Gallery
Princes Street synagogue in early 1900s
Princes Street synagogue, now University House
Former Kadimah School and Auckland Hebrew Congregation on Grey's Avenue
| Auckland Hebrew Congregation | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Leadership | Rabbi Moshe Rube |
| Year consecrated | 1885 (Princes Street) 1968 (Greys Avenue) |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 514 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland |
| Geographic coordinates | 36°52′53″S174°48′19″E / 36.8813°S 174.8052°E |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Edward Bartley (Princes Street) John Godwater (Greys Avenue) |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Romaneseque (Princes Street) Modernist (Greys Avenue) |
Auckland Hebrew Congregation is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Remuera, a suburb of Auckland. The congregation previously occupied University House (Princes Street Synagogue) from 1885, before relocating to a larger building on Greys Avenue in 1968. The congregation moved again in 2022, having purchased the campus of Saint Kentigern Girls' School in Remuera. [1] The synagogue serves around 500 local families. [2]
The original synagogue building on Princes Street was designed and built by Edward Bartley in 1884–1885 in a Romanesque style, incorporating Gothic and Moorish design elements. [3] [4] The foundation stone was laid by David Nathan (1816–1886), an early Jewish settler and founder of the L.D. Nathan chain of stores, [5] and the synagogue opened on 9 November 1885. [6] The building could seat 375 people. [7] It was built on the site of an earlier military guardhouse [8] associated with Albert Barracks. The construction of the synagogue was a statement by the Jewish community in Auckland of not only status, but of their acceptance in the local community. [4] The building has a Category I listing with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. [8]
In 1968, the congregation moved to a new synagogue on Greys Avenue. [4] Ownership of the property reverted to Auckland City Council as part of the Albert Park Reserve following the deconsecration. [9] It has since served as a branch of the National Bank of New Zealand. The bank restored the building in 1989, preserving the stained glass windows as well as the Romanesque and Eastern decorative motifs. [10] The building currently serves as the University of Auckland's Alumni Relations and Development office. [10]
As the congregation grew in size, a larger building was needed to meet it needs and a plot was purchased on Greys Avenue, overlooking Myers Park. [11] The Princes Street synagogue was deconsecrated in 1969. [7] The new inner-city synagogue was consecrated on 8 September 1968. [12] It was designed by New Zealand Jewish architect, John Goldwater in a modernist style. The synagogue was the recipient of an architectural award in 1970. [13] The synagogue and complex underwent a US$6.63 million refurbishment in 2008 and future Jewish prime minister, John Key, attended the reopening. [14] In 2010, the congregation led a successful challenge against the New Zealand government, allowing shechita , after a ban had been put in place. [15] In 2011, Israel's Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin addressed the congregation. It marked the first official Israeli state visit to the country in a quarter of a century, since President Chaim Herzog's visit in 1986. [16] The buildings and sanctuary were used for filming by Simone Nathan in her 2022 TV series, Kid Sister . [17] The Greys Avenue complex was also home to Kadimah, the Jewish primary school, Auckland Jewish Immigration and the city's only kosher café. [18]
In 2019, with the assistance of the Woolf Fisher Trust, the congregation purchased the campus of Saint Kentigern Girls' School in Remuera. [19] Kadimah relocated from Grey's Avenue to the Remuera campus in 2023. [20] Other Jewish organisations and the Kosher café/deli are also in the process of relocating to the site, creating the main hub for Jewish life in Auckland. [1] The city's Reform congregation, Beth Shalom has also been invited to relocate to the campus. [21] The Auckland Hebrew Congregation plans to build a new sanctuary and synagogue in the future on the grounds of the campus. [22] It currently holds services in the original homestead on the property. The house had been built in 1918 for the Louisson family who, later downsized to a smaller property and sold the home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [23] The property and campus later formed part of Corran School, a private girls school, before becoming Saint Kentigern's Girl's School following a 2009 merger. [23] There are also plans for a mikvah on the site, a cultural centre and provision for Jewish youth groups. [22] In recent decades, the congregation has stepped up efforts to encourage Jewish immigration to New Zealand, mostly focusing on Jewry in South Africa, Argentina and Israel. [24]
Epsom is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and Greenlane, south of Newmarket, and five km south of Auckland CBD.
Remuera is an affluent suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" suburb, Remuera is noted for its quiet tree lined streets. The suburb has numerous green spaces, most obvious of which is Ōhinerau / Mount Hobson – a volcanic cone with views from the top overlooking Waitematā Harbour and Rangitoto.
