# R' Benjamin Goldschmidt: The Crazy Story Behind a $35 Million Shul

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/meaningful-people-272973/r-benjamin-goldschmidt-the-crazy-story-behind-a-35-million-shul
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/meaningful-people-272973/r-benjamin-goldschmidt-the-crazy-story-behind-a-35-million-shul.md
Podcast: [Meaningful People](https://stenobird.com/podcast/meaningful-people-272973)
Published: 2026-08-22T11:30:00+00:00
Episode link: https://meaningfulpeoplepodcast.libsyn.com/r-benjamin-goldschmidt-the-crazy-story-behind-a-35-million-shul
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/meaningfulpeoplepodcast/Goldschmidt_final.mp3?dest-id=1900811
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/meaningful-people-272973/episodes/r-benjamin-goldschmidt-the-crazy-story-behind-a-35-million-shul
Duration seconds: 5133

## Resource

Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt grew up in Moscow as the son of the city's chief rabbi, trained in Bnei Brak and Ponovezh, and spent a decade as assistant rabbi at Manhattan's Park East Synagogue — until he was abruptly and very publicly fired. In this raw conversation with Nachi Gordon, he opens up for the first time about that moment: the New York Post headline, the car crash he got into reading about himself, and the isolation of losing not just a job but an entire community. Out of that low point came Altneu, the congregation he and his wife built from nothing — starting with 40 people in their living room, then two and a half years of renting a different Manhattan venue every single week, never knowing until Thursday's email where Shabbos would be. Rabbi Goldschmidt walks through how that instability became the shul's strength, the breaking point that nearly ended the project, his father's advice that turned it around, and how it all led to buying a $35 million building on the Upper East Side. He also gets into what it's like leading a congregation through today's political climate in New York, and the loss of a beloved member that shook the whole community. This episode is sponsored by: ► PZ Deals Download the app and never pay full price again! https://app.pz.deals/install/mpp _________________ ► Colel Chabad Pushka App The easiest way to give Tzedaka https://pushkapp.cc/meaningful _________________ ► Shopify Guru Store looks great but not selling the way it should? Shopify Guru's Daniel gets under the hood and makes it actually work, no developer needed every time you want to make a change. Call 732-534-1404 or go to shopifyguru.io. https://go.jcn.io/sgmp _________________ ► Ness Vacation Homes EDEN GARDENS' LARGEST LUXURY HOME COLLECTION. Handpicked, high-end homes…

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