Temple Emanu-El of New York
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Congregation Emanu-El of New York is the first
Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
congregation in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and, because of its size and prominence, has served as a flagship congregation in the Reform branch of Judaism since its founding in 1845. The congregation uses
Temple Emanu-El of New York Congregation Emanu-El of New York is the first Reform Jewish congregation in New York City and, because of its size and prominence, has served as a flagship congregation in the Reform branch of Judaism since its founding in 1845. The congregati ...
, one of the largest synagogues in the world. The congregation currently comprises approximately 2,000 families and has been led by Senior
Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Joshua M. Davidson since July 2013. The congregation is located at 1 East 65th Street on the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
of Manhattan. The Temple houses the Bernard Museum of Judaica, the congregation's Judaica collection of over 1,000 objects.


History


1845–1926

The congregation was founded by 33 mainly
German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
who assembled for services in April 1845 in a rented hall near
Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...
and Clinton Streets in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's Lower East Side. The first services they held were highly traditional. The Temple (as it became known) moved several times as the congregation grew larger and wealthier. In October 1847, the congregation relocated to a former Methodist church at 56
Chrystie Street Chrystie Street is a street on Manhattan's Lower East Side and Chinatown, running as a continuation of Second Avenue from Houston Street, for seven blocks south to Canal Street. It is bounded on the east for its entirety by Sara Delano Roosev ...
. The congregation commissioned architect
Leopold Eidlitz Leopold Eidlitz (March 10, 1823, Prague, Bohemia – March 22, 1908, New York City) was a prominent New York architect best known for his work on the New York State Capitol (Albany, New York, 1876–1881), as well as " Iranistan" (1848), P. T. B ...
to draw up plans for renovation of the church into a synagogue. Radical departures from
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
religious practice were soon introduced to Temple Emanu-El, setting precedents which proclaimed the principles of 'classical'
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
in America. In 1848, the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
spoken by the congregants replaced the traditional
liturgical language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacr ...
of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
in prayer books. Instrumental music, formerly banished from synagogues, was first played during services in 1849, when an organ was installed. In 1853, the tradition of calling congregants for aliyot was abolished (but retained for bar mitzvah ceremonies), leaving the reading of the Torah exclusively to the presiding rabbi. By 1869 the Chrystie Street building became the home of Congregation Beth Israel Bikur Cholim. Further changes were made in 1854 when Temple Emanu-El moved to 12th Street. Most controversially, mixed seating was adopted, allowing families to sit together, instead of segregating the sexes on opposite sides of a
mechitza A ''mechitza'' ( he, מחיצה, partition or division, pl.: , ) in Judaism, is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women. The rationale in halakha (Jewish law) for a partition dividing men and women is derived from ...
. After much heated debate, the congregation also resolved to observe Rosh Hashanah for only one day rather than the customary two. In 1857 after the death of Founding Rabbi Merzbacher, German speakers still formed a majority of the congregation and appointed another German Jew, Samuel Adler, to be his successor. In 1868, Emanu-El erected a new building for the first time, a
Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...
structure by Leopold Eidlitz, assisted by
Henry Fernbach Henry Fernbach (18291883) was an architect in New York City. Born in Breslau in Germany, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1848 or in 1855. Life Fernbach was a Prussian Jew,43rd Street and 5th Avenue after raising about $650,000. The congregation hired its first
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
speaking rabbi, Gustav Gottheil, in 1873, from
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In 1888, Joseph Silverman became the first American-born rabbi to officiate at the Temple. He was a member of the second class to graduate from Hebrew Union College. The 1870s and 1880s witnessed further departures from traditional ritual. Men could now pray without wearing
kippot A , , or , plural ), also called ''yarmulke'' (, ; yi, יאַרמלקע, link=no, , german: Jarmulke, pl, Jarmułka or ''koppel'' ( yi, קאפל ) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the c ...
to cover their heads. Bar mitzvah ceremonies were no longer held. The ''
Union Prayer Book The ''Union Prayer Book'' was a Siddur published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States. History An original version of the prayer book was published in 1892, based on th ...
'' was adopted in 1895. Felix Adler, the founder of the
Ethical Culture The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement, Ethical Humanism or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler (1851–1933).
movement, came to New York as a child when his father, Samuel L. Adler, took over as the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, an appointment that placed him among the most influential figures in Reform Judaism. In 1924,
Lazare Saminsky Lazare Saminsky, born Lazar Semyonovich Saminsky (russian: Лазарь (Элиэзер) Семенович Саминский; Valehotsulove (now Dolynske), near Odessa, 27 October 1882 O.S. / 8 November N.S. – Port Chester, New York, 30 June ...
became music director of the Temple, and made it a center of Jewish music. He also composed and commissioned music for the Temple services.


