IX. The Jews - 1860
BY
HARRY J. PODMORE 24
The material embodied here is in
the main abridged from articles published by Mr. Podmore in the Community Messenger.
THE first organization in the life of
Trenton Jewry was the Har Sinai Cemetery Association, formed in 1857. Prior to
the beginning of the Har Sinai Hebrew Congregation, which was the outgrowth of
the cemetery association, religious services were held in the homes of
individuals. An early mention of Jewish worship here is given in the State
Gazette, April
30, 1856, relative
to the Passover observance. The following is an extract from the item published
on that day:
There is quite a large number of the
Hebrew race in Trenton who adhere to their ancient worship of the one, only,
and true God.
The nearest synagogue, we believe, is at
Philadelphia.
In connection with the observance of the
Jewish New Year of 5619, which fell in September of 1858, services were held in
Temperance Hall. According to an item in the Daily True American, September
10, fifty-two persons participated in the ceremonies of the first day.
HAR SINAI HEBREW CONGREGATION (REFORM) - 1860
Formal services, regularly conducted,
began in Trenton about 1860 with the formation of the Har Sinai Hebrew
Congregation. In the summer of that year meetings were held in the old Chancery
Building which stood on the site of the Trenton Trust Building, West State
Street and Chancery Lane.
At a meeting held on July 22 the
congregation decided to incorporate and the following were elected trustees:
Simon Kahnweiler, Isaac Wymann, Henry Shoninger, Herman Rosenbaum, Marcus
Aaron, L. Kahnweiler and David Manko. Soon after this time the body was
incorporated with the trustees named as the incorporators. Nearly all of the
founders of the Har Sinai Temple congregation were of German extraction. For
many years the services were conducted in German and Hebrew only.
In 1865 Simon Kahnweiler, credited as the
first president of the congregation, purchased from the Lutherans a little
brick chapel on North Montgomery Street, known as Christ Church of the
Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. The edifice was refitted as a temple and on
March 23, 1866, it was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, the Rev. D.
Frankel, of Philadelphia, officiating, assisted by the Rev. Isaiah Gotz and the
Rev. Reuben Straus. Judge David Naar delivered the dedicatory address. The Rev.
Isaac Lesser made a few remarks appropriate to the occasion, and the ceremonies
were brought to a close by the singing of the 150th Psalm by the choir.
The year of 1872 was a dark one for the
small congregation. Evidently the benefactor had not deeded the temple to the
congregation and there seems to have been some dissension among the members.
Matters went from bad to worse, reaching a climax on March 16, when
Kahnweiler's holdings, including the little house of worship, were sold at
public auction held at the Trenton Home, with Ex‑Mayor Napton acting as
auctioneer. D. P. Forst became the new owner of the temple building.
Left without a permanent place of worship
the congregation drifted. The prospects for the future were far from bright.
However, there was one member who was not disheartened. Mrs. Toretta Kaufman,
mother of S. E. Kaufman, saw the possibilities for securing the building and
through her tireless activities in making a personal canvass she collected a
fund and aroused such an interest in the project that when autumn had arrived
the property was owned by the congregation. It is said that the contributor of
the largest amount to the fund was the late Joseph Rice who made up the balance
needed after all the money that could possibly be collected had been brought
in.
In July 1903 the congregation sold the
little temple on Montgomery Street to Bayard Post, No. 8, G.A.R. In the same
year a lot was purchased at the southwesterly corner of Front and Stockton
Streets and upon it a house of worship was erected. On the evening of October
7, 1904, the building was dedicated. The officers of the congregation at that
time were: Sigmund Baron, president; Abraham Siegle, vice-president; Louis
Cohen, treasurer; and Jonas D. Rice, secretary.
In 1925 the congregation purchased a lot
on Bellevue Avenue where a new temple will be erected in the near future.
The present rabbi of the temple is Abram
Holtzberg. Some of the others who have served in that capacity are: M. Lessler,
Simon Rosenberg, Israel Goldvogel, Morris Ungerleider, ‑ Wagenheim, ‑
Schomberg, ‑Kahn, Joseph Gabriel, L. Weiss, ‑ Bloch, Nathan Rosenau, Louis B.
Michelson, Nathan Stern, Harry K. Jacobs, Joel Blau and Jacob Goldstein.
BROTHERS OF ISRAEL (ORTHODOX) -1883
The second oldest religious body in the
life of Trenton Jewry is the Congregation of the Brothers of Israel. This
organization, which was founded by Jews of Polish and Russian extraction, was
incorporated in 1883, but it seems that the group was not fully established
until three years later. In August 1887 the Union Street M.E. Church was
purchased and converted into a synagogue. On September 11, 1887, the remodelled
edifice was dedicated. In 1900 the building was demolished and a new one was
erected upon the site.
In 1885 the congregation established a
place of burial on Vroom Street, adjoining Har Sinai Cemetery. In 1907 the
place was enlarged by the purchase of an additional lot, and in 1913 an
auxiliary cemetery was established near Cedar Lane, Hamilton Township.
THE CONGREGATION OF THE PEOPLE OF TRUTH (ORTHODOX) - 1891
The third organization, the Congregation
of the People of Truth, was organized either in the late ‘8o’s or in the early
‘90’s. The group filed papers for incorporation in December of 1891. In 1902
the Second Presbyterian Church, on Union Street, was purchased by the
congregation and refitted for a synagogue. On March 15, 1903, the
edifice was dedicated to the worship of Jehovah. In 1893 the congregation
established a cemetery near Cedar Lane, Hamilton Township.
