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Posted By admin on January 20, 2021

A massive wedding for the son of a Hasidic grand rabbi took place in Brooklyn on Monday night amid the coronavirus pandemic but law enforcement authorities said the festivities were all legal.

Videos of the event posted on Twitter and circulating in the Jewish Orthodox community showed hundreds of maskless men and boys packed inside Congregation Shaarei Zion of Bobov in Borough Park.

The wedding ceremony itself took place in the synagogues parking lot and photos provided to The Postshowed a mass of black-clad guests standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the chuppah before the celebrations moved inside the temple.

A source said the nuptials of 18-year-old Shlomo Halberstam, the youngest son of the Bobov Rabbi Bentzion Halberstam drew guests from as far as Israel and London.

Bentzion Halberstam, 65, is the grand rabbi of the Bobov 48 Hassidic sect. Neither he nor the groom could be reached for comment.

New York City Sheriff Joe Fucito said both his department and the NYPD were aware of the festivities and monitored the event from outside.

Our assessment at this time is that the eventwas compliant with relevant guidelines, he said Tuesday.

The sheriffs office said that based on a recent court ruling, religious gatherings are allowed at 50 percent capacity, and that the synagogue in question has a capacity of 1,800.

The regulations state that attendees from different households must maintain six feet of physical distancing, and if unable to do so, must wear a face covering.

A law enforcement source said that there were multiple entrances for the indoor bash and fencesset up with tarps attached, limiting view.

From outside, deputies did not see any violations among guests. However, inside the synagogue, revelers flouted social distancing and mask-wearing, according to the footage.

The empty parking lot behind Congregation Shaarei Zion of Bobov in Borough Park before the wedding.

Thousands gather in the parking lot behind Congregation Shaarei Zion of Bobov in Borough Park for the wedding of the youngest son of Rabbi Benzion Halberstam.

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Activist Abby Stein who is related to the Halberstam family but did not attend the festivities posted some of the videos on Twitter Tuesday, writing: Family wedding, last night, in Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY.

I always loved, and still like, watching these, Stein wrote. I just wish it wasnt under such dangerous circumstances.

Asked about the lack of social distancing and mask-wearing amid the pandemic, she told The Post: I wish I was shocked.

Several other large-scale weddings have been held by other Hasidic sects in New York during the pandemic.

Last month, a Brooklyn synagogue held a jam-packed funeral for a rabbi, with up to an estimated 5,000 people cramming the house of worship. That same congregation had been stopped by the state from hosting a 10,000-guest wedding in October.

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Brooklyn synagogue pulls off massive wedding and it's apparently legal - New York Post

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