Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
New SoHo Synagogue Will Boast Bookshelf Bars, Edison Bulb
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 18, 2011
Modified Apr 18, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 18, 2011
Modified Apr 18, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Of course the young rabbi behind the new synagogue in SoHo for "unaffiliated, downtown secular Jews" would turn to an "aggressively whimsical furniture" designer when planning the newest house of worship to hit the chic neighborhood. But what exactly will designer Dror Benshetrit be bringing to the temple on Crosby street? How about a bookshelf/bar that "revolves like the top of a parmesan cheese can to always reveal either prayer books or wine glasses, depending on the occasion?"
And that's just one of the many twists that rabbi Dovi Scheiner and his wife Esty (not to be confused with Etsy!) are planning for the synagogue, which is expected to open in a former Gucci store on June 17. For instance, in an interesting break from tradition, the synagogue will have a circular ark to hold its Torah: "Two round doors, one copper, the other blue, will peel away to reveal an off-white interior." Explains the designer, "A circle is a symbol for eternity, a symbol for sun, for me it's a source of light."
And it goes on. You know those Edison bulbs that have been popping up in our city's hipper bars and restaurants the past few years? The SoHo Synagogue will have one too! Nearby the arc "a fabric cable will descend from the ceiling, from which will hang a naked Edison bulb. A metal rod will wrap sinuously around the cable, culminating in a saucer projecting LED light upward toward the incandescent, an interplay of the modern and traditional, and a new take on the ner tamid, or eternal light."
The first thing you see on the website for the SoHo Synagogue is a quote, "a hipster synagogue grows in SoHo," from the Times. They said it, not us.
Tagged
dovi scheiner
dror benshetrit
edison bulbs
esty scheiner
soho
soho synagogue
synagogue
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .