Westhampton Beach now boasts two synagogues, with a religious community that numbers perhaps 10 to 15 families in the winter but swells to several hundred families, and thousands of guests, during the summer months.
Most Orthodox life in the Hamptons revolves around The Hampton Synagogue. There are shiurim given by Rabbi Schneier and assistant rabbis Yishai Hughes and Avraham Bronstein – as well as a shiur on the Haftorah one hour before Mincha every Shabbos during the summer by Haftorahman, a.k.a. Reuben Ebrahimoff. The shul also features lectures by famous authors and public personalities and sponsors a Jewish film festival throughout the summer months.
As noted above, the synagogue (which was designed in 1993, pre-built in Israel, and brought to the Hamptons in 1994) draws between 800-1,000 worshipers on an average summer Shabbos.
The architecture of the synagogue is unique. The aron kodesh is opened by pulling down on a knotted rope to reveal the Torah(s) as in a “revelation.” The shul itself opens its glass doors to a garden on either side of the men’s and women’s sections. The mechitza was designed and approved by Rabbi Riskin, and while it may not be “your father’s mechitza,” it nevertheless keeps men and women apart throughout the davening.
All in all, it was an exciting weekend – and a far cry from the Catskills.
