The Bukharian Jewish Community of Queens

Walk along 108th Street in Rego Park on a Friday afternoon and you will hear Russian, Bukhori, and Hebrew braided together over the hum of bakeries pulling fresh non (bread) from the oven and butchers wrapping meat for Shabbat. This is one of the great centers of Bukharian Jewish life in the diaspora — a large and thriving community whose families carried a heritage from the Silk Road cities of Central Asia and replanted it, whole, in the neighborhoods of central Queens. For newcomers and longtime residents alike, this guide offers a respectful, from-the-inside look at the kehilla, its character, and how families settle, buy, and sell locally.

From the Silk Road to Queens: history and character

Bukharian Jews trace their origins, by their own tradition, to the Babylonian exile, and lived for many centuries in the lands of Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Dushanbe — in what is today Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The name “Bukharian” is largely a name coined from the outside, after the Emirate of Bukhara; the community is a Mizrahi one, woven into the fabric of Central Asia along the Silk Road for generations.

Immigration to New York began as a trickle in the 1970s and became a wave after the fall of the Soviet Union, when families arrived through the 1980s and 1990s. Many chose central Queens in large part because — being a famously close-knit community — people wanted to live near one another. The result is one of the notable success stories of recent Jewish migration: a community that has rebuilt and grown its institutions, language, and customs in a new home.

The neighborhoods: Forest Hills, Rego Park, and beyond

The first families settled in Forest Hills and Rego Park, and those two neighborhoods remain the center of gravity. The commercial spine is well known:

• 108th Street (“Bukharian Broadway”) in Rego Park — a corridor lined with Bukharian and Russian-speaking meat markets, grocers, bakeries, restaurants, and shops. Russian is widely heard as the everyday language of commerce here.
• The surrounding stretches of Forest Hills hold some of the densest Bukharian life in the area.
• Queens Boulevard and nearby avenues have grown into additional commercial stretches.

As families have grown, the community has expanded eastward into Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows, and Jamaica Estates. Housing is in real demand, and prices have generally climbed — a common concern for young couples. For specific blocks, prices, and what is currently available, the best move is always to ask locals and check listings directly rather than rely on any single number.

Community life and institutions

The keniss (synagogue) anchors everything. The community supports a large number of batei knesset and communal institutions in Forest Hills and the surrounding neighborhoods, hosting davening, simchas, senior and youth programming, and social services. A community newspaper helps tie families together across the neighborhoods, and there are local efforts that work to preserve the community’s heritage. For the most current information on any particular institution, it is best to confirm with the community directly.

Beyond the formal institutions, life runs on hospitality and mutual aid — the constant flow of meals, help for new arrivals, and support around life-cycle events. Memorial and mourning gatherings are an important part of how families honor those who came before; the particulars of these customs vary, so look to those who keep them.

What makes this kehilla distinct

Several threads set the Bukharian community apart, and they touch daily and commercial life directly:

Heritage language

Bukhori (Judeo-Tajik) is the community’s own tongue — a Tajik-Persian dialect woven through with Hebrew words, spoken and written for generations until the Soviet era pushed Russian into public life. Today many elders are fluent in both Bukhori and Russian, while Russian often serves as the working language of the street and the store. Honoring Bukhori — and the names, songs, and blessings carried in it — is part of honoring the community itself.

Nusach and minhag

Bukharian Jews daven in the Sephardic-Mizrahi tradition (Nusach Edot HaMizrach), with their own melodies and customs shaped by Central Asian heritage. Practices around prayer style, simchas, and the holidays carry a distinctive Bukharian flavor. As with any community, specific customs and halachic questions vary by family, by congregation, and by posek — confirm with your Hacham or rav rather than assuming one practice is universal.

A cuisine that defines identity

Few communities are as tied to their food. Plov (osh) — fragrant rice with lamb, carrots, chickpeas, raisins, and whole heads of garlic — is the lifeblood of the table, often a centerpiece of a large meal. Oshi sabo, the slow-cooked Shabbat-day dish, along with samsa, mantu, and Silk Road spices, fills the bakeries and restaurants along 108th Street. Keeping these dishes kosher and keeping them Bukharian is a point of real pride.

Settling in: buying, selling, and finding locally

For a community this tight-knit, word of mouth has always been the marketplace — and that is exactly the role HeimishMart is built to serve online, in the community’s own languages and on its own terms. Whether you are a young couple setting up a first apartment in Rego Park, an elder downsizing in Forest Hills, or a family arriving in Kew Gardens Hills, the local marketplace is where neighbors connect.

• Housing: co-ops, rentals, and homes often move quickly and through community channels — browse and post on the HeimishMart community marketplace.
• Seforim and Judaica: used seforim in the proper nusach, siddurim, and tashmishei kedusha often change hands locally; check listings and gemach-style giveaways.
• Simcha items: from engagement to bar mitzvah to wedding, the community marks every milestone in a big way — find and offer simcha and household items through the marketplace.

New to the area or new to the site? The HeimishMart guides hub walks through getting set up and finding your footing in the neighborhood.

A living heritage in central Queens

What stands out about the Bukharian community of Forest Hills and Rego Park is continuity. The melodies, the language, the plov on the Shabbat table, the keniss on the corner — these were carried across continents and an empire’s collapse, and here they continue. As you settle in, buy, sell, or simply explore, do it the way the community always has: ask your neighbors, learn the customs from those who live them, and bring your questions of minhag and halacha to your own Hacham. HeimishMart is honored to be one more place where this remarkable kehilla connects, trades, and helps one another.