Congregation Beth Israel West Side Jewish Center
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Congregation Beth Israel, commonly referred to as the West Side Jewish Center or, in more recent years, the Hudson Yards Synagogue, is an
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-pag ...
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
located at 347 West
34th Street 34th Street most commonly refers to 34th Street (Manhattan) 34th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs the width of Manhattan Island from the West Side Highway on the West Side to FDR Drive on t ...
, in the Garment District of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, Synagogue website. in the United States. Established in 1890, the congregation completed its current building near
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Train ...
in 1925. Rabbi Jason Herman has served as
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 t ...
since 2005. Previous rabbis have included Joseph Schick,
Norman Lamm Norman Lamm (December 19, 1927 – May 31, 2020) was an American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, academic administrator, author, and Jewish community leader. He was the Chancellor of Yeshiva University until he announced his retirement on July ...
, and Solomon Kahane.


History


Early years

Congregation Beth Israel West Side Jewish Center was established in 1890 by Orthodox
German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
and Jews from
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. History, Synagogue website. In its early years the congregation worshiped at 252 West 35th Street, ''American Jewish Year Book'', Vol. 21, p. 460. a building later purchased by St. Paul Baptist Church. Dunlap (2004), p. 23. In 1905, the congregation constructed a new synagogue building at 252 West 35th Street, designed by architect John H. Knubel. Its sanctuary sat 600. In 1924, the congregation broke ground for its current three-story building at 347 West 34th Street. The "somber" Neo-classical building, Levitt (2015), p. 124. designed by Gronenberg & Leuchtag, was completed in 1925.


Recent years

The synagogue was in the news in 2007. The congregation rents the entire side of its building for advertisements and parking and that year it was covered with a huge billboard for the film '' Resident Evil: Extinction''. The image did not offend any members, according to Herman, and the congregation who mainly found out after the fact, we’re convinced that the additional income generated by the billboard helpful for maintaining the building. Dunlap (2007). In 2015 the congregation began a multi-year process with architect Esther Sperber to explore options for renovating the synagogue building. At one point it considered a proposal to demolish the existing structure, and replace it with a large, multi-story multi-use synagogue and condominium. However, in 2016 Herman, and the congregation president, stated that the membership had "quite overwhelmingly rejected any plans for demolition of our current synagogue building and any plan we might pursue will preserve our existing synagogue structure". The president stated that congregation would instead probably renovate the existing structure so that it conformed with current building codes, and develop the synagogue-owned parking lot next to the building. Oswald (2016). A recent article written in the JTA detailed some of these plans as of 2019. In 2016, the synagogue began using the additional name Hudson Yards Synagogue.


Rabbinical leadership

Dr. Joseph Schick became
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 t ...
in 1926. ''The New York Times'', March 18, 1938, p. 19. Born in
Ónod Ónod is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to th ...
in Austria-Hungary in 1892, he served as a chaplain in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I, and was the rabbi of Budapest's Beth Israel synagogue of 1918 to 1922, then emigrated to the United States. His books ''The Kaddish: Its Power for Good'' and ''Joseph's Harvest'' were published in 1928 and 1932 respectively. Rosenstein (1990), p. 143. He served until his death in 1938, at age 49. Schick was succeeded in 1939 by Harry M. Katzen ''The New York Times'', February 13, 1939, p. 2 and then William Novack, ''The New York Times'', September 15, 1939, p. 20. and then in 1940 by Leo Ginsburg. ''The New York Times'', April 26, 1940, Sports section p. 33.


1950s to 2000

In 1952,
Norman Lamm Norman Lamm (December 19, 1927 – May 31, 2020) was an American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, academic administrator, author, and Jewish community leader. He was the Chancellor of Yeshiva University until he announced his retirement on July ...
, later president of
Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.
for over 25 years, was appointed to the role. ''The New York Times'', November 22, 1952, p. 14.
He would serve 11 momths, before moving to the (unrelated)
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
Jewish Center in 1958. History, Upper West Side Jewish Center website. Solomon (Shlomo) Kahane,
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
in 1954 at Yeshiva University, was subsequently rabbi of the congregation for 38 years and widely considered the synagogue's most prominent Rabbi. He died in April, 2004. ''The New York Times'', April 20, 2004. ''Yeshiva University Review'', Winter 2005, pp. 38–39. He was a first cousin of Rabbi
Meir Kahane Meir David HaKohen Kahane ( ; ; born Martin David Kahane; August 1, 1932 – November 5, 1990) was an American-born Israel, Israeli Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox ordained rabbi, writer and ultra-nationalist politician. Founder of the Israeli pol ...
, the founder of the
Jewish Defense League The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a far-right political organization in the United States and Canada. Its stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"; it has been classified as "right-wing terrorist group" ...
and the Israeli political party
Kach Kach () was a radical Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish, religious Zionist List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel, existing from 1971 to 1994. Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1971 based on his Jewish-Orthodox-nationalist ...
. The Jewish Defense League's first meeting was held at the West Side Jewish Center on June 18, 1968. Wheatcroft (1996), p. 279. Friedman (1990), p. 87.


Leadership since 2000

Kahane was succeeded by Dr. Richard Weiss. West Side Jewish Center, Orthodox Union website, 2000. A licensed physician, Rabbi Weiss subsequently became rabbi of Young Israel of Hillcrest in
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. Weiss, (2007). Jason Herman succeeded Weiss as the congregation's spiritual leader. Traiman (2007). Herman (2007). Herman received a degree at
Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) is a Modern Orthodox yeshiva founded in 1999 by Rabbi Avi Weiss. Currently located in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, YCT's declared mission is to educate and place rabbis who are ...
. He is the Executive Director of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, serves as an officer of the New York Board of Rabbis and the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, is the founder of the Israel Academic Institute and is a past fellow at Rabbis Without Borders. Rabbi's Page, Synagogue website. Known for his activism, he was one of 22 Rabbis arrested at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in 2007 after a protest demanding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad be barred from speaking to the General Assembly. In 2008, he was one of a group of individuals who boycotted kosher meat from
Agriprocessors Agriprocessors was the corporate identity of a slaughterhouse and Meat packing industry, meat-packaging factory based in Postville, Iowa, Postville, Iowa, best known as a facility for the Kosher foods, glatt kosher Food processing, processing o ...
over concerns that the company's practices were unethical. Nussbaum Cohen (2008). Herman discovered in 2017 that his name had been added to a "
blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
" of 160 rabbis whose credentials were rejected for the purposes of certifying to the
Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the ...
that individuals in Israel claiming to be Jewish were, in fact, Jewish. He surmised that it was because of a letter he had written in 2012 vouching for a non-Orthodox Jewish woman. Oddly, after a different married rabbi vouched for the individual, the Rabbinate allowed Herman to officiate at the wedding. Maltz (2017). Sales (2017).


References


Citations

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The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', no byline: ** ** ** ** ** ** * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel West Side Jewish Center 1890 establishments in New York (state) Austrian-Jewish culture in the United States German-Jewish culture in New York City Hungarian-Jewish culture in New York City Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Neoclassical synagogues Orthodox synagogues in New York City Jewish organizations established in 1890 Synagogues completed in 1905 Synagogues completed in 1925 Synagogues in Manhattan 34th Street (Manhattan) 20th-century synagogues in the United States