Honoring Rabbi Tzadok & Rebbetzin Dvora Froimowitz, And A Legacy That Transformed Forest Hills
Congregation Ahavath Sholom gathered on Sunday evening, November 2, for a milestone celebration that blended history, gratitude, and deep communal pride. The elegant event at The Pinnacle in Forest Hills marked the shul’s 75th anniversary and paid tribute to Rabbi Tzadok and Rebbetzin Dvora Froimowitz on their 25 years of devoted service. Current members, former congregants, multigenerational families, andGreat Neck Scholars Kollel representatives, filled the room, honoring a past built on sacrifice and a present sustained through steadfast Torah leadership.
The story of Ahavath Sholom reaches back to 1942, when a small group of committed Jews created a makom tefillah in a modest storefront on Union Turnpike near Queens Boulevard — where Ezra Academy stands today. Its founding rav, Rabbi Solomon M. Friedland, zt”l, brought with him a rich European Torah heritage, having studied at Yeshiva Toras Chaim under Rabbi Hirsh Glickson, son-in-law of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, zt”l. After receiving semichah from both Toras Chaim and Dr. Bernard Revel at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Friedland built what would become one of the earliest Orthodox congregations in Queens.
The shul moved several times — to Queens Boulevard in 1946, behind Schwartz Brothers Funeral Home in 1952, and finally in 1959–1960 to its dignified brick home on 113th Street. The founding families — Grau, Zises, Zinn, Razar, Liman, Hecht, Olshin, Spiegel, and others — laid the cornerstones of a community that would flourish for generations. Rabbi Friedland’s friendship with local rabbanim — Rabbi Morris Besdin, zt”l, of Cong. Adath Jeshurun, and Rabbi Yaakov Teitelbaum, zt”l, of Cong. Adas Yereim — helped shape the early Orthodox landscape of Forest Hills and Kew Gardens. His long walks to the Corona mikvah with Rabbi Teitelbaum, his Pirkei Avos shiurim, his role on the Yeshiva Dov Revel board, and his involvement in the Forest Hills mikvah left a lasting imprint. When he was hospitalized after a heart attack, Rabbi Besdin famously left shul during davening on a cold Shabbos morning to visit him — a gesture that captured the warmth of that early era. Rabbi Friedland passed away in 1966, and Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, zt”l, delivered words at his levayah, honoring a life of meaning and service.
For more than three decades afterward, the congregation was shepherded by Rabbi Leon (Aryeh Leib) Chait, zt”l, who guided the shul through changing decades with steady leadership and deep sensitivity. His tenure bridged generations and preserved the spirit built by Rabbi Friedland.
In December 1999, Rabbi Tzadok Froimowitz became the congregation’s third mara d’asra, bringing with him a blend of quiet humility, sharp Torah insight, and unwavering dedication. Born to Sam and Miriam Froimowitz, z”l — Holocaust survivors who lost most of their families — Rabbi Froimowitz grew up in a home that valued faith, gratitude, and education. He attended Yeshiva Toras Emes, Kamenitz High School, and later immersed himself in the Torah world of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim under Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz, zt”l, as well as at Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l’s Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim (MTJ) on the Lower East Side. He began his teaching career at Chofetz Chaim High School and later served at Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel in Flatbush.
When Rabbi Simcha Krauss, zt”l, took sabbatical leave, he served for a year as rabbi of the Young Israel of Hillcrest. For many years, he also taught a weekly class at Young Israel of Scarsdale. He currently offers an animated biweekly Gemara shiur at the Great Neck Scholars Kollel, housed at the Great Neck Synagogue, and frequently gives Agra D’Pirka shiurim at Khal Nachlas Yitzchok in KGH. He now teaches biology at Yeshiva Ketana of Queens.
His leadership at Ahavath Sholom has been marked by authenticity, steadiness, and sincere care for his mispallelim. During the height of COVID, Rabbi Froimowitz endured a prolonged and painful hospitalization that shook the community. His recovery was described by many as miraculous, the result of heartfelt tefillos and his own profound inner strength. That chapter, still remembered with emotion, made this year’s celebration all the more powerful.
Rebbetzin Dvora Froimowitz also stands at the heart of the shul’s story. Raised in the Bronx and coming from a distinguished rabbinic lineage, she is the daughter of Rabbi Gershon Yankelevitz, zt”l — a senior rosh hayeshivah at YU’s RIETS for over 50 years, renowned for his Yiddish shiur, and as one of the Mirrer talmidim who survived the Shanghai chapter of the war. Her mother also descended from a long line of rabbanim. The Rebbetzin attended Bais Yakov Bais Miriam, Rabbi Gorelic’s Bais Yaakov, and Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (Breuer’s, K’hal Adath Jeshurun), before earning a nutrition degree at Lehman College and a master’s at NYU. She has worked for many years as a dietician in various nursing homes. Her warmth, wisdom, and gentle guidance have shaped countless families over the past 25 years.
The anniversary program featured distinguished speakers who spoke glowingly about Rabbi and Rebbetzin Froimowitz — the neighbors Rav Michael Rosensweig, shlita, Rosh HaYeshivah and Rosh Kollel at Yeshiva University; Rav Paysach J. Krohn, shlita, the beloved mohel, author, and maggid; and Rav Reuven Goldstein, shlita, the rav’s son-in-law and inaugural Gemara rebbe of the Great Neck Scholars Kollel. Entertainment provided by Yoni Sokol and accompanied by Josh Alpert “Mr. Shabbos” on keyboard, and catering by Chattanooga of Great Neck, helped set the tone for a beautiful and memorable evening.
Among the attendees were members of the Great Neck Scholars Kollel — including founder Steve Zuckerman and community activist Dr. Paul Brody — who came to honor their rebbe, whose biweekly shiur in Great Neck has become a treasured anchor of Torah learning. Steven Holtzman and Harvey Gersten, Treasurer, were photographed representing the shul’s dedicated lay leadership. Other prominent shul officers included Stuart Schnitzer, and Harry Shapiro
As the night concluded, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Froimowitz offered a moving message expressing deep gratitude to past and present congregants, to their parents who showed them the way, and to Hashem for allowing them to reach this milestone. Their words echoed the spirit of the entire gathering: humility, gratitude, and heartfelt appreciation.
From a storefront in wartime 1942 to a functioning congregation in modern-day Forest Hills that hosts the Stars of Israel yeshivah, Ahavath Sholom has stood as a quiet beacon of tradition, hospitality, and Torah life. The celebration of 75 years — and 25 years of dedicated leadership — serves as a reminder that the legacy built by Rabbi Friedland, strengthened by Rabbi Chait, and carried forward by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Froimowitz continues to shine brightly. With hope and confidence, the community looks ahead — b’ezras Hashem — toward future generations who will one day gather to celebrate 100 years of this cherished makom Torah, a place where memory and promise meet.