Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism (former) |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue (1921–2023) |
Leadership | Rabbi David E. Herman (former) |
Status | Closed(2023) |
Location | |
Location | 2001 Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21217 |
Country | United States |
Location in Baltimore | |
Geographic coordinates | 39°19′11″N76°39′4″W / 39.31972°N 76.65111°W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Stanislaus Russell |
Type | Synagogue |
Style | Classical Revival |
Groundbreaking | 1921 |
Completed | 1927 |
Construction cost | US$285,000 |
Specifications | |
Capacity | 1,000 worshippers |
Dome(s) | 1 |
Materials | Stone; copper; glass |
Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue | |
Area | less than one acre |
NRHP reference No. | 96001085 |
Added to NRHP | October 10, 1996 |
[1] [2] |
Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue (transliterated from Hebrew as "Gates of Prayer"), also known as the Shul in the Park, is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located on Druid Hill Park at 2001 Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. Completed in 1927, in September 2023 it was reported that the synagogue had closed. [3]
Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. [2] The synagogue is significant due to its association with the immigration of Russian and Eastern European Jews to Baltimore. It is a rock-faced stone structure with large arched stained glass windows and a pedimented roofline surmounted by a central copper-clad dome.
The synagogue was designed by architect Stanislaus Russell [1] and built on a budget on $250,000. [4] The cornerstone of the Shaarei Tfiloh Synagogue was laid on July 10, 1921. [4] Constructed from 1921 and 1927 for $285,000, it is one of the oldest functioning synagogue buildings in Maryland. It holds 700 men and 300 women. [5] The synagogue has a turquoise dome, stained glass windows, and a sanctuary with a balcony for women's seating. [1]
Its first president was Louis Cordish, father of state politician Paul L. Cordish. [6]
Rabbi Nathan Drazin was installed as Rabbi in 1934. [7]
At the time the synagogue was built, the surrounding "Park Circle" area was a thriving Jewish community. However, the Jewish community moved away from the neighborhood during the 1960s, primarily to Upper Park Heights, Randallstown, Pikesville, and Owings Mills. Eventually the synagogue ceased regular Sabbath (Saturday) services and only conducted services on the Jewish High Holy Days.
Beginning in the mid-2000s, the synagogue started conducting one "weekday" service a week, on Sunday mornings, in an effort to re-invigorate it, although Sabbath services are still not conducted. The synagogue is also occasionally used for special events (such as weddings) and as a location for "period" photography. It appeared in the 1999 movie Liberty Heights .
The synagogue conforms to Orthodox teachings and practices, and welcomes all as worshipers and members, regardless of personal affiliation.
As of 2011 [update] Howard Perlow and David Cordish were the co-presidents and David E. Herman was the rabbi.
The Shaarei Tfiloh Congregation Cemetery is located on 5800 Windsor Mill Road. [8]
A mechitza in Judaism is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women.
Congregation Tiferes Yisroel – Beis Dovid, also known as Rabbi Goldberger's Shul, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 6201 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. The congregation rabbi is Rabbi Menachem Goldberger.
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 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.
Beth Tfiloh Congregation is a Modern Orthodox congregation and synagogue located at 3300 Old Court Road, in Pikesville, Maryland, in the United States. With approximately 3,500 members, and seating for 1,600 worshippers, Beth Tfiloh claims it is the largest Modern Orthodox congregation in the United States.
Congregation Shomrei Emunah is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Greenspring neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Rabbi Binyamin Marwick is the synagogue's rabbi.
The First Russian Congregation of Rodfei Sholem Anshei Kiev, known as the Kiever Synagogue or Kiever Shul, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by Jewish immigrants from Ukraine in 1912, and formally incorporated in 1914. The congregants were poor working-people, and services were led by members and held in their homes. Two houses were eventually purchased in the Kensington Market area, and in their place construction was completed on the current twin-domed Byzantine Revival building in 1927. The building was once the site of George Taylor Denison's home Bellevue.
Ramath Orah is an Modern Orthodox synagogue located on West 110th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, United States. Located close to Columbia University the synagogue occupies a neo-Georgian building that was built in 1921 as the first stage of a large West Side Unitarian Church.
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.
B'nai Israel Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located in the historic Jonestown neighborhood, near downtown and the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. The synagogue is one of the oldest synagogue buildings in the United States.
Beth Am is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Reservoir Hill community of Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. It is one of two non-Orthodox synagogues in Baltimore's inner city. Beth Am is an urban, egalitarian congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and it is known for balancing traditional prayer and learning with innovative and intellectual critique.
Har Sinai – Oheb Shalom Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 7310 Park Heights Avenue, in Pikesville, Baltimore County, Maryland, in the United States. Established in 1842 in Baltimore and known as Har Sinai Congregation, and in 1853 near Camden Yards as Temple Oheb Shalom, the two congregations merged in 2019 and is the oldest Reform congregation in the United States that has used the same prayer rite since its inception.
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.
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.
Paul L. Cordish (1909–2003) was an attorney and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, he was also a businessman who worked for the Cordish Company and the founder of the Cordish Law Firm.
Few Jews arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, in its early years. As an immigrant port of entry and border town between North and South and as a manufacturing center in its own right, Baltimore has been well-positioned to reflect developments in American Jewish life. Yet, the Jewish community of Baltimore has maintained its own distinctive character as well.
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, abbreviated as KI, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park, just outside the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in Philadelphia in 1847, it is the sixth oldest Reform congregation in the United States, and, by 1900, it was one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States. The synagogue was at a number of locations in the city before building a large structure on North Broad Street in 1891, until 1956 when it moved north of the city to suburban Elkins Park.
Beth El Congregation is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 8101 Park Heights Avenue, in Pikesville, an outer suburb of greater Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1948.
Congregation Shearith Israel is a historic Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 5835 Park Heights Avenue, in Park Heights, northwest Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.