THE CONGREGATION OF AHAVATH ISRAEL (ORTHODOX) - 1909
The fourth religious body, the
Congregation of Ahavath Israel, was incorporated in December 1909, In May 1910
the body purchased the Wesley Methodist Church on Centre Street. The edifice
was then remodelled and dedicated to Jewish worship. The founders of the
Congregation of Ahavath Israel were in the main of Austro‑Hungarian extraction.
The first officers and trustees of the congregation were: Samuel Goldmann,
president; Leo Eisner, vice-president; Peter Littman, secretary; Henry
Wirtschafter, Herman Lefkowitz, Jacob Blaugrund, Louis Warady, Nathan Fuchs,
Adolf L. Moskowitz and Armin Bonyai, trustees.
THE CONGREGATION OF THE WORKERS OF TRUTH (ORTHODOX) - 1919
The fifth religious body, the Congregation
of the Workers of Truth, filed incorporation papers in 1919. A few years later
the organization purchased two dwellings on Union Street, near Market Street,
and remodelled them into a house of worship.
THE ADATH ISRAEL CONGREGATION (CONSERVATIVE) - 1923
The Adath Israel Congregation was
organized at a meeting held on September 30, 1923. On October 15 the
congregation was incorporated. Services were held in the Community Home on
Stockton Street until the time of the erection of the temple on Bellevue
Avenue. The formal opening of the temple was on Friday evening, July 23, 1926,
and in October of that year it was dedicated.
JEWISH SCHOOLS
Next in importance to the synagogue in the
religious life of a Jewish community is the Talmud Torah, or school where the
youth are taught Hebrew and the traditions and religious precepts of the race.
Dr. Herzl's Zion Hebrew School on Union Street serves the local community in
this capacity. The institution, under its present name, had its beginning as a
school maintained by the Congregation of the Brothers of Israel. Prior to this
time there was a Hebrew school which held sessions in a rented hall on Union
Street near Fall Street. This body in 1904 erected a school house (the first of
its kind in Trenton) on Union Street, opposite the temple, which was named in
memory of Dr. Theodor Herzl, father of political Zionism, who died during the
same month that the cornerstone was laid (July 1904). The institution did not
come up to the anticipations of its sponsors. The building was subsequently
sold to tile city for a public school house.
The new Dr. Herzl's Zion Hebrew School
stands on the upper part of Union Street. This institution is supported by the
entire Jewish community.
THE SHELTERING HOME
Another institution that is part of every
Jewish community is the sheltering home where meals and lodging are furnished
the traveller who is without funds. The local home at the comer of
Mill and Market Streets is conducted by the Hebrew Benevolent Society whose
members purchased it in October 1904. The organization applied for
incorporation papers in 1894. Harry Haveson and the Rev. Max Gordon are
prominently identified with the body.
JEWISH CEMETERIES
Har Sinai Cemetery Association was
organized at a meeting held November 19, 1857. In the same year a lot was
purchased for burial purposes at the corner of Vroom and Liberty Streets and
the body became incorporated. The founders of this association were: Marcus
Marx, Julius Schloss, Isaac Wymann, Morris Sanger, lgnatz Frankenstein, Lantos
Golheim, Isaac Sanger, Joseph Rice, Ephraim Kaufman, Marcus Aron and Gustavus
Cane.
Among other Jewish places of burial are
several congregation and small lodge cemeteries which are located near Cedar
Lane in Hamilton Township.
SOME RELIGIOUS LEADERS
Simon Kahnweiler, one of the incorporators of the Har Sinai
Temple Hebrew Congregation, was born in Bavaria, Germany, August 26, 1820. He
was the first prominent Jewish merchant of Trenton, member of the Common
Council 1863-64, president of the Protection Hook and Ladder Company, and a
member of several local military companies. During the time that he was a
member of the temple congregation he served as president and head of the Sunday
school. He died in Philadelphia, May 4, 1890.
Joseph Rice, prominent member of Har Sinai Temple, was
one of Trenton's most highly-respected citizens. Born at Riechen, Baden,
Germany, June 26, 1834, he served in several public offices, was made a director
of the Mechanics National Bank, January 13, 1891, and was vice-president and
director from August 5, 1909, up to the time of his death, July 14, 1913. For
many years he was a clothing merchant.
Mrs. Amelia Kaufman Block, for many years an active worker in the
Har Sinai Temple Sisterhood, was born in Trenton. She is the daughter of
Ephraim and Toretta Kaufman. Toretta Kaufman, one of the early
active workers of the Har Sinai Temple Congregation, was born in Germany. She
died May 25, 1887.
Among those who have been active in the
religious life of the Orthodox congregations are the Rev. P. Turman, the Rev.
Mr. Prail, the Rev. Max Sufnoss, the Rev. Meyer Rabinowitz, the Rev. Israel
Price, Rabbi Isaac Bunin, the Rev. Joseph Konvitz, David Lavine, Isaac Levy (Levie), who
was one of the founders of the Talmud Torah, Hyman Levy (Levie), first
president of the congregation of the Brothers of Israel, Max Gordon and Rabbi
Issachar Levin.
