Jewish Brooklyn: Hasidic Walking Tour By A Local

A unique insight in to cultural and religious life of the Hasidic community of Brooklyn. You will learn so much and our tour guide Mayer, a native Brooklyner.

We had an amazing experience and would highly recommend it! It was really interesting, informative, and very well put together from start to finish.

This was a great and very well organized activity. Our guide was simply outstanding. He is knowledgeable, friendly and committed. I really felt I learned a lot about the Hasidic community in this 3 hour tour. I am really happy.

I had the privilege of joining Meyer Friedman's Hasidic tour in Crown Heights, and it was one of the most meaningful experiences of my trip to New York. As a member of the Hasidic community himself, Meyer is an incredibly knowledgeable and engaging guide who brings the history, traditions, and daily life of the community to life with warmth, authenticity, and genuine passion. The tour provided fascinating insights that I never would have gained simply by walking around on my own, and it gave me a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the community and its culture. One of the highlights was having the opportunity to meet members of the Hasidic community and hear about their lives firsthand. Those personal interactions made the experience feel genuine and memorable, adding a level of understanding that simply isn't possible from reading a book or watching a documentary. What made the tour especially special was how respectful, personal, and welcoming it felt. It wasn't just a history lesson, it was an opportunity to better understand a way of life that is often misunderstood. I would highly recommend Meyer Friedman's tour to anyone visiting New York who is curious to learn about Hasidic Judaism and Crown Heights. It was an informative, eye-opening, and truly special experience that I'll truly never forget! - Sebastian Moore

This is probably the best tour I’ve ever taken. Rabbi Mayer was engaging, personable and really let us see behind the scenes of the Crown Heights orthodox Jewish community. I highly recommend!

I went for the tour today with my mom (65y), sister, husband and 2 children (7,9). We all loved it! Best walking tour we've ever done. Would highly recommend it. Only about 1.5 hours is spent walking so it was very manageable for all. The guide was engaging, highly knowledgable and had a gentle disposition. We left feeling very privileged to have gotten such rare access to the Hasidic Jewish community and amazed by its members' commitment to the commandments in every facet of their lives. 10 stars! Thank you, Lisa.

Come ready to learn and also ask questions. Awesome tour guide and awesome insight to the community.

Great educational and informative walking tour to understand a bit of the Hasidic Jewish culture and religion. Mayer is a wonderful guide and very patient with all of our questions.

Wonderful guide and education. Mayer is fantastic. He is excellent with visitors of all faiths (or lack thrreof).

From education to the culture of clothing, you can learn the main part of this friendly community! The instructor is really patient and you can feel a strong connection between one another in this community. It’s amazing to see how those young man studying in school, where they built their personalities and values, debate the moral issues to explore their horizons. Surprisingly, they’ve been kept this way of studying for thousands years, this appears particularly precious. I’m the first person from northwest China to visit, people might have stereotype about this community who thought they’re fixed and traditional but when you truly feel the atmosphere here, you’ll find that their values to the world is welcoming everyone. I see the nature part of the community, honesty, faith and trust, people here are so close to each other, they hold the same beliefs and use their own hands to build it. They followed their 613 commandments, it’s like in their bones and blood, everything is that nature. In this crowd world, I truly appreciate their point of view to keep their principles from generation to generation.

Mayer was a great guide to Crown Heights! It starts in a library (be sure to read instructions on how to find the entrance/where to go), where he answers initial questions and explains how the tour works. I found that this set the group up for a respectful and engaging tour, where everyone felt comfortable asking/answering sincere questions. I felt the tour gave a relatively comprehensive overview of how the community lives and practices their faith. I think additional reading before or after the tour would help contextualize the community both within Brooklyn and within Judaism, plus help visitors ask questions and get more out of the tour. I was glad I had some familiarity with Hasidic Judaism before I came so that I could put what I read together with what I was seeing on the tour. My mother and I went on the tour together and spent the rest of her trip to New York talking about what we had learned, and it was the highlight of her visit!

Very informative tour, and learned a lot about the Jewish community. Rabbi Mayer is very friendly and welcoming, and he also invited us to his home. Would definitely recommend.

Very warm and welcoming host, knowledgeable and eager to share his culture and answer questions…( p.s. totally random - He looks like Calogero if the kid in the Bronx Tale had been Jewish 😄

A very educational experience in the life and culture of the community. Rabi Mayer was an inspirational host who shared the long held traditions that continue sustain and feed the souls of generations.

This tour was one of the highlights of my trip! Mayer was a very charming, knowledgeable, and welcoming host. I learned a lot and met some really great and memorable people

This tour was a fascinating view on a very special group of people, the Hasidic community of Brooklyn. I am not of the Jewish faith and all of the information presented was new to me (familiar to some others on our tour.) All my questions were answered and things were explained in very simple terms. I would recommend this tour 100 percent, and in fact I have, to anyone who asks what the highlight of our trip to NYC was! Thank you for a wonderful day!!

This is a fantastic and a very unique experience! We learned a lot, visited many cool places and had a lot of fun. It was super interesting learning about Hasidic Jewish community and getting it to experience so closely. Truly wonderful and eye opening. We appreciate the kindness of the community for letting us take a peek. Our guide was fantastic too! Very knowledgeable and informative! I strongly recommend whether you already live in New York City or are visiting. This is one of a kind experience