Ansche Chesed is a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

of the New York City

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

History

Sermon by Samuel Adler for the Anshe Chesed in New York (1860)

The congregation was founded in 1828 by a group of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lo ...

who split off from Congregation B'nai Jeshurun. Before 1850, the congregation met at various locations, including 32 and 38 Henry Street. By 1850, when the congregation erected the building on Norfolk Street, on Manhattan's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, that is now the

Angel Orensanz Center The Angel Orensanz Center is an art and performance space 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. The ...

, there had been further secessions, and the congregation was composed of immigrants from Germany. It was also the largest in the United States. In 1874, the congregation merged with Congregation Adas Jeshurun of 221 West 39th Street to form Congregation Beth-El. This group met at a newly-constructed synagogue in Yorkville, on the corner of

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along it ...

and 63rd Street, but circa 1877 the more traditional German Jews of the congregation reconstituted Ansche Chesed near Lexington Avenue and 113th Street. They were joined by newer immigrants. A small building they used, at 160 East 112th Street, was used by another synagogue, Congregation Tikvath Israel, until at least the mid-1970s, and in 2019 is the Christ Apostolic Church of U.S.A. In 1908, the congregation was part of the movement of

upper-middle-class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

New Yorkers to the newly fashionable neighborhood of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. They moved from the 112th Street location to a handsome

Greek revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

Temple at Seventh Avenue and 114th Street. It cost the congregation $200,000 to erect the building in 1908 and 1909. Edward Shire designed the building using limestone and brick. It had seating for 1,200 worshippers, classrooms for 400, and a glass-walled garden on the roof. In 1928, the congregation again followed fashion, from Harlem to the even newer

of Manhattan, opening its present

Byzantine revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Ortho ...

building at

West End Avenue West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

and 100th Street. The architect was again Edward I. Shire, and the cost was $1.3 million. The previous location was sold to the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who opened the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Milagrosa church to serve Harlem's Hispanic demographic. In 1980, the Archdiocese sold it to Mt. Neboh Baptist Church, which still occupies it . The cornerstone showing the Hebrew year 5668, and the carved luchos at the top of the building, show its Ansche Chesed heritage. The West End building was designed to seat 1,600, have social events for 500, and like its predecessor, has a rooftop garden.

Clergy and presidents

Rabbis

Max Lilienthal Max Lilienthal (November 6, 1815 – April 6, 1882) was a German-born adviser for the reform of Jewish schools in Russia and later a rabbi and proponent of