| The Shul of Bal Harbour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hasidic Judaism |
| Rite | |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | RabbiSholom Lipskar |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 9540 Collins Ave,Surfside,Miami-Dade County,SouthFlorida |
| Country | United States |
  Location of the synagogue inFlorida | |
| Coordinates | 25°53′09″N80°07′22″W / 25.885843°N 80.122723°W /25.885843; -80.122723 |
| Architecture | |
| Established | 1969(as a congregation) |
| Completed | 1994 |
| Interior area | 11,600 m2 (125,000 sq ft)[1] |
| Website | |
| theshul | |
The Shul of Bal Harbour is aChabad-LubavitchHasidicJewish congregation andsynagogue, located inSurfside, in theMiami-Dade County ofSouthFlorida, in the United States. In 2009, the congregation was named byNewsweek as one of America's 25 most vibrant congregations.[2]
The Shul was founded by RabbiSholom Lipskar,[3] who was sent in 1969 as an emissary of theChabad-Lubavitch Rebbe,RabbiMenachem M. Schneerson, toMiami Beach, Florida.[4]
After finding no activeJewish community in theSurfside area, Lipskar initially met in hotel rooms before moving to a storefront.[4][5][6]
In the early 1980s, Surfside was not welcoming to Jews with real-estate agents refusing to deal with Jewish clients. In 1982 the localBal Harbor Club dropped its policy banning Jewish and Black people after a discrimination lawsuit.[7][5]
The Shul moved to its current site in 1987.[5]
The Shul has hosted dignitaries includingFlorida GovernorRon DeSantis andArgentine PresidentJavier Milei.[8]
The synagogue building was opened in 1994, in time forRosh Hashanah, and cost $9 million, and is 3,200 m2 (34,000 sq ft) in area.[9] The building is colonnaded and the design resembles ancientJerusalem sandstone.[5]
In 2016, The Shul announced a 3,700 m2 (40,000 sq ft) expansion at the cost of $20 million to be finished in two years. The expansion included an all-glass wall 12 m (40 ft) high social hall with glass ceilings accommodating crowds of up to 700 people.[5]
The congregation membership has 700 families representing 3,000 people. Programming includes adult education, programs for Latin American Jewry, early childhood, and five dailyminyans.[5][10]
The Shul is also the headquarters for theAleph Institute, an organization assisting Jewish prisoners and military personnel, also founded by Lipskar.
After theSurfside condominium collapse, The Shul raised over $500,000 for families of the victims and distributed aid to displaced community members.[11][12][13]
