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

A. Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagodol

a. congregation beth hamedrash hagodol (Congregation of the Great House of Study) (Endangered) 60 Norfolk Street (between Broome and Grand Streets) Until recently, this Congregation was listed in the “Active Synagogues ” section, but was reluctantly moved at the last minute into the “Endangered” category. the first russian-american Jewish congregation in America and once the oldest Eastern European congregation in New York City, Beth Hamedrash Hagodol (then called Beth Hamedrash) was founded in 1852 in an attic on Bayard Street by Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash and others who rejected the Reform Judaism of the area’s GermanJewish congregations. The congregation rented space in a building on Elm Street (a demapped northern extension of what is now called Elk Street), located in the “Five Points District”northofCityHall.Itthenmovedtoaformercourthouse on nearby Centre Street. In 1856, with the assistance of newly arrived sympathetic and traditional Sephardic Jews from Spain, Portugal, Yugoslavia, and otherMediterranean areas, the congregation purchased an old Welsh Church chapel at 78 Allen Street. On June 8, 1856, the new synagogue was formally dedicated, with Abraham Rice, the first ordained rabbi in America, conducting the dedication ceremony. Beth Hamedrash soon earned the reputation as a centerforOrthodox learning in New York and forthe participation of many distinguished rabbis. In 1859, Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash led a group of dissenting followers who had broken away from the original Beth Hamedrash, and who renamed the congregation adding “Hagodol” (Great) to the name. A series of moves followed that included the top floor of a building at the cornerof Grand and Forsyth Streets; then in 1865 to a former courthouse on Clinton Street; and then to Ludlow 99 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 99 100 the “lost” or endangered synagogues Street in 1872, where the congregation built its first synagogue building. In 1877, feeling the need forgreaterstatus and style in its religious services and to earn a reputation for dignity and decorum, Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagodol hired a hazzan (cantor), one of the first in a Lower East Side shul. The final move came in 1885 with the purchase of the very grand Norfolk Street Baptist Church (architect unknown). This renovated church would become the synagogue’s ultimate site. (The Norfolk Street Baptist Church subsequently moved uptown and still exists today as Riverside Church in Morningside Heights.) A yearlater, in 1886, unable to endure the noise and dirt from the new Second Avenue Elevated Train (“El”) that ran overhead, the original Congregation Beth Hamedrash sold the 78 Allen Street building to Congregation Machsike Torah Senier. (See Congregation Senierand Wilno, section H under “The‘Lost’or Endangered Synagogues.”) Shortly afterthe building’s sale, Beth Hamedrash announced that it was merging with Congregation Holkhe YosherVizaner— a move that presaged the founding of what would later become Khal Adas Jeshurun—also known as the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Beth Hamedrash Hagodol was recognized as one of the eight Great Synagogues of the LowerEast Side. Fourwere renovated church edifices (the still extant Beth Hamedrash Hagodol and BialystokerSynagogue, and the now demolished Beth Haknesseth Mogen Avraham and The First Roumanian-American Congregation). Two were former German-Jewish synagogues taken over by newer Jewish immigrantsfromEasternEurope(AnsheSlonimandChasam Sopher), and two synagogues were purpose-built by Eastern European Jewish immigrants (Eldridge Street Synagogue and the Sons of Israel Kalwarie). Beth Hamedrash Hagodol was designated a New York City Historic Landmark in 1967. It was historically the most popular synagogue with Russian immigrants and boasted the largest number of Russian congregants, particularly during the period 1895–1915. Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagodol 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 100 Beth Hamedrash Hagodol’s now-abandoned sanctuary was noted for being singularly beautiful with its carved benches, ornate gallery, wall paintings, and typical Gothic Revival vaulted ceiling. The Ark still stands in the place of the former church’s pulpit. The bimah is in the center of the hall and is surmounted by fourcharming globe-shaped lampsofetchedglass.Inthelateafternoon,sunshinestreaming through the tall stained glass windows fills the broad, but now inaccessible sanctuary with myriad colors. chief orthodox rabbi jacob joseph Perhaps most noteworthy in Beth Hamedrash Hagodol’s rich history is that the congregation aspired to be led by the first and only Chief Rabbi of the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States—Rabbi Jacob Joseph—who was brought to New York from Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania with that title. Chosen by the Association of American Orthodox...