Based-In HRLM
Hey! Shalom! Privyet! Welcome to Based in Harlem. A part-time Base outpost, also the home of Erica and Dimitry. We're long-time Harlem residents, artists, and educators. When we got married, we took seriously the project to "make our home a meeting place for the sages." Our favorite thing is to gather friends and neighbors in our home for shared ritual, celebratory meals, song, learning, and joyous encounters. We hope you can join us soon in home sweet Harlem.
Rabbi Dimitry Ekshtut
dimitry.ekshtut@moishehouse.org
Jazz Musician. Cat Dad.
Rabbi Dimitry Ekshtut is an educator, musician, and builder of Jewish community. Born in Leningrad, USSR, Dimitry immigrated with his family at the age of five to Philadelphia, PA. While in middle and high school, he fell in love with the guitar, motivating him to move to New York and pursue a career as a professional musician. He holds a Bachelor's of Music (Jazz Performance) degree and a Master's of Music Education, both from New York University. Dimitry has had an active career teaching music in public, private, and charter schools throughout New York City. Since 2016, Dimitry has worked to build Jewish community in Harlem. Dimitry directs Based in Harlem, a pluralistic, home-based, rabbi-led Jewish community through which he has welcomed over 3,000 unique individuals to his home for shabbat, holiday celebrations, learning, and service opportunities. He is also a co-founder of Kehillat Harlem, a progressive orthodox synagogue and prayer community in Upper Manhattan, and serves as an adjunct professor of Jewish Studies at City College of New York. Dimitry received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT). He lives in Harlem with his wife, Erica, and their two daughters, Maayan and Dalia.
