The site of the new synagogue in SoHo (@10's flickr).

Of course the young rabbi behind the new synagogue in SoHo for "unaffiliated, downtown secular Jews" would turn to an "aggressively whimsical furniture" designer when planning the newest house of worship to hit the chic neighborhood. But what exactly will designer Dror Benshetrit be bringing to the temple on Crosby street? How about a bookshelf/bar that "revolves like the top of a parmesan cheese can to always reveal either prayer books or wine glasses, depending on the occasion?"

And that's just one of the many twists that rabbi Dovi Scheiner and his wife Esty (not to be confused with Etsy!) are planning for the synagogue, which is expected to open in a former Gucci store on June 17. For instance, in an interesting break from tradition, the synagogue will have a circular ark to hold its Torah: "Two round doors, one copper, the other blue, will peel away to reveal an off-white interior." Explains the designer, "A circle is a symbol for eternity, a symbol for sun, for me it's a source of light."

And it goes on. You know those Edison bulbs that have been popping up in our city's hipper bars and restaurants the past few years? The SoHo Synagogue will have one too! Nearby the arc "a fabric cable will descend from the ceiling, from which will hang a naked Edison bulb. A metal rod will wrap sinuously around the cable, culminating in a saucer projecting LED light upward toward the incandescent, an interplay of the modern and traditional, and a new take on the ner tamid, or eternal light."

The first thing you see on the website for the SoHo Synagogue is a quote, "a hipster synagogue grows in SoHo," from the Times. They said it, not us.