Congregation Ohab Zedek

Last updated

Congregation Ohab Zedek
Congregation Ohab Zedek.jpg
Religion
Affiliation Modern Orthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Synagogue
Leadership
  • Rabbi Allen Schwartz
  • Rabbi Jack Varon
StatusActive
Location
Location118 West 95th Street, Upper West Side, in Manhattan, New York City, New York 10025
CountryUnited States
Location map United States Manhattan.png
Red pog.svg
Location in Manhattan
Geographic coordinates 40°47′33″N73°58′8″W / 40.79250°N 73.96889°W / 40.79250; -73.96889
Architecture
Architect(s)
  • Charles B. Myers
  • Herman H. Sohn
TypeSynagogue
Style Moorish Revival
Date established1873 (as a congregation)
Completed
Website
ozny.org
Congregation Ohab Zedek
NRHP reference No. 100001487
Added to NRHPAugust 18, 2017

Congregation Ohab Zedek, sometimes abbreviated as OZ and formally known as the First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek, is an Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 118 West 95th Street, Upper West Side, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States. The congregation is known for its lively, youthful congregation. [1] Founded in 1873, it moved to its current location on in 1926. The current clergy are Rabbi Allen Schwartz, Senior Rabbi and Rabbi Jack Varon, assistant Rabbi.

Contents

History

Lower East Side

Congregation Ohab Zedek was founded in 1873 on the Lower East Side. The congregation built a synagogue building at 70 Columbia Street in 1881. In 1886 the congregation sold the Columbia Street building to Congregation Ahavath Acheim Anshe Ungarn and moved into the Gothic Revival-style synagogue at 172 Norfolk Street that is now the Angel Orensanz Center, the oldest surviving synagogue building in New York and the fourth-oldest in the United States. [2] Rabbi Philip Klein served as its rabbi from 1890 to his death in 1926. [3]

116th Street building

In 1906–07 the congregation built and moved into a "monumental" building on 116th Street, in the newly fashionable neighborhood of Harlem. The "monumental" design was influenced by the Gothic character of the previous Norfolk Street home. The street-facing gable prominently featured a large four-centered arch-headed window over a large pedimented doorcase, appearing styled in loose or Vernacular Gothic on the interface of Moorish Revival architecture.

The famous singer Yossele Rosenblatt was a cantor there from 1911 to 1926, and again in 1929. [4]

In 1926 OZ moved to its present building at 118 West 95th Street; the 116th Street property was sold, eventually becoming the Baptist Temple Church, which occupied the location for over five decades. Conversion into a church removed the Jewish-themed terracotta ornaments. Costly structural damage necessitated the building's demolition, which occurred slowly throughout late 2009 and early 2010.

West 95th Street

The current synagogue building at 118 West 95th Street (constructed in 1926) is noted for its Moorish Revival architecture. Designed by architect Charles B. Myers, the interior features magnificent Mudéjar style plasterwork. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 18, 2017. [5]

Early in the 21st century, the congregation became known for attracting large numbers of Orthodox Jewish singles to its services and programs. [1] The congregation published a book in 2005 about its history, First Hungarian Congregation Ohab Zedek, written by Chaim Steinberger, a member of the congregation.

Currently, the senior Rabbi is Allen Schwartz and the executive director is Chad Hopkovitz.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Roumanian-American Congregation</span> Synagogue in Manhattan, New York

The First Roumanian-American Congregation, also known as Congregation Shaarey Shomayim, or the Roumanishe Shul, was an Orthodox Jewish congregation that, for over 100 years, occupied a historic building at 89–93 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yossele Rosenblatt</span> Ukrainian-born chazzan (cantor)

Josef "Yossele" Rosenblatt was a Ashkenazi chazzan and composer. He was regarded as the greatest cantor of his time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Shaare Zedek (Manhattan)</span> Synagogue in Manhattan, New York

Congregation Shaare Zedek is a Conservative synagogue located on West 93rd Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Hamedrash Hagodol</span> Synagogue in Manhattan, New York

