Rabbi Mendy Hecht started and has led the Chabad of Forest Hills North synagogue since 2012. He also has been Chaplain at the Rikers Island Correctional Facility since 2021.
Of the 6,142 Persons in Custody (PICs) in Rikers Island as of July 7, four-to-five percent say they are Jewish, said Shayla Mulzac, press officer at the New York City Department of Corrections. Most PICs at Rikers are either awaiting trial or the disposition of their cases. Only ten percent were sentenced by the city or state to do prison time, said Mulzac.
Rabbi Hecht, who works five-hour shifts, four days a week, tries to “go in without a bias.” “Especially in a place like Rikers Island, they feel like they are the worst thing in the world, and they have no way out.”
Rabbi Hecht lets them know that “they have someone who does believe in them, someone who is listening to them, someone who believes that they have a second chance, even though they might feel otherwise.”
He believes that approach “really has an impact on them… They really want to change and be better people. I see that on a daily basis.”
The PICs “sometimes can be dangerous,” suffering from mental health problems. Despite that, “we have to help.” Rabbi Hecht alerts mental health professionals while protecting the inmate’s privacy.
Correctional officers tell Rabbi Hecht “when to go and not to go into certain areas,” but he has the ability “to go wherever I need to go to help.”
Rabbi Hecht teaches “about the Jewish faith” and provides educational materials. He is on call in the event of an emergency. “It’s important to be available.”
Quoting the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, Rabbi Hecht said, “The basis of jail has to be to rehabilitate and to bring them back to society.”
“It’s Not A Hotel”
Mr. Mikhelashvili is a 39-year-old PIC at Rikers. He was on parole when he got into an argument that turned into a fight.
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and a parole violation, and was given a year at Rikers, which started in December 2022.
He lives in a dorm setting with about 50 other PICs, supervised by two correctional officers. “The beds are very close to each other, said Mikhelashvili. “It’s not a hotel.” Mice and roaches sometimes run around at night.
Mikhelashvili met Rabbi Hecht at the jail’s religious services. A multipurpose chapel serves all faiths. A Star of David is put up and a Torah is brought in by volunteers from the Lubavitch Youth Organization.
Hecht tries to keep Mikhelashvili motivated to “think about the future, getting out of here, getting closer to my family, and getting back with my religion,” said Mikhelashvili.
Hecht prays with him and keeps him updated “with what’s going on in the world, not just in the Jewish religion,” said Mikhelashvili.
Everybody loves Rabbi Hecht, said Mikhelashvili. “He’s very high-spirited. He’s always laughing, he’s always helping other people.”
Rabbi Hecht makes sure Jewish PICs get kosher meals three times a day. They get grape juice and matzah on Friday nights.
Rabbi Hecht helps Mikhelashvili put on t’filin two-to-three days a week in his dorm cell, prays, and brings him religious articles to read.
“He keeps me encouraged to move on in life. He keeps telling me it’s not the end of the world; you know, people have it worse, and people had it worse.”
Mikhelashvili said that Rabbi Hecht helped him “to be better with myself and with my family. I am getting closer with my daughter, with my mom.” His father is no longer living.
“He helped me learn a lot of new things in Judaism; he helped me with a lot of prayers I didn’t know.”
Mikhelashvili has experienced anti-Semitism in Rikers Island. “It’s more that people don’t understand the Jewish religion,” he said.
“People tend to say what they hear on TV and what they know from books and articles, like in a newspaper. A lot of people are young, in here, so they don’t know better,” including correctional officers. “They just don’t understand a lot of things Jewish people do.”
Hecht “does nothing but the best, and he’s always offering information, help, and encouragement, and he is always telling people good things. He’s always positive” with Jewish and non-Jewish inmates. A lot of PICs want to become Jewish, so Rabbi Hecht helps them with the transition, said Mikhelashvili.
Due to good behavior, Mikhelashvili is scheduled to be released on Monday, August 7, and will no longer be on parole. He has been clean from alcohol since a week before his arrest.
Mikhelashvili hopes to reconnect with his religious family and his small Georgian Jewish community, and he plans to stay in touch with Rabbi Hecht after leaving Rikers Island.
Three Jewish chaplains serve Rikers Island: one is Modern Orthodox, one is Conservative, and the third is Rabbi Hecht, who is Chabad.
There is no limit for how long a chaplain serves at Rikers Island, “as long as the chaplain is fit for the job,” said Mulzac, the spokeswoman.
The Corrections Department runs extensive background checks on each applicant and references are carefully checked. “It definitely wasn’t an easy route,” said Rabbi Hecht.
Rabbi Hecht is a Certified First Responder Chaplain after completing training from both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the New York State Chaplain Task Force.
Rabbi Hecht has done extensive training and visits for Clinical Pastoral Education at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, and at the New Jewish Home in Harlem.
Along with his pulpit and chaplaincy duties, Rabbi Hecht conducts Friday night, Shabbos day, and Yom Tov services and regularly visits patients at the Forest View Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Forest Hills.
By David Schneier