1926–present

In January 1926, the existing synagogue (built in 1868), was sold to the developer Benjamin Winter Sr. for $6,500,000 who then sold it to
Joseph Durst Joseph Durst (January 15, 1882 – December 31, 1973) was an American real estate developer, founder of the Durst Organization, and patriarch of the Durst family. Early life Born to a Jewish family, Durst immigrated to the US from Gorlice, Gal ...
in December 1926 for $7,000,000. In 1927, Durst demolished the building to make room for commercial development. Emanu-El merged with Temple Beth-El in New York, New York on April 11, 1927, and both are considered co-equal parents of the current Emanu-El. The new synagogue was built in 1928-1930. By the 1930s, Emanu-El began to absorb large numbers of Jews whose families had arrived in poverty from
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
and brought with them their
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
language and devoutly
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
religious heritage. In contrast, Emanu-El was dominated by affluent German-speaking Jews whose liberal approaches to Judaism originated in
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
, where civic emancipation had enticed Jews to discard many of their ethnoreligious customs and embrace the lifestyles of their neighbors. For the descendants of Eastern European immigrants, joining Temple Emanu-El often signified their upward mobility and progress in assimilating into American society. However, the intake of these new congregants also helped to slow or halt, if not force a limited retreat from, the 'rejectionist' attitude which 'classical' Reform had espoused towards traditional ritual. From 1934 to 1947, Dr. Samuel H. Goldenson (1878–1962) was the senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El. He was president of the
Central Conference of American Rabbis The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. I ...
from 1933 to 1935. In 1973, David M. Posner joined the rabbinical staff. Known for his active involvement in the community, he served as the congregation's Senior Emeritus rabbi after his retirement.