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol is an Orthodox Jewish congregation that for over 120 years was located in a historic building at 60–64 Norfolk Street between Grand and Broome Streets in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was the first Eastern European congregation founded in New York City and the oldest Russian Jewish Orthodox congregation in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Synagogue (Manhattan)</span> United States historic place

Central Synagogue is a Reform synagogue at 652 Lexington Avenue, at the corner of East 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1870–1872 and was designed by Henry Fernbach in the Moorish Revival style as a copy of Budapest's Dohány Street Synagogue. It has been in continuous use by a congregation longer than any other in the state of New York, except Congregation Berith Sholom in Troy, New York, and is among the oldest existing synagogue buildings in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Synagogue (Sydney)</span> Heritage-listed synagogue in Sydney, Australia

TheGreat Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation located in a large heritage-listed synagogue at 187a Elizabeth Street in the Sydney central business district in the City of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Orensanz Center</span> Art and performance space in Manhattan, New York

The Angel Orensanz Center is an art and performance space at 172 Norfolk Street, between Stanton Street and East Houston Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was originally built as a synagogue, running through a succession of congregations and continues to be used as one occasionally as The Shul of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid (Milwaukee)</span> United States historic place

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, a suburb north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States.

Beth Israel Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 5315 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Organized in 1860 by Jews of German background, it has always been, and remains, the only Jewish synagogue in Jackson. Beth Israel built the first synagogue in Mississippi in 1867, and, after it burned down, its 1874 replacement was at one time the oldest religious building in Jackson.

Oheb Shalom Congregation is an egalitarian, Conservative synagogue located in South Orange, Essex County, New Jersey, in the United States. The synagogue is affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">95th Street (Manhattan)</span> West-east street in Manhattan, New York

95th Street runs from Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson River, to the East River, through the New York City borough of Manhattan. It traverses the neighborhoods of Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville; the street is interrupted by Central Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Shaarey Zedek</span> Synagogue in Detroit, Michigan

Congregation Shaarey Zedek is a Conservative synagogue in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Avenue Synagogue</span> Conservative Jewish congregation in Manhattan, New York

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Ohavi Zedek Synagogue</span>

The Old Ohavi Zedek Synagogue is an historic synagogue building at Archibald and Hyde Streets in Burlington, Vermont, in the United States. It was built in 1885 for Ohavi Zedek, Vermont's oldest Jewish congregation, and is currently occupied by Congregation Ahavath Gerim. The building, a distinctive vernacular interpretation of the Gothic Revival style, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Israel of the City of New York</span>

Temple Israel of the City of New York is a Reform congregation in Manhattan. It was incorporated in 1873 by German Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth El of Borough Park</span> United States historic place

Temple Beth El of Borough Park, now known as Young Israel Beth El of Borough Park, is a historic synagogue at 4802 15th Avenue in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Roitman</span> American singer

David Roitman was a Russian-American hazzan and composer. Early in his career he worked as cantor in villages and cities in Russia such as Vilna and Odessa. In 1921 he immigrated to the United States and eventually joined the Congregation Shaare Zedek. Renowned for his lyric tenor compositional recordings and cantorial recitatives, Roitman became known as "the poet of the pulpit".

Philip Klein was a Hungarian-born rabbi who ministered in the Russian Empire and America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shul of New York</span> Liberal non-denominational synagogue in New York City

The Shul of New York is a Jewish liberal non-denominational congregation and synagogue that is located within the Angel Orensanz Center, at 172 Norfolk Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 Bleyer, Jennifer (August 10, 2008). "Marriage on Their Minds". The New York Times .
  2. Dunlap, David W. (February 18, 1987). "New Life Is Envisioned For Historic Synagogue". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  3. Landman, Isaac, ed. (1942). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York, N.Y.: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 415 via Google Books.
  4. Olivestone, David. "Yossele Rosenblatt (II), The remarkable career of Cantor Rosenblatt". Chazzanut.com. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  5. "Congregation Ohab Zedek". National Register of Historic Places . August 18, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2023.