Derech Emunah Opens Kew Gardens Hills Torah Home With Chol HaMoed Youth Program

This summer, Rabbi Levi Mushaiev and Congregation Derech Emunah transformed the former Holtzer residence at the corner of 70th Avenue and 147th Street in Kew Gardens Hills into a new home for a growing kehillah, the Bukharian Jewish Link reported on Oct. 7.

The renovated space features bright, marble-look walls and long tables used for both learning and shared meals. Founded in 2024, Derech Emunah has expanded from a small group into a congregation with daily minyanim, morning and evening learning, a night kollel, shiurim for baalei batim, women’s programming, and children’s activities. A fundraising campaign seeks a permanent home.

The building was already hosting programs during Chol HaMoed Sukkot. From Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, Derech Emunah held a morning program for boys ages 8 to 12, open to all boys and led by Rabbi Maimon Ohayon. Each day began with breakfast at 9:45 a.m., learning from 10 to 10:30, then story time and a raffle from 10:30 to 10:45, with prizes and additional activities.

Rabbi Mushaiev had hoped to settle in Lakewood, but his rebbe encouraged him to return to Queens and help build a Torah presence there. His local work has included serving as executive director of Queens Cheder and as director of Midrash L’man Achai. He also co-directs Oorah’s Rebbetzins Network and holds a position with Emet Outreach.

In a borough where Bukharian and other Orthodox communities continue to seed new minyanim and learning spaces, Derech Emunah’s Sukkot programming illustrated how young kehillot use the festival’s intermediate days to welcome children into Torah life.

Sources: Bukharian Jewish Link. Image: RonAlmog / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.