Shaare Shalom on Steamboat Road
The United Mashadi Jewish Community of America has its home at Shaare Shalom, the Mashadi Jewish Center, at 54 Steamboat Road in Great Neck, New York. The building serves as the principal synagogue and community center for a tightly knit congregation whose roots run back to the Jews of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran. Across its long history in the United States, the community has built a single integrated campus that brings prayer, study, and social life under one roof, and Shaare Shalom is where most of those activities still gather.
The synagogue office is open Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The phone number for the office is (516) 487-3636 and the general mailbox is umjca@aol.com. Minoo Hakimian serves as building administrator, working alongside the bookkeeper, Nooshin Dilmanian, to keep the daily operations running. Like every member institution of the UMJCA, Shaare Shalom operates as a nonprofit under the bylaws of the Central Board, with the stated purpose of serving the religious, educational, cultural, and social needs of the Mashadi Jewish Community.
A Sephardic Mashadi Heritage
The Central Board of the UMJCA is explicit about the community's religious identity: the organization conducts all of its activities on the basis of the Jewish faith according to Sephardic halacha and in accordance with the customs and practices of the Mashadi community. That combination of Sephardic legal tradition with specifically Mashadi minhagim shapes everything from the synagogue service to the lifecycle ceremonies and the calendar that runs the community year.
A weekly Torah and rabbinic voice flows from several rabbis who share teaching responsibilities. The community counts Rabbi Elyaoo Ben Haim, Morenu Rabbenu Nissim Bassalian, Rabbi Mordechay (Motti) Kohanim, Rabbi Joshua Maroof, Rabbi Yosef Bitton, Rabbi Adam S, and Rabbi Mosheh Aziz among its rabbis, with Oren Bezalely serving as hazzan. Each rabbi contributes to the community in different ways - Rabbi Bitton's writing on Jewish law, for example, is widely referenced in the marriage, birth, and mourning guides carried on the community portal - while Rabbi Adam S and Rabbi Mosheh Aziz maintain regular columns that walk readers through the Jewish calendar and the weekly parashah.
The Mashadi identity is not a historical curiosity; it is the lens through which the community reads every text. In a Dvar Torah shared on the parashiyot Vayakhel-Pekudei, community member Martin H. pointed to the parashah's opening word, "Yayakhel," as a key to the Mashadi way of life: "In Judaism, it is as a community that we come before G-d. Na-ase Ve Nishma. For us the key relationship is not 'I shall do,' but 'We shall do.'" The community is explicit that members choose where they live, work, study, and marry based on shared belonging, and that the obligations of Shabbat and of building a sanctuary for G-d remain the two great engines of Jewish unity.
Ohr Esther and the Young Mashadi Jewish Center
Just down the road at 130 Steamboat Road stands Ohr Esther, also known as the Young Mashadi Jewish Center. The building is the community's secondary campus, and it carries its own walls full of memory: the Builders' Wall there lists four generations of Mashadi families who contributed to bringing the center to life. Names are still being added to the wall, with dedication forms available from the Ohr Esther office and individual bricks engraved for donors of all sizes.
Ohr Esther operates as its own synagogue and gathering place. The office can be reached at (516) 482-0444 and at 130@mashadi.org, and Mitra Heskia serves as building administrator. Like Shaare Shalom, it is wired into the larger UMJCA calendar, with Shabbat and Yom Tov services, lifecycle events, and programming that complements what happens at 54 Steamboat Road. Together the two centers form a single community footprint along the Steamboat Road corridor of Great Neck.
Mikveh Moshe and Shaare Rachamim on Middle Neck Road
A second cluster of community facilities sits at 695 Middle Neck Road. The Mikveh Moshe reopened to serve the community with a ceremony and has kept a steady schedule ever since: Sunday through Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday by appointment only, and Saturday night beginning half an hour after sunset. Visitors to the mikveh are asked to park only in the municipal lot. Tziona handles scheduling and can be reached at 516-712-5644.