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel, is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in its earliest form, by a group of 15 young Jews on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their goal was to make Orthodox Judaism more relevant to young Americanized Jews at a time when a significant Jewish education was rare, and most Orthodox institutions were Yiddish-speaking and oriented to an older, European Jewish demographic.
The Holy Blossom Temple is a Reform synagogue located at 1950 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Toronto. Founded in 1856, it has more than 7,000 members. W. Gunther Plaut, who died on 8 February 2012 at the age of 99, was a long time Senior Rabbi for this synagogue. Notable members and supporters include Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz who made donations to create the Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple.
Saint Kentigern College is a private co-educational Presbyterian secondary school in the suburb of Pakuranga on the eastern side of Auckland, New Zealand, beside the Tamaki Estuary. It is operated by the Saint Kentigern Trust Board which also operates Saint Kentigern Boys' School, Saint Kentigern Girls' School and Saint Kentigern Preschool.
The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 7401 Park Heights Avenue, in Pikesville, on the border of Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland, in the United States.
New Zealand Jews, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion, form with Hawaii (8,000-10,000), the joint-second largest (7,500-10,000) Jewish community in Oceania, behind Australia (118,000).
B'nai Jeshurun is a non-denominational Jewish synagogue located at 257 West 88th Street and 270 West 89th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, in the United States.
The Park Avenue Synagogue is a Conservative Jewish congregation located at 50 East 87th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States. Founded in 1882, the congregation is one of the largest congregations in the United States.
University House is a 19th-century building in Auckland, New Zealand, that originally served as the synagogue for the Auckland Hebrew Congregation. The building is situated on Princes Street, adjacent to Albert Park, and is now occupied by the University of Auckland.
Congregation Beth El is a Conservative synagogue located in Voorhees, Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States.
David Nathan (1816–1886) was one of the first Jewish settlers in New Zealand and became an early colonial shopkeeper there. His marriage to Rosetta Aarons in 1841 was the first Jewish service held in New Zealand.
Corran School was a small independent girls' school catering for students from ages 5 to 18 located in Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand. This school was established in 1947 by Mrs Constance Duthie. It closed at the end of 2009, and Saint Kentigern School for Girls was established at the site of the former school.
The Great Park Synagogue is an Orthodox synagogue situated in Houghton, Johannesburg. The present building was consecrated in 2000, after the congregation vacated their long-time home, the Great Synagogue on Wolmarans Street, Hillbrow in 1994, after eighty years. The Wolmarans Street synagogue came to be known as the city's mother synagogue and "the crown jewel of Orthodox Judaism in South Africa." All large-scale Jewish events in Johannesburg were held in the building, and throughout its existence it was the seat of the country's chief rabbi. Northward migration by congregation members led to the synagogue closing its doors in 1994. The relocated synagogue was built on the model of the Great Synagogue, whose own architecture in turn was inspired by the Hagia Sophia. Great Park Synagogue was also the original name of the synagogue on Wolmarans Street before it became the Great Synagogue.
St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church is an Anglican church in Tonawanda, New York. It is the pro-cathedral of the International Diocese in the Anglican Church in North America. The congregation is a successor to St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, founded in the Diocese of Western New York in 1955. In 2008, the clergy and members of St. Bart's left the Episcopal Church during the Anglican realignment and founded the current congregation, which now occupies the former site of Temple Beth-El in Tonawanda.
Kid Sister is a semi-autobiographical New Zealand television comedy drama show, created by Simone Nathan for TVNZ+, which premiered on 22 May 2022. Set in Auckland, the show focuses on the family's traditional/Orthodox-adjacent Jewish community. The show streams internationally on ITVX, CBC Gem, Hot/Yes, and Amediateka.
The Vredehoek Shul, formally the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation, was a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Vredehoek in Cape Town. It was established in 1939 and closed in 1993. It was one of a number of synagogues in the City Bowl, along with the country's oldest synagogue, the Gardens Shul in Gardens. The Art Deco building is a protected South African Heritage Resources Agency site and currently operates as Private Collection, an antique furniture showroom.
Beth Shalom is a Progressive Jewish congregation in Auckland and the largest progressive congregation in the country. The congregation was started in 1952 and later a temple was constructed and consecrated in 1960. It is a member of the Union for Progressive Judaism. The congregation has over 500 members, hosts a Hebrew school, and also has a burial society.
