The Actors' Temple, officially named Congregation Ezrath Israel, is a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

founded in 1917 in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, originally for the Orthodox shopkeepers in the area. Located at 339 West 47th Street since 1923, the temple was originally the West Side Hebrew Relief Association,Actors Temple History
and it was the synagogue of choice for the entertainment industry. Many vaudeville, musical theater, television, and nightclub performers attended services there, including

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

, Joe E. Lewis,

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

, as well as two of the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

.Filip Mazurczak
America's Most Beautiful, Inspiring, and Unique Synagogues (Part 1)

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

(April 18, 2016). Bernard Birstein, an aspiring actor himself, was the first rabbi; he died in 1959. The temple declined after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as actors moved to California and the neighborhood changed. The congregation diminished from 300 members to approximately 30 in 2009. In 2005, in order to bring in additional income, the temple started renting out dance rehearsal space to

New Dance Group New Dance Group, or more casually NDG, is a performing arts organization in New York City, United States. History New Dance Group was established in 1932 by a group of artists and choreographers dedicated to social change through dance and movem ...

as well as temporarily transforming into a theatre for plays. However, even with this additional income, the $120,000 annual operating costs used up the $2 million endowment by 2009. Despite these challenges, the temple continues to operate. In 2011, the temple had a fundraising program and about 150 dues-paying members, with an average

Friday night Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth day ...

worship attendance of 20–30 people. The Temple was once Orthodox, transitioned to

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, and is now

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

References

External links

Official Site

The Actor's Temple Theatre
official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Actors Temple, The Synagogues in Manhattan Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Jewish organizations established in 1917 Unaffiliated synagogues in New York City Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Off-Broadway theaters 1917 establishments in New York City Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City