Shaare Rachamim, also at 695 Middle Neck Road, rounds out the community's set of dedicated Jewish spaces. Each of these facilities - the synagogue, Ohr Esther, Shaare Rachamim, and the mikveh - is owned or operated by member institutions of the UMJCA and is integrated into the same calendar of holidays and lifecycle events.
Marking the Life Cycle: Births, Weddings, and Mourning
The UMJCA places unusual emphasis on lifecycle practice, and the community portal carries a complete set of guides to birth ceremonies, weddings, and mourning customs written from within the Mashadi Sephardic tradition. Drawing on material from Rabbi Yosef Bitton's writing, the births section walks families through the Berit Mila ceremony, the choice of a mohel, the steps of circumcision including metzitza, the Sephardic customs attached to the eighth day, the celebratory se'udah, the naming of a baby girl (Zebed haBat), and the ceremony of Pidyon haBen when applicable.
The weddings section offers guidance on the preparations before the wedding, the wedding ceremony itself, the Sheva Berakhot recited during the week of celebration, and the special Ketubah Nusach Mashad that is used within the community. Couples looking for a customized text are pointed to the Mashadi ketubah wording preserved on the portal.
The mourning section is unusually thorough, reflecting the community's concern for halachic detail at every step. It opens with the moment of death and the obligation to remain in the room during the dying process, then moves through the burial, the Qeri'a (tearing of the garment), the shiva week, the thirty-day and twelve-month periods, and the recitation of Kaddish. The Qeri'a ritual is described in detail: seven relatives perform it, the cut is made on the left side of the chest for a parent and on the right for other relatives, and the berakha "Barukh Ata Adonai Elohenu Melekh haOlam Dayan haEmet" is recited by the mourner. An audio file of Kaddish al-Israel and the special Kaddish de-Hu Atid recited in the cemetery are made available to mourners.
Education from Early Childhood through Higher Learning
Jewish education is treated as a community-wide responsibility. At the youngest level, the Shalom Early Childhood Center operates as the community's preschool, giving Mashadi children their first introduction to Jewish life. Above that, the Talmud Torah runs formal religious schooling for community children, while the Bet Midrash and a daily Tanakh study program offer adults a structured walk through the books of Nach - Yehoshua, Shofetim, Shemuel I and II, Melakhim I and II, Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yehezqel, and the Tereh Asar - with both written summaries and audio and video files available.
The Mashadi Cultural & Educational Committee, also known as the Higher Education Committee, looks after the next stage. The committee's mission is twofold. First, it encourages community youth to pursue higher education in fields of their choice and offers an interest-free student loan program each semester to students in financial need. Second, it organizes an annual graduation ceremony at Shaare Shalom for high school, college, and graduate-level students, with separate questionnaires maintained for each level. The committee also promotes cultural education by arranging concerts, exhibitions, and similar events. Marty Bassaly serves as committee co-chair and can be reached at mbassaly@aol.com.
The Yeshiva Scholarship Fund and the Angel Fund
The Yeshiva Scholarship Fund is a parallel effort, focused on the years of Jewish day school and yeshiva education. The committee's stated goal is to make sure every Mashadi student has a chance to attend a Jewish school, and it does that by awarding scholarships to families that need help. Co-chairs Louis Ebrani and Mehran Bassali oversee the work, and the fund maintains its own list of approved yeshivas along with guidelines, application instructions, and an online application form. Inquiries go to mashadiys@googlegroups.com.
The Angel Fund, supported by active members Igal Namdar, Louis Ebrani, Morris Aziz, and George Dilamani, complements the educational scholarships with broader community assistance. The fund's contact address is angelfund@googlegroups.com. A separate Social Services committee, chaired by Linda Kamali and reachable at mashadisocialservices@googlegroups.com, coordinates additional help to community members in need.
