Anshei Sfard (Louisville, Kentucky)

Last updated

Anshei Sfard
Religion
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Rite Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Synagogue
LeadershipRabbi Simcha Snaid
StatusActive
Location
Location2904 Bardstown Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40205
CountryUnited States
USA Kentucky relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Kentucky
Administration Orthodox Union
Geographic coordinates 38°13′35″N85°38′53″W / 38.22639°N 85.64806°W / 38.22639; -85.64806
Architecture
Date establishedJune 1893 (as a congregation)
Completed
  • 1903 (South First Street)
  • c. 1957(near Community Center)
  • 2019 (Dutchman's Lane)
  • 2022 (Bardstown Road)
Website
ansheisfard.com

Anshei Sfard is an Orthodox congregation and synagogue located at 2904 Bardstown Road, in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. [1] Affiliated with the Orthodox Union, the synagogue offers Shabbat and Yom Tov services. [2] Prayer services are conducted in Nusach Ashkenaz.

Contents

History

The congregation was founded by a group of Russian Jewish immigrants in June 1893. [3] [4] [5] In 1897 and 1898 it occupied a private home owned by Jacob Brownstein on Eighth Street, and for the next few years met in a three-story building at 716 W. Walnut Street [6] (now called Muhammad Ali Boulevard). In 1903 it purchased the former B'rith Sholom synagogue at 511 South First Street. [1] [6] This building no longer exists, but it was located at a spot that would be across First Street from what is today The Brown School. The synagogue was forced to move due to the construction of the I-65 interstate highway. [3] The synagogue purchased a 17.5 acres (7.1 ha) lot adjacent to the Jewish Community Center [3] and held its groundbreaking ceremony in April 1957. [1] [4]

In 1971 Anshei Sfard absorbed another Orthodox congregation, Agudath Achim, bringing its membership up to 300 families. [1] When another Orthodox congregation, Keneseth Israel, became Conservative in 1994, Anshei Sfard remained as the only Orthodox congregation in Louisville. [1]

Beginning in May 2019, the synagogue rented space from Shalom Towers, situated behind the synagogue's previous location which was sold to the Jewish Community of Louisville. Congregation Anshei Sfard continues to have daily services in its new location under the leadership of Rabbi Simcha Snaid.

In 2022, the synagogue announced that it was moving to a new leased location at 2904 Bardstown Road. [7]

Rabbinic leadership

In 1903 the Orthodox synagogues in Louisville, under the umbrella of a Vaad HaEr (community council), hired a chief rabbi to act as spiritual leader for all of the city's synagogues, in addition to supervising kashrut, a mikveh, and a Talmud Torah. [8] In the 1910s Anshei Sfard hired its own rabbi, Rabbi Z. Klavansky. [9]

From 1930 to 1945 the congregation was led by Rabbi Charles Chavel, who went on to produce acclaimed critical editions of classical Jewish commentators on the Bible and Talmud. [3] [10] He was succeeded by Rabbi Solomon Roodman, who served from 1946 to 1989. [3] Rabbi Avrohom Litvin took the helm in 1989. [3] Rabbi Litvin resigned in 2013.

The next designated spiritual leader, was Rabbi Dr. Joshua Golding, a professor of philosophy at Bellarmine University, specializing in philosophy of religion and Jewish philosophy. [11]

Rabbi Simcha Snaid has served as the senior rabbi since 2016. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes</span> Synagogue in New York City

Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes, more commonly known as the Kane Street Synagogue, is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue at 236 Kane Street in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, New York, United States. It is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Brooklyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Broadway Synagogue</span> Orthodox and historic synagogue in Manhattan

Old Broadway Synagogue, officially Chevra Talmud Torah Anshei Marovi, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 15 Old Broadway, in the Manhattanville neighborhood of Harlem, Manhattan, in New York City, New York, United States. The congregation practises in the Ashkenazi rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Asheville, North Carolina)</span> Synagogue in Asheville, North Carolina, United States

Congregation Beth Israel is an independent, traditional egalitarian Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 229 Murdock Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina, in the United States. Founded in 1899 as Bikur Cholim, it was an Orthodox breakaway from Asheville's existing synagogue. It hired its first full-time rabbi in 1909, opened a religious school in 1911, and acquired its first building, which burnt down in 1916, in 1913.

Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 330 Joe Clifton Drive, in Paducah, Kentucky, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom</span> Reform synagogue in Louisville, Kentucky, US

Congregation Adath Israel Brith Sholom is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5101 US Hwy 42, in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keneseth Israel (Louisville, Kentucky)</span>

Keneseth Israel is a Conservative synagogue located at 2531 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. The congregation's original synagogue building was constructed in Louisville in 1928. It was designed by Joseph & Joseph and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original synagogue building suffered extensive damage in a fire in 2021 and after a structural assessment, was demolished.

Orthodox Jewish feminism is a movement in Orthodox Judaism which seeks to further the cause of a more egalitarian approach to Jewish practice within the bounds of Jewish Law. The major organizations of this movement is the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) in North America, and Women of the Wall (WOW) and its affiliates in Israel and internationally, known as The International Committee for Women of the Wall (ICWOW). In Israel, the leading Orthodox feminist organization is Kolech, founded by Dr. Chana Kehat. In Australia, there is one Orthodox partnership minyan, Shira Hadasha, in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah</span> Modern Orthodox synagogue in Potomac, Maryland, US

Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah is a Modern Orthodox synagogue on Seven Locks Road in Potomac, Maryland, in the United States. The largest Orthodox synagogue in the Washington metropolitan area, it is led by Rabbi Nissan Antine.

Congregation Agudath Achim was the first Jewish congregation in Ashland, Kentucky, in the United States. Established in 1896, the synagogue closed in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anshei Minsk</span> Synagouge in Toronto, Ontario

Anshei Minsk is a synagogue in the Kensington Market neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1912 by poor Jewish immigrants from what is now Belarus, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. The current Byzantine Revival building was completed in 1930.

Shaarey Tphiloh is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 400 Deering Avenue, in Portland, Maine, in the United States. The congregation claims it is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Portland. The name of the synagogue literally means "Gates of Prayer" in Hebrew.

Rabbi Charles Ber Chavel was a rabbi and scholar who, most notably, published critical editions of medieval Jewish commentators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Louisville, Kentucky</span> Overview of religion in Louisville, Kentucky

Religion in Louisville, Kentucky includes religious institutions of various faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

Congregation Shomrei Emunah is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 5202 14th Avenue, Borough Park, Brooklyn, in New York City, New York, United States.

Little Haifa or New Preston St. are the two nicknames for a large Jewish neighborhood on Dutchman's Lane stretching from Abigail Drive through Almara Circle, Vivian Lane, and Woodluck Avenue.

Jack Simcha Cohen (1936–2014) was an "18th consecutive communal rabbi in his family" and "the face of Orthodox Judaism" to a TV program "viewed by millions each week." He held positions in New York, New Jersey, California and Australia, with his "final position in the rabbinate" in Florida.

Sheea Halevy Herschorn was a Russian-born Canadian Jewish communal leader and posek, who served as Chief Rabbi of Montreal from 1951 until 1961.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Louisville, Kentucky". Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  2. ↑ Chernofsky, Ellen (1991). Traveling Jewish in America: The Complete Guide for Business & Pleasure (3rd ed.). Wandering You Press. p. 143. ISBN   096171042X.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kleber, John E. (2001). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. p. 216. ISBN   0813128900.
  4. 1 2 "History of Congregation Anshei Sfard". Anshei Sfard. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Weissbach, Lee Shai (2008). "Louisville". Jewish Virtual Library . Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Weissbach, Lee Shai (1995). The Synagogues of Kentucky: History and Architecture. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 21–23. ISBN   081313109X.
  7. ↑ "A New Home" (PDF). Community. January 28, 2022.
  8. ↑ Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 13 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference USA. p. 225. ISBN   978-0028659411.
  9. ↑ Landau, Herman (1981). Adath Louisville: The Story of a Jewish Community. H. Landau and Associates. p. 52.
  10. ↑ Sherman, Moshe D. (1996). Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 46–47. ISBN   0313243166.
  11. ↑ "Anshei Sfard Today". Anshei Sfard. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Our Rabbi". Anshei Sfard. n.d. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.