ABOUT ROMEMU BROOKLYN
Romemu Brooklyn is a vibrant, inclusive home weaving ancient Jewish wisdom with contemporary spiritual practice. Since 2017, we have cultivated a welcoming space for soulful, musical prayer and transformative services. Guided by Rabbi Ben Perlstein and Hazzan Basya Schechter, our community fosters deep connection and spiritual growth, driven by a commitment to rich musicality and unconditional warmth.
Who We Are
A Spiritual Home for Uplifting Spirituality and Transformative Belonging.
Romemu Brooklyn is a vibrant, egalitarian community where ancestral Jewish wisdom meets contemporary, open-hearted expression, where tradition meets exploration. We believe that Jewish practice should be deeply felt, not just recited. We strive to ensure that Jewish practice resonates deeply within each of us and our modern lives. Whether typical services feel inaccessible to you or you are eager to layer new melodies and interpretations onto traditions that feel like home, Romemu Brooklyn was built for you.
Our services, led by Rabbi Ben Perlstein and Hazzan Basya Schechter, are musical, participatory, and soulful. Alongside a brilliant collective of local musicians, we weave together ecstatic song, mindful presence, intellectual depth, and warm inclusivity. Our davening (prayer services) is vital, alive, and participatory. We don't just want us to read the prayers; the goal is for the prayers to awaken something within us.
Where did this ethos come from? Based in Manhattan, Romemu Founding Rabbi David Ingber dreamed of a place that felt warm, inviting, open, and alive. He envisioned a community that would be fully embodied, emotionally mature, and intellectually honest. He imagined worship services full of beautiful uplifting music, deeply relevant and meaningful messages, and restorative, silent meditation.
Rabbi David sees that his dream is also the dream of many others – including many in Brooklyn. Together, we share the deep conviction that spiritual practice can change the world. As we respond to a call for a more inspired Jewish life, the Romemu vision remains as simple and as singular as it was when we began: to enhance human flourishing, one person at a time, through an elevated Jewish life. That’s Romemu.
No matter your background, your questioning, or your Jewish knowledge, you are not just welcome here, you are wanted.
Our Approach
We are an intimate community, reconnecting to our deep Jewish roots in contemporary, soulful ways.
Here, ancient wisdom meets living, breathing community. Through live music, song, movement, and heartfelt discussion, we open doors to something rare: moments of real spiritual uplift and genuine human connection, shared with people who feel like family.
What we offer:
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Shabbat Soul. A steady, welcoming rhythm: 12 monthly Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat services all year long, plus 10 Saturday morning davenings from September through June. Come as you are, as often as you can.
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The High Holy Days. Epic in scale, intimate in spirit. Our Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services gather hundreds of seekers for a music-filled journey of return, reflection, and renewal.
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Holidays & Milestones. Meaningful holiday celebrations and a B Mitzvah journey that supports both the student and the family.
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Mutual Care. Our Chesed (loving-kindness) committee makes sure no one walks through joy or hardship alone. We show up for each other.
The Multi-Borough Advantage
Romemu Brooklyn is totally Brooklyn and self-directed, and we're also proudly part of something bigger. As an offshoot of Romemu Manhattan, our members get the best of both worlds: an intimate, neighborhood-scale community, plus a bridge across the boroughs to the full breadth of holiday observances and resources at the Manhattan mothership.
Our People
Our Professional Team
Hazzan Basya Schechter
Hazzan
Rabbi Ben Perlstein
Rabbi
Sela Alexander
Director
Mara Jill Herman
Event Producer
Our Musicians
Shai Wetzer
Percussion
Oren Neiman
Guitar
Avi Fox Rosen
Guitar
Micha Gilad
Keyboard
Almog Sharvit
Bass
Kehillah Committee
(Local Leadership Team)
Andrew Salkin
Deborah Bernstein
Dina Lipkind
Marcella Kanfer Rolnick
Rick Kiley
Sumi Abeysekera
Sarah-Kay Lacks
Manhattan Leadership
Rabbi David Ingber
Founding Rabbi
Jeffrey Cahn
Executive Director
Jonathan B. Fassberg
Co-Chair
Staci Levine
Co-Chair
Our Founding Story
Born from a Shared Dream
Romemu Brooklyn began in 2017 with a simple, powerful longing. A small, passionate group of Brooklynites was searching for a local spiritual home, a place that offered intellectual rigor, authentic inclusivity, and musical prayer that resonated with their lives.
They encountered Romemu, the groundbreaking neo-Hasidic community founded by Rabbi David Ingber on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Inspired and excited by the vision of expanding this soulful way of being Jewish, our founders married their distinct Brooklyn energy to Romemu’s transformative davening style.
What started as an experimental dream has grown into a resilient, deeply rooted spiritual home. We continue to prove that you don't need a massive building to experience divinity, you just need a room full of people ready to open their hearts, sing out loud, and build a meaningful life together.