Camp MJC, the Gym, and Mashadi Tennis
Summer life revolves around Camp MJC, the community's day camp for children. The camp maintains its own online enrollment, with separate links for returning and new families, a parent dashboard, and a staff application process for returning and new counselors. A published camp calendar and lunch menu keep families current, and the camp distributes a New York State Department of Health publication outlining what families need to know and the rights and responsibilities of camp operators. Camp MTA, the teen adventure program, is offered alongside the main camp.
Physical activity extends well beyond summer. The MJC Gym at 54 Steamboat Road offers community members a place to play, with published schedules for basketball and other fitness activities. Mashadi Tennis adds a competitive thread; the Mashadi Open singles and doubles tournaments have been a community tradition for years, with champions recognized at the close of each summer. The tournament is organized by volunteers and is open to community members ages sixteen and up, free of charge.
Sisterhood, the Senior Club, and the Mashadi Youth Committee
The Sisterhood and the Senior Club fill out the intergenerational mix of programming. Sisterhood programming reaches the community's women and families, while the Senior Club keeps older members connected to community life. The Mashadi Youth Committee, known by its initials MYC, is the elected voice of the community's young adults. Supervised by a council that includes a mix of adult advisers and elected youth leaders, the MYC runs on two-year election cycles, with members, alternates, advisers, and a supervisory council all chosen by community vote.
The Get Involved page on the community portal keeps a running invitation open for community members interested in editing and updating the site itself; the UMJCA offers an official letter that volunteers can use for resumes and career documentation. Inquiries go to umjcaweb@googlegroups.com.
Community Governance and the Central Board
Everything described above flows from the United Mashadi Jewish Community of America and its Central Board, a fifteen-member elected body responsible for the religious, charitable, educational, cultural, welfare, social, and security needs of Mashadi families in the United States. Among the board's stated duties are maintaining the Jewish religious heritage and Mashadi traditional values, promoting Zionism and supporting the State of Israel, establishing synagogues, schools, and social welfare institutions, coordinating the activities of community institutions, managing finances, building relationships with Mashadi and other Jewish communities abroad, supporting Jewish educational and charitable institutions in America and Israel, monitoring anti-Semitism and other trends that affect the community, and safeguarding community assets.
The current Central Board is led by Doron Hakimian as president, with Bobby Hematian as vice president, Moossa LeVian as vice president of acquisitions, Shawn Hakimian as chairperson, Oliver Etessami as speaker, Michael Mayer as treasurer, Tony Aziz as co-treasurer, Daniel Benilevi as executive secretary, and Emil Hakimi as recording secretary. The remaining members are Moshe Enayatian, Brian Hakimian, Leon Hakimian, Mehran Hakimian, Michael Hakimian, and Steve Ijadi. Together they oversee the network of synagogues, schools, camps, funds, and committees that constitute the Mashadi Jewish community of Great Neck.
The Kanissa News and the Wider Conversation
The community stays in conversation with itself through a regular newsletter called Kanissa News, published both as a web view and as a printable PDF. Hachodesh, Shalom Week, Read It Up, and Heritage & History sit alongside the newsletter as ongoing publications, while a separate set of audio and video files preserves Torah study sessions for later listening. The community calendar, accessible from the portal, organizes the year into recurring categories - Shabbat Shiras, Talmud Torah, Hachodesh, Jewish and US holidays, barmitzvahs, batmitzvahs, engagements, weddings, and upcoming events - and can be added to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, or any other calendar that accepts an XML feed. Shabbat candle lighting times for the 11024 ZIP code are linked directly from the portal for visitors who want to plan a visit around the start of Shabbat.
For a community whose founding prayer is Na'ase Ve Nishma - "We shall do and we shall hear" - the work of keeping a Persian Sephardic tradition alive on Long Island is itself the work of community. The buildings along Steamboat Road and Middle Neck Road are the physical setting, but the heart of the project is the Mashadi families who fill them, generation after generation.