בית הכנסת הגדול, Synagogue in Bnei Brak, Israel.
The Great Synagogue in Bnei Brak comprises two adjoining buildings on Rabbi Akiva Street: the Old Great Synagogue, founded in 1928 on Kalish Street with six prayer rooms, and the New Great Synagogue, opened in 1962 with several hundred seats. The complex includes a ground-floor soup kitchen, a second-floor prayer hall for Hebron Yeshiva graduates, and a third-floor study hall named Hilchot Moshe.
Founded in 1962, the synagogue was established through the initiative of Abraham Stern as a memorial to family members lost during the Holocaust. Its creation reflects the spirit of rebuilding and remembrance during that era.
The Old Great Synagogue holds six prayer rooms; in the main "Great Hall" the service follows the Sephardic rite, while in the other rooms the rite depends on whoever leads as prayer leader. The New Synagogue, opened in 1962, was named "Giborei Yisrael" by its founder Abraham Stern after Israel's fallen, two of them his own sons in the Palmach's religious company.
The building offers multiple services including a soup kitchen on the ground floor that provides free meals to visitors. Upper floors contain study centers and learning facilities available to the community.
A memorial plaque for Prime Minister Menachem Begin, with a summary of his life, hangs in the synagogue. The building also houses a soup kitchen, "Beit HaTavshil," on the ground floor, and a kollel named "Halichot Moshe" on the third floor, funded by Dan Gertler.
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