Shaarai Torah Synagogue (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Shaarai Torah Synagogue (Hebrew: שַׁעֲרֵי תּוֹרָה, lit. 'Gates of Learning') 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" (and 6th overall), Shaarai Torah was considered the city's "Mother Synagogue" for many years.
| Shaarai Torah Synagogue (former) | |
|---|---|
 Shaarai Torah Synagogue, in 2011 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Modern Orthodox Judaism (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue (former) |
| Status | Closed (1999) |
| Location | |
| Location | 32 Providence Street, Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Country | United States |
  Location in Massachusetts | |
| Geographic coordinates | 42°15′21″N 71°47′38″W / 42.25583°N 71.79389°W |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Edwin T. Chapin |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Classical Revival |
| Date established | 1904 (as a congregation) |
| Completed | 1906 |
| Construction cost | $30,000 |
Shaarai Torah Synagogue | |
| MPS | Worcester MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 90000729 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 7, 1990 |
History
editThe congregation, which was incorporated on January 1, 1904, held daily worship services for two years in a cottage they had purchased at 32 Providence Street in the heart of Worcester's east side Union Hill neighborhood, where most Jewish immigrants to Worcester lived. High Holiday services in 1904 and 1905 were held at Ancient Order of Hibernians (A.O.H.) Hall at 26 Trumbull Street while the present structure was built. At a final cost of $30,000 ($1,017,000 in current dollar terms), the new building, designed by Edwin T. Chapin in a Classical Revival style, and modeled after Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York City,[2] opened on September 14, 1906.[3]
Merger
edit
Most of the charter members of Shaarai Torah had left Congregation Sons of Abraham, Worcester's second-oldest synagogue, because they felt it did not meet the needs of the younger generation. One of the major issues was the use of English in the synagogue.[4] As early as 1907, Sons of Abraham leaders discussed implementing changes to make merging with Shaarai Torah possible. The merger finally took place in 1948. From then on, the synagogue was officially known as Congregation Shaarai Torah Sons of Abraham.
West Side branch
edit
By 1957, roughly 74% of Worcester's 9,333 Jews lived on the tonier west side of the city, leaving less than 1,600 living on the east side.[5] Additionally, most west side Jews, who were generally younger and more assimilated than those who remained on the east side, attended Reform Temple Emanuel or Conservative Congregation Beth Israel as Orthodoxy fell out of favor with most upwardly mobile American Jews. On September 10, 1959, Shaarai Torah purchased the former home of Beth Israel at 835 Pleasant Street as a west side branch, naming it Shaarai Torah West. The original building became known as Shaarai Torah East. Shaarai Torah West, affiliated with the Orthodox Union, became an independent congregation on November 9, 1964[3] and continues to operate to this day.
Final days
editThe Providence Street building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The synagogue stopped functioning in 1996 and finally closed shortly after a devastating arson fire in 1999.[6] Once one of at least 12 neighborhood Orthodox synagogues, when it closed Shaarai Torah was the last remaining functioning synagogue on the east side of Worcester. The building was sold in 1997 to Al Tapper, a Worcester native and philanthropist who had plans to turn it into a Jewish museum or multi-ethnic community center, but those plans were scrapped after the fire.[7] Tapper was able to get the developer to agree to keep the Hebrew inscriptions on the facade of the building intact.[8]
Redevelopment
editAbandoned and in disrepair, the synagogue was added to the Worcester Preservation Society's list of endangered properties. In 2003, the building was finally sold to Selim LaHoud, a property developer, who hired Kopec Contracting to convert it into 13 apartments known as Red Oak Condominiums.[9]
Rabbinical leadership
edit| Ordinal | Name | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaac Werne (orig. Wiernikowski) | 1906–1911 | [10] |
| 2 | Solomon Golubowski | [11] | |
| 3 | Gershon Appel | 1943–1947 | |
| 4 | Meyer Greenberg | 1947–1954 | [12] |
