Designing and Building for Engagement
“Many people feel that there are a lot of barriers to Jewish life,” said Rabbi Charlie Schwartz, co-founder of the Lehrhaus Jewish tavern and house of learning in Somerville, MA. Schwartz is dedicated to designing and building creative ways and spaces for Jewish life and learning to spread.
It was the middle of the pandemic, when social isolation made the lack of community feel acutely painful. Rabbi Charlie Schwartz and his friend, creative entrepreneur Joshua Foer, daydreamed about a new type of authentically Jewish destination.
“Our goal was to create spaces where love of Jewish life and learning can spread,” said Schwartz, who received ordination from The Rabbinical School at JTS and an MA from The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education.
With vision, enthusiasm, and philanthropic support—along with expert partners in the food and beverage industry—the team launched Lehrhaus in Somerville, MA, a “Jewish tavern and house of learning.” In 2023, Esquire magazine named Lehrhaus one of the 50 best new restaurants in the US, with the reviewer stating, “I’ve been to thousands of restaurants in the past couple of years, but I hadn’t truly felt at home until I walked into Lehrhaus.”
Accolades poured in for the culinary experience and so did those hungry for a Jewish experience. Converts came for a celebratory meal following their conversion; curious area residents popped in, including a Cape Verdean woman who shared the family legend that they were actually Jewish.
The menu and décor at Lehrhaus reflect a Jewish aesthetic—one dish features Old Bay spice which diners learn was invented by Gustav Brunn after his escape from the Nazis—and there’s a bar and cozy nooks for snacking and hanging out. Lehrhaus also features a well-stocked beit midrash and classroom space where two to three classes take place daily. Even the menu is designed to resemble a page of Talmud.
The decision to engage community through a dining and learning space made a lot of sense to Schwartz and his co-founder Foer, known for creative contributions such as Atlas Obscura, Sefaria, and Sukkah City.
“Many people feel that there are a lot of barriers to Jewish life,” said Schwartz. “At a restaurant, which is in the hospitality business after all, you know the rules—where to sit, when to go, what to wear. We are a place of comfort that serves all,” he said. “Our doors are open wide.”
Schwartz and his partners wanted to situate their venture in a neighborhood where young Jews were living with minimal existing Jewish infrastructure. “Our competition is not synagogues or Jewish organizations,” said Schwartz, “it is other restaurants or Netflix.”
Somerville fit the bill.
Partnerships and openness contribute to the popularity and accessibility of Lehrhaus. Schwartz described how the recent 3rd annual Oktoberfest was designed in collaboration with the German consulate of Boston as a celebration of German-Jewish life. A chaplain recently led a class on death and dying to his non-Jewish colleagues at Lehrhaus, which was a way for them to experience Jewish learning without feeling out of place as they might in a more traditional synagogue setting.
The earned revenue of the restaurant contributes to Lehrhaus’s ability to deliver on its mission of creating community and engagement. Schwartz said that a recent survey found that 75% who come report they have conversations they wouldn’t have in any other space.
“Wherever rabbis find themselves, they are educators,” Schwartz said. Lehrhaus is just the latest expression of his spiritual calling.
Growing up in Portland, OR, Schwartz was particularly inspired by Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, a Haganah veteran who built up many of the institutions that are core to Portland’s Jewish infrastructure. “Rabbi Stampfer saw a need and got to work building, whether it was a nursery school, summer camp, or Jewish museum,” said Schwartz.
After graduating from Oberlin, Schwartz followed in his mentor’s footsteps and joined the IDF where he served as an infantry squad commander. “I felt a profound connection to Israel’s land and society as well as to the values that should inform behavior,” he said.
At JTS, simultaneous with his studies in rabbinical school, Schwartz chose to concentrate on day school education at Davidson. He was drawn to 20th-century intellectuals such as E.D. Hirsch, author of Cultural Literacy, and curriculum design theorist Joseph Schwab.
Schwartz’s practicum took place at SAR in Riverdale, a school known for its innovative “open classroom” architecture. “I deeply appreciated the thought that went into building SAR’s space,” said Schwartz. His experience in the school complemented what he was learning with Davidson professor Shira Epstein on known and “unspoken” curriculum.
Committed to serving on the cutting-edge of educational innovation, Schwartz was tapped by former Chancellor Arnie Eisen to serve JTS as director of digital engagement and learning. Schwartz used social media and created online archives of Torah commentary in order to make learning more accessible.
Wherever he has worked—running the Brandeis Genesis and BIMA precollege program or spearheading professional development at Hillel International—Schwartz has opened up possibilities for deeper connections to Jewish life.
“At Brandeis we created a design lab where the teens applied design theory to real challenges,” said Schwartz, including renovating a cemetery chapel and redesigning the atrium space of a senior care facility to serve as a prayer space. “Even small tweaks like creating a threshold with hooks for tallitot can define an open space as sacred,” he said.
Schwartz sees opportunity for engagement all over and has created the Pocket Torah free mobile application where users can learn how to chant the weekly Torah and Haftarah portion wherever they are.
With a seemingly endless well of creative ideas, Schwartz feels deeply empowered to emulate Rabbi Stampfer and to keep building. Lehrhaus is planning to open a branch in the DC area next year.
“Every community should have synagogues, a JCC, day schools, a mikveh,” said Schwartz, “and they should have a Lehrhaus.”
