In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

q. congregation kehila bnai moshe yakov anshe zosmer vezavichost (Congregation of the Children of the People of Moses and Jacob, People of Zosmer and Zavichost; formerly known as “The 8th Street Shul”) (Repurposed to Residential Use) 317 East 8th Street (between Avenues B and C) 159 after a lengthy struggle overthe future of the synagogue and suffering two fires, the synagogue—the last functioning shul east of Avenue B—was finally sold by its congregation, due partly to the deteriorating state of the buildingandalsobecauseoftheincreasinginabilityofsome of its most committed elderly members to walk the distance from theirhomes in the Grand Street co-ops. Fora decade, it then became somewhat of a “squattershul” with its own rabbi while the issue of ownership was played out in the courts. In 2006, the building was finally sold fora pittance to a real estate agent/developer who subsequently converted the twentieth century cream brick building into an upscale private residence. A number of the shul’s original artifactsweresalvaged—includingthebeautifulmahogany bimahandAronKodesh,whicharenowhousedattheAngel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk Street. (See Anshe Slonim, section 6 under“The Active Synagogues.”) For those seeking images of the former synagogue, it is extensively featured (after the earlier congregation had departed) in the film, Pi (p), a 1998 American psychological thrillerfilm written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. The film title refers to the mathematical constant pi and links mathematical logic to kabbalistic numerology in selecting Wall Street stock. 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 159 160 the “lost” or endangered synagogues Congregation Kehila B’nai Moshe Yakov Anshe Zosmer veZavichost (“8th Street Shul”) building façade (1974) Building façade after conversion to residence (2012) 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 160 ...

Share