Congregation Agudath Shalom

Last updated

Congregation Agudath Shalom
Congregation Agudath Shalom Chelsea MA.jpg
Congregation Agudath Shalom synagogue
Religion
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism
Rite Open Orthodoxy
Location
Location145 Walnut Street, Chelsea, Massachusetts
Relief map of USA Massachusetts.png
Red pog.svg
Location in Massachusetts
Geographic coordinates 42°23′34″N71°2′15″W / 42.39278°N 71.03750°W / 42.39278; -71.03750
Architecture
Architect(s) Harry Dustin Joll
Style Romanesque Revival
Date established1887 (as a congregation)
Completed1909
Website
walnutstreetsynagogue.com
Congregation Agudath Shalom
Area0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
NRHP reference No. 93000283
Added to NRHPApril 16, 1993
[1]

Congregation Agudath Shalom, also known as Agudas Sholom the Walnut Street Synagogue or the Walnut Street Shul, is an historic Open Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 145 Walnut Street in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in the United States.

Contents

History

The congregation was founded in 1887. [2] The present building was erected in 1909, one year after the great fire that destroyed a third of the buildings in the city. The architect was Harry Dustin Joll. The congregation's previous building was destroyed in the great fire. [3]

It is the oldest surviving synagogue in Chelsea, a city that was one-third Jewish at the time the synagogue was built. [4]

The synagogue possesses a "remarkable" series of wall and ceiling frescoes painted by Jewish immigrant artists. [5] The "magnificent" carved Torah Ark was created by a noted Boston-area cabinetmaker who specialized in synagogue furniture, San Katz, in the 1920s. [4] The synagogue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

2016

In 2016, Congregation Agudath Shalom hired Rabbi Lila Kagedan as its full-time spiritual leader. Kagedan is the first graduate of Yeshivat Maharat to take the title of Rabbi for her work as a female Orthodox leader. She had previously worked and taught in the Boston area for over ten years. The Synagogue continues to operate as an Orthodox Shul. [6] Kagedan is the first female rabbi of a U.S. Orthodox Jewish synagogue. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adams Street Shul</span> Mdern Orthodox synagogue in Newton, Massachusetts

The Adams Street Shul, officially the Congregation Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 168 Adams Street in the village of Nonantum in Newton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Built in 1912 for a congregation established in 1911, it is home to Newton's oldest Jewish congregation, and one of the oldest in the region still occupying its original synagogue.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breed Street Shul</span> Former synagogue listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in Los Angeles, California

Breed Street Shul, also known as Congregation Talmud Torah of Los Angeles or Breed Street Synagogue, is a former Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. It was the largest Orthodox synagogue west of Chicago from 1915 to 1951, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Israel Synagogue (Cambridge, Massachusetts)</span> Historic former Reform synagogue in Massachusetts

Beth Israel Synagogue is a historic former Jewish synagogue building at 238 Columbia Street in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Built in 1901, it was the first and principal synagogue to serve the East Cambridge area, and is a fine local example of Romanesque Revival architecture. Now converted into residential condominiums, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Ohabei Shalom (Brookline, Massachusetts)</span> Reform synagogue in Brookline, Massachusetts, US

Temple Ohabei Shalom is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 1187 Beacon Street, in Brookline, suburban Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Organized in 1842 with membership mainly of German Jews, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Massachusetts and the third oldest in New England, following congregations in Newport and New Haven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Agudath Sholom</span> Modern Orthodox synagogue and historic former synagogue in Stamford, Connecticut, US

Congregation Agudath Sholom is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at Strawberry Hill Avenue, in Stamford, Connecticut, 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.

Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 540 West Melrose Street, in the Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaarai Torah Synagogue (Worcester, Massachusetts)</span> Former synagogue in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Shaarai Torah Synagogue is an historic former Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue building located at 32 Providence Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States. Worcester's first Modern Orthodox "shul", Shaarai Torah was considered the city's "Mother Synagogue" for many years.

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">House of Peace Synagogue</span> United States historic place

The House of Peace Synagogue is a former synagogue of the Beth Shalom Congregation in Columbia, South Carolina. It was originally located at 1318 Park Street. After the congregation moved in the 1935, the building was used for the Big Apple Club, which was an African-American night club. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 1979. In the early 1980s, the building was moved to its present location at the southeast corner of Hampton and Park Streets. In 1993, it was purchased by the Historic Columbia Foundation and is called the Big Apple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Israel Synagogue (New Haven, Connecticut)</span> Orthodox historic synagogue in New Haven, Connecticut, US

Congregation Beth Israel, also known as the Orchard Street Shul, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 232 Orchard Street in New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States. The synagogue building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Agudas Achim (Livingston Manor, New York)</span> Reform synagogue in New York (state), US

Agudas Achim Synagogue, formally known as Congregation Agudas Achim, is a Reform Jewish synagogue located on Rock Avenue in Livingston Manor, Sullivan County, New York, in the United States. The stucco-sided wooden building was erected in the 1920s to serve the growing Jewish community in that area of the Catskills. It served the large summer population of Jews from the New York City area who vacationed at family resorts in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poile Zedek Synagogue</span> United States historic place

Poile Zedek Synagogue was a historic synagogue at 145 Neilson Street in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey.

Lila Kagedan is a Canadian-born Jewish rabbi who in 2016 became the first woman with the title rabbi to be hired by an Orthodox synagogue. This occurred when Mount Freedom Jewish Center in New Jersey, which is open Modern Orthodox, hired Kagedan to join their "spiritual leadership team." She is currently the rabbi at Walnut Street Synagogue, an Open Orthodox synagogue in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Shul</span> Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue in Far Rockaway in New York

The White Shul, officially Congregation Kneseth Israel, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located in Far Rockaway, in Queens, New York City, New York, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1922 as Talmud Torah Kneseth Israel and was nicknamed "The White Shul" after its white marble building. The original building located at Nameoke Street and Dinsmore Avenue was destroyed."

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Chelsea's Synagogues". Archived from the original on September 9, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  3. The Burning of Chelsea by Walter Merriam Pratt Published by Sampson publishing company, 1908, p. 46
  4. 1 2 Chelsea, By Harriman Clarke, Arcadia Publishing, 2003, p. 87
  5. Marilyn J. Chiat, America's Religious Architecture, Wiley, 1997 p. 51
  6. "Chelsea's historic Walnut Street Shul preserves a future". jewishjournal.org. June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  7. "Meet the First Female Orthodox Rabbi". The Cut. Retrieved May 5, 2019.