| 5 | Joseph Gold | 1954–1989 | [13] |
East Side Synagogue history
edit| Hebrew Name | Transliteration | English Translation | Address(es) | Years Open | Notes[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| בני ישראל | B'nai Yisrael | Sons of Israel | 79 Green Street, 24 Providence Street | 1875-1957 | also known as the Balbirishocker Shul, Torn down for construction of I-290 in 1957 |
| בני אברהם | B'nai Avraham | Sons of Abraham | 10 Plymouth Street (1888-1913), 23 Coral Street[15] | 1886-1948[16] | Merged with Shaarai Torah in 1948 |
| שערי צדק | Shaarei Tzedek | Gates of Righteousness | 8 Beach Street, 16 Gold Street, 3 Summit Street | 1892-? | also known as Tower of Truth |
| אגודת אחים | Agudas Achim | Union of Brothers | 19 Brown Street, 9 Pond Street | 1897-?[17] | also known as Good Brothers |
| (צמח צדק (אנשי סמוליאן | Tzemach Tzedek (Anshe Smolian) | Plant of Justice (People of Smolyan) | 10 Plymouth Street | 1900-1923 | Changed name to Sons of Jacob in 1923 |
| שערי תורה | Shaarai Torah | Gates of Learning | 32 Providence Street | 1904-1999 | |
| (אגודת ישראל (אנשי ספרד | Agudas Israel (Anshe Safard) | Union of Israel (Sephardic) | 66 Harrison Street | 1913-1972 | Demolished 3/24/72 |
| בני יעקב | B'nai Yaakov | Sons of Jacob | 104 Harrison Street[18] | 1923-1965 | Merged with Tifereth Israel (West Side) in 1965 |
| תפארת ישראל | Tifereth Israel | Pride of Israel | 42 Harrison Street | 19??-1957 | Torn down for construction of I-290 in 1957 |
| בני ציון | B'nai Tzion | Sons of Zion | 50 Granite Street | 1938-1986[19] | |
| קדימה | Kadimah | Forward | |||
| אנשי ראקישוק | Anshe Rakishok | People of Rokiškis |
Notable alumni and members
edit- S. N. Behrman, playwright and screenwriter[20]
- Charles Tobias, lyricist and inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame[21]
- Harry Tobias, songwriter and inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame[21]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Kaufman, David (1999). Shul with a pool: the "synagogue-center" in American Jewish history. UPNE.
- ^ a b Feingold, Norma. Shaarai Torah: Life Cycle of a Synagogue. Published by Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm Street, Worcester, Mass. 1991.
- ^ Albert B. Southwick. "Shaarai Torah's 1906 birth is remembered." Telegram & Gazette 3 Oct. 1999.
- ^ "The Jews of Worcester: A Population Study" (PDF). North American Jewish Data Bank. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19.
- ^ James Dempsey. "Synagogue last working on East Side Temple has haggard look of place whose time gone. " Telegram & Gazette 22 Sep. 1999.
- ^ Sutner, Shaun (17 September 1999). "Fire hits East Side synagogue Two teens charged; landmark had been set for renovation". Telegram & Gazette (ALL ed.).
- ^ Polan, Judy (June 19, 2014). "Presenting the Phenomenal Al Tapper, Peabody Award Winner (and so much more)". WMJledger. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
- ^ Kush, Bronislaus B. (24 February 2003). "Homes mark Oak Hill revival ; First-time owner open house held". Telegram & Gazette (FINAL ed.).
- ^ Who's who in American Jewry. Jewish Biographical Bureau (New York, NY), 1926.
- ^ The Worcester Directory Containing a General Directory of the Citizens, a Business Directory and the City and County Register. R.L. Polk & Company, 1916 (Worcester, MA).
- ^ Sommer, Mark (September 9, 2008). "Rabbi Meyer Greenberg, 91, world-renowned Talmudic scholar Nov. 10, 1916 -- Sept. 2, 2008". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Rabbi Joseph Gold dies in Worcester. Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 August 1989.
- ^ Clingan, Carol (2010). "Massachusetts Synagogues and Their Records, Past and Present" (PDF). Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-02-01.
- ^ NEW SYNAGAGUE OPENED. Boston Globe, 21 Jul 1913.
- ^ Former synagogue is now history :[ALL Edition]. Telegram & Gazette, 30 Dec 1993.
- ^ Adler, Cyrus & Szold, Henrietta. American Jewish Year Book, Volume 9. American Jewish Committee, 1907.
- ^ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Corporations Division: Business Entity Summary. Summary for: AGUDAS SONS OF JACOB SYNAGOGUE, ID Number: 000083446.
- ^ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Corporations Division: Business Entity Summary. Summary for: SONS OF ZION, OF WORCESTER, ID Number: 000004478.
- ^ Behrman, S.N. "The Worcester Account." Random House, 1954.
- ^ a b Williamson, Chet. "J23: The Tin Pan Alley Tobias Brothers" JazzSphere, November 11, 2007.