Khal Adath Jeshurun, officially K'hal Adath Jeshurun, abbreviated as KAJ, is an Orthodox Jewish community 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 85-93 Bennett Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood 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 ...

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, United States. The community includes a high proportion of

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

German Jews and follows the Western Ashkenazic rite, unlike most Ashkenazic synagogues in the United States, that follow the Eastern Ashkenazic ('' Polish'') liturgical rite. The Western Ashkenazic rite covers the community's liturgical text, practices, and melodies. The community uses the Rödelheim Siddur Sfas Emes edited by Wolf Heidenheim and Seligman Baer, although the community's rite varies in some places from Rödelheim. The community has an affiliated synagogue in the heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Monsey, and there is a synagogue that follows the minhagim of KAJ in Lakewood.

History

The community is a direct continuation of the pre-Second World War Jewish community of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

led by Samson Raphael Hirsch. Khal Adath Jeshurun bases its approach, and structure, on Hirsch's philosophy of '' Torah im Derech Eretz''; it was re-established according to the protocol originally drawn in 1850, to which the community continues to adhere. K'hal Adath Jeshurun was founded in 1939 in Washington Heights by refugees from Germany, following Kristallnacht. The community is colloquially called "Breuer's" after Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer, founder of the community and its first rabbi. He was a grandson of Samson Raphael Hirsch. The current synagogue building was completed in 1952, renovating initial premises at 90 Bennett Avenue.

Full service community

True to the "full-service community" as originally established in Frankfurt, the community includes a synagogue, an elementary school (located at 85 Bennett Avenue), various educational facilities, a social hall, a boys

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, and a kollel. It formerly included a girls high school, a post-high school girls seminary, and a post high school '' Beth Midrash'' program. The ''Kehilla'' also offers its members a ''

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

'', ''

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

'' supervision and '' Shechitah''. The yeshivas go under the name Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. It also offers an independent '' Chevra kadisha''. The members of the community tend to live in the buildings on Bennett Avenue, Overlook Terrace, and the adjacent cross streets towards the west and Fort Washington Avenue.

Senior rabbis

* Rabbi Joseph Breuer (1939 – 1980): founded the community and led it until his death. * Rabbi Shimon Schwab (1958 – 1995): joined the community in 1958, and served as senior rabbi from 1980 until his death. * Rabbi Zechariah Gelley (1987 – 2018): joined the community in 1987, and served as senior rabbi from 1995 until his death. * Rabbi Yisroel Mantel, previously of

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, Switzerland, joined the community in 2006, and became senior rabbi when Rabbi Gelley died in 2018.Alt URL

Gallery

Synagogue building.jpg, Synagogue Samson Raphael Hirsch (FL12173324).crop.jpg, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Yeshiva Hirsch Bennett Av 186 St jeh.jpg, 186th Street school

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khal Adath Jeshurun Ashkenazi synagogues in the United States German-Jewish culture in New York City Orthodox synagogues in New York City Synagogues in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan Yekke 1939 establishments in New York City Jewish organizations established in 1939 Synagogues completed in 1952 20th-century synagogues in the United States