The Synagogues of New York's Lower East Side: A Retrospective and Contemporary View, 2nd Edition

10. Congregation Sons of Moses, Anshe Jendzivo (or Andrzievo), People of Jendzivo (“The Yendzshever Shul”)

10. congregation sons of moses, anshe jendzivo (or andrzievo) (People of Jendzivo— “The Yendzshever Shul”) 135 Henry Street (between Rutgers and Pike Streets) 81 this orthodox synagogue was founded in 1900 by a group of immigrants from the small village of Andrzievo (Jendzivo), located in what is today, northeast Poland (and renamed Andrzejewo). Today’s Yendzshever Shul, as it is commonly known, is located in an attractive Greek Revival brick and brownstone row house, built circa 1840. The synagogue is intimate and imbued with the historical beauties of past traditions. Sadly, the mazoles that once graced the sanctuary of the Yendzshever Shul were destroyed in the early 1970s, when they were painted over. The Yendzshever ShulisthesoleremainingsynagogueonHenryStreetwhere, into the 1960s, there were fourseparate congregations. After World War II the Yendzshever Shul, originally locatedat240MadisonStreet ,movedtoHenryStreet,astreet that had a numberof functioning synagogues. By the 1950s, smallneighborhoodshulnoftenmergedtosurviveandbythe 1960s,manyhadclosedtheirdoorsormovedelsewhere.The neighborhood’sJewishpresencediminishedtoabout39percentofthepopulation .Inaddition,thenumberofmerchants who lived outside of the neighborhood (mainly in Williamsburg ) but who davened on the LowerEast Side also diminished . In 1959, the Seward Park Cooperative Apartments were erected on Grand Street, which meant the shifting of the community epicenterto that vicinity. Among the synagogues that moved was the Kopyczynitzer Shul (named for the town of Kopyczynce, now in the Ukraine), which was led by the Hassidic Apter (named for 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 81 the town of Apt or Opatów in Poland) Rebbe Abraham JoshuaHeschel.TheRebbewasthecousinofthetheologian with the same name, Abraham Joshua Heschel, who was long associated with New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary . In 1965, when the congregation closed its doors at 132 Henry Street, the Rebbe moved the community to Boro Park, Brooklyn. When the Rebbe passed away in 1967, his youngerson, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Heschel assumed the mantleofleadership,whichheretaineduntilhisunexpected demise in 1975. The Rebbe’s followers refused to entertain thepossibilityofacceptinganothercandidateastheirRebbe, and waited instead for the young orphan sons to grow up. In 1999, the family joined to create the ChasdeiMoshe-KopyczynitzasanoutreachorganizationinBrooklyn —dedicated in memory of the late Grand Rabbi and to the continuity of the Kopyczynitzers. As a practical matter, some of the other local daveners found their way into Yendzshever, including those from Anshe Zetel (135 Henry Street) and also from Tifereth Israel (originally located at 128 Allen Street) whose leader had been Rov Horowitz. The PotikerRov, as he was known, was the grandfatherof the Rabbi Horowitz at the current Erste LutowiskerShul at 262 Delancey Street. Today’s congregation is therefore a composite of oldtimers from that area as well as some newermembers of the congregation who have discovered the shul and live within walking distance of the Grand Street co-ops, where most of the religious community lives. Rabbi Shaul Small is the spiritual leader of the Yendzshever Shul and follows the Yendzshevertradition of davening nusach Ashkenaz, rather than Sephardic, since the town is located in what is now northeast Poland. 82 the archive synagogues Congregation Sons of Moses exterior 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 82 congregation sons of moses, anshe jendzivo 83 Scenes from the 1998 movie, A Price Above Rubies, were filmed at the shul. Fordeli aficionados, Shmulka Bernstein, ownerofBernstein’sonEssexStreet—thefirstandformany years the only kosherChinese restaurant in New York City —is buried in the landsmanshaft plot. Located in the basement level of the YendzsheverShul is the Hasidic-operated business, Henry Bookbinding, noted forits custom, handcrafted restoration of prayerbooks and otherJewish volumes. Building sign 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 83 Community Synagogue 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 84 ...