When the Rebbe Rejected a Tent Outside 770

A newly surfaced response from the Rebbe shows that a major tent outside 770 was once rejected, and how that response ultimately shaped the way today’s Tishrei Tent was built.

16 Sep 2026, 16:16 by COLlive Editor · COLlive

Long before the Tishrei Tent became a fixture on Eastern Parkway, the idea of a massive tent outside 770 was brought to the Rebbe.

In Elul 5747, Rabbi JJ Hecht wrote a detailed proposal addressing the severe overcrowding expected for Tishrei.

The plan was enormous: a 25,000-square-foot structure stretching along Eastern Parkway, with room for more than 7,000 people, an Ezras Nashim, 400 tons of air conditioning, and Hakafos taking place inside the tent.

Rabbi Hecht explained:

“הפתרון היחידי שאפשר לבצע הוא להקים… אהל שיהי’ מתוח על חלק מרחבת איסטרן פארקוויי…”

“The only practical solution would be to erect a tent extending over part of Eastern Parkway.”

He also acknowledged that:

“בנתיים לא הוגש שום בקשת רשיון להעירי’… ובטוחים שישיגו הרשיונות כשיבקשום.”

“No application for a city permit had yet been submitted, but they were confident the necessary permits could be obtained.”

Rabbi Hecht emphasized that the structure would extend from 770, invoking the words:

“הרחיבי מקום אהלך”

“Broaden the place of your tent.”

The Rebbe’s response was sharp:

“שיטה מוזרה דוקא להרגיז את כו’ –
והשתא גם בש”ק שלאחרי זה – מה הועילו ע”ע בשיטה זו?
[כמובן לבד הגעשלעגעריי עם המשטרה! היפך דוויליאמסבורג ששם בידידות הכי גדולה וד”ל]”

In contemporary English:

“It is a strange approach to deliberately antagonize them [the neighbors] — especially this year, when Yom Tov runs directly into Shabbos. What has this approach accomplished with them until now? [Aside, of course, from the conflict with the police — the opposite of Williamsburg, where the community has an exceptionally good relationship with the police.]”

And regarding the idea that the tent would effectively become an extension of 770, the Rebbe added:

“והרי הכתלים מפסיקים.”

“But there are walls separating them.”

The proposal did not go forward.

So why, decades later, did organizers build a Tishrei Tent outside 770?

Because when they looked back at that response, they saw three very practical lessons:

The neighbors. The police. The walls.

Before the first Tishrei Tent went up, organizers approached the nearby residents one by one. The neighbors signed a document saying they were comfortable with and supportive of the project.

The tent would not begin by antagonizing the people living around it.

Then came the police.

From the very beginning, the operation was built around a close working relationship with the NYPD — coordinating the street closure, safety, crowds and logistics together.

Years later, the owner of the Borough Park-based rental company supplying the tent came to Crown Heights toward the end of Tishrei.

He watched the Simchas Beis Hashoeva dancing, saw the crowds moving through the tent, and observed the relationship between the organizers and the police.

He turned to the organizers and said:

“I envy your relationship with the police. I wish we had that in Borough Park.”

The comment immediately brought back the Rebbe’s words from nearly four decades earlier:

“היפך דוויליאמסבורג ששם בידידות הכי גדולה” — the contrast with Williamsburg, “where there is the greatest friendship.”

And then there were the walls.

No, the organizers do not intend to knock down the walls of 770.

But when the tent was eventually upgraded, its walls were made of glass.

So yes, “והרי הכתלים מפסיקים” — the walls still separate.

At least now you can see through them.

What began ten years ago as a 100-foot tent standing for just 10 days has grown into a nearly 300-foot operation serving approximately 2,500 people every day.

And in an unexpected way, a response written decades before the Tishrei Tent existed helped shape how it would ultimately be built: with the neighbors on board, the police as partners, and even the walls kept in mind.

When the Rebbe Rejected a Tent Outside 770

A newly surfaced response from the Rebbe shows that a major tent outside 770 was once rejected, and how that response ultimately shaped the way today’s Tishrei Tent was built.

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