Synagogues of Congregation Emanu-El


Synagogue built in 1847


Synagogue built in 1854


Synagogue built in 1868


Synagogue built in 1891


Synagogue built in 1930


Notable members and funerals

* Benjamin Altheimer * Charles Benenson * Robert A. Bernhard *
Dorothy Lehman Bernhard Dorothy Lehman Bernhard (April 22, 1903 – March 6, 1969) was a civic leader and philanthropist.Milton H. Biow *
Leon Black Leon David Black (born July 31, 1951) is an American investor and the co-founder and former-CEO of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Black also served as the chairman of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City from Ju ...
* Harvey R. Blau *
Paul Block Paul Block (November 2, 1875 – June 22, 1941) was president of Paul Block and Associates (later Block Communications) and publisher of the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' and ''Toledo Blade''.Michael Bloomberg * Lyman Bloomingdale * Samuel Bloomingdale *
Nathan Burkan Nathan Burkan (November 8, 1879 – June 6, 1936) was a Romanian-born Jewish-American lawyer from New York. Life Burkan was born on November 8, 1879 in Iași, Romania, the son of Moritz Burkan and Tillie Armm. Burkan immigrated to America in 18 ...
* Benjamin Buttenwieser * Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel *
Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...
*
Bernard Gimbel Bernard Feustman Gimbel (April 10, 1885 – September 29, 1966) was an American businessman and president of the Gimbels department store. Biography Gimbel was born to Jewish parents, Rachel (née Feustman) and Isaac Gimbel, son of Adam Gimbel, ...
* Alan "Ace" Greenberg *
David M. Heyman David Melville Heyman (August 29, 1891 – January 7, 1984) was an American financier, health services leader, philanthropist, and art collector. Heyman founded the Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York in 1942 and the Health In ...
* Martin Kimmel *
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...
* Alfred J. Koeppel * Andrew Lack * Abraham E. Lefcourt * Adele Lewisohn LehmanJewish Women's Archive: "Adele Lewisohn Lehman 1882–1965" by Laurie Sokol
retrieved October 30, 2015 * Herbert H. Lehman *
Irving Lehman Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945. Biography He was born on January 28, 1876, in New ...
*
Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...
*
Solomon Loeb Solomon Loeb (June 29, 1828 – December 12, 1903) was a German-born American banker and businessman. He was a merchant in textiles and later a banker with Kuhn, Loeb & Co. Biography His father, a devout Jew, had been a small corn- and wine ...
*
Louis Marshall Louis Marshall (December 14, 1856 – September 11, 1929) was an American corporate, constitutional and civil rights lawyer as well as a mediator and Jewish community leader who worked to secure religious, political, and cultural freedom for a ...
*
Bernard H. Mendik Bernard Hyman Mendik (May 29, 1929May 28, 2001) was an American real estate developer, founder of the Mendik Company, and chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. Biography Mendik was born to a Scottish Jews, Jewish family in Glasgow, Sco ...
* William A. Moses * Adolph Ochs *
Milton Petrie Milton Petrie (August 5, 1902 – November 6, 1994) was an American retailer, investor and philanthropist. He made a fortune from a chain of retail stores and supplemented it through a series of investments in real estate and stocks. He was well ...
*
Victor Potamkin Victor Potamkin (July 2, 1911 – June 5, 1995) was an American businessman and car dealership owner known for deep discounting and aggressive advertising.Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...
*
Chester H. Roth Chester H. Roth (April 13, 1902 – July 26, 1977) was an American businessman who founded the Chester H. Roth Company and served as president and CEO of its successor Kayser-Roth Corporation. Biography Roth was raised in a Jewish family in New Y ...
* Simon F. Rothschild * Frank Russek * Mel Sachs * David Sarnoff *
Jacob Schiff Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...
* M. Lincoln Schuster *
Sime Silverman Simon J. Silverman (May 19, 1873 – September 22, 1933) was an American journalist and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of the weekly newspaper ''Variety'' in New York City in 1905, which gave theatre and vaudeville reviews and the Hol ...
*
Carl Spielvogel Carl Spielvogel (December 27, 1928 – April 21, 2021) was an American marketing executive and diplomat. He co-founded the advertising firm of Backer and Spielvogel (with Bill Backer), where he served as Chairman and CEO. Spielvogel has conduc ...
* Eliot Spitzer * Alfred Steckler *
Oscar S. Straus Oscar Solomon Straus (December 23, 1850 – May 3, 1926) was an American politician and diplomat. He served as United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909, making him the first Jewish United ...
* Lewis L. Strauss *
Sarah Lavanburg Straus Sarah Lavanburg Straus (1861 – November 9, 1945) was an American philanthropist and wife of diplomat Oscar Straus. Biography Born Sarah Lavanburg to a Jewish family in 1861 in New York City, the daughter of Hannah (née Seller) and Louis Lavan ...
*
Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''
*
Harold Uris Harold D. Uris (May 26, 1905 – March 28, 1982) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Percy Uris, the Uris Buildings Corporation. Biography Uris was born to a Jewish family, the son of ...
* Felix M. Warburg * Frieda Schiff Warburg * Paul F. Warburg * Jeff Zucker


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emanu-El of New York 1845 establishments in New York (state) 1929 establishments in New York (state) Classical Reform Judaism German-Jewish culture in New York City Leopold Eidlitz buildings Reform synagogues in New York City Religious organizations established in 1845 Romanesque Revival architecture in New York City Romanesque Revival synagogues Synagogues completed in 1929 Synagogues in Manhattan Upper East Side