A shtiebel ( ''shtibl'', pl. ''shtiblekh'' or shtiebels, meaning "little house" or "little room" cognate with German Stübel) is a place used for communal Jewish prayer. In contrast to a formal

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, a shtiebel is far smaller and approached more casually. It is typically as small as a room in a private home or a place of business which is set aside for the express purpose of prayer, or it may be as large as a small-sized synagogue. It may or may not offer the communal services of a synagogue. Traditional shtiebels are not only a place for

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

, but also a place for community gathering. Due to the prominence of a Hasidic

rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...

, the shtiebel served as a medium for being near to him. A shtiebel would be host to the Seudah Shlishit, the ritual third meal of the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

. The shtiebel attracted newcomers through the inviting atmosphere it created by allowing prayer, eating, drinking, and community activities. Shtiebels were common in Jewish communities in Eastern Europe before

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. The shtiebel was distinctly characteristic of Hasidic Judaism and played a central and critical role in the life of the

Hasidim Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

. It continues to exist in contemporary

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The shtiebel was cost effective and assisted in the spread of Hasidism through a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

movement where individuals previously exposed to Hasidism could establish one in their local community. This characteristic of the shtiebel allowed for Hasidism to reach more communities on the local and regional level throughout the 18th and 19th Century. In Israel,

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...

s are held in storefront ''shtiebelekh'' in major business areas around the clock; whenever ten men show up, a new minyan begins. The Zichron Moshe shtiebel in the

Zikhron Moshe Zikhron Moshe ( he, זיכרון משה, lit. ''Memorial for Moses'') is a Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem. The neighborhood is bordered by Geula to the north, Mekor Baruch to the west, David Yellin Street to the south, and Mea Shearim to ...

neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(near

Geula Geula ( he, גאולה lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on ...

) is located in a proper

, with many rooms for round-the-clock minyans. This shtiebel is well known as the locale of Friday-night mussar talks which Rabbi

Sholom Schwadron Sholom Mordechai Hakohen Schwadron ( he, הרב שלום מרדכי הכהן שבדרון) (1912–21 December 1997) was a Haredi Judaism, Haredi rabbi and orator. He was known as the "Maggid of Jerusalem" for his fiery, inspirational musar m ...

, the "

Maggid A maggid ( he, מַגִּיד), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a '' darshan'' (). The title of '' ...

of Jerusalem," delivered for more than 40 years.

Shtiblach in its current meaning

In the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel, synagogues developed in which a number of rooms were concentrated (hence Shtieblach - plural in Yiddish for shtibel) to prayer

im. The purpose of the shtiblach is to allow a parallel prayer place and a more liberated atmosphere. Unlike a synagogue in which there are regular prayer times, certain seating arrangements, and the like, the Shtiblach operates at all hours of the day and routinely includes temporary worshipers.

Famous Shtiblach in Israel

Itzkovitch Itzkovitch Synagogue () is a shtiebel in central Bnei Brak. History Itzkovitch Synagogue is one of the most active synagogues in the world, with prayer services taking place around the clock in multiple rooms. There are an average 17,000 visitors ...

–

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

References

Haredi Judaism Synagogues Yiddish words and phrases {{Synagogue-stub