Kanisoi Kalon Hosts Yusupov Family Memorial and Free Sunday Bar Mitzvah Lessons at the Forest Hills Bukharian Center

This report was translated from Russian by Bukharian Jewish Post from coverage by The Bukharian Times.

On Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, after the morning Shacharit service and during Rabbi Baruch Babaev’s Torah class, the brothers Eduard and Mikhail Yusupov held the annual memorial for their father, Rodshel Yusupov ben Leo, a longtime congregant and activist of Kanisoi Kalon, the main synagogue of the Bukharian Jewish Community Center in Forest Hills, The Bukharian Times reported.

Rabbi Babaev, the chief rabbi of the Bukharian Jews of the United States and Canada, and Rabbi David Akilov spoke about the good deeds of the man being remembered and taught Torah lessons. His sons and Rafael Baturov also spoke and thanked those who attended, according to the report by Boris Babaev, who heads the synagogue’s information department.

Free bar mitzvah preparation

Every Sunday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Rabbi Issac Ambalu teaches public school and yeshiva students to prepare them for their bar mitzvah, free of charge, the report said. Parents of the children are very grateful to him, it added.

Daily schedule

According to the paper, Rabbi Babaev, youth minyan Rabbi Asher Vaknin and Rabbi David Shushan, who works with teenagers studying in both yeshivas and public schools, lead the center’s religious life, with Torah and Talmud classes, prayers, Shabbatons and classes for young families. The rabbis also help families with shalom bayit questions, memorials, bar mitzvahs, brit milah, weddings, se’udat shlishit and other rituals.

• Shacharit begins at 6:30 a.m. every day except Sunday, when it begins at 7:30 a.m. Rabbi Babaev leads prayers on the third floor and gives a short Torah class each morning.
• Rabbi Vaknin leads the youth minyan on the second floor at 7:30 a.m. and teaches Talmud to its members Monday through Thursday from 6:30 to 7:25 a.m.
• Rabbi Babaev teaches Talmud to evening kollel students on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

The rabbis and the synagogue’s activists invited members of the community to take part in all classes and events, the paper reported. The center is at 106-16 70th Avenue in Forest Hills, according to its website.

Sources: The Bukharian Times, “The Spiritual Life of the Main Synagogue Kanisoi Kalon” (Oct. 22, 2026, in Russian); Bukharian Jewish Community Center, Events & Programs.