quentin Road. See the schedule for minyan times, or read the full story of the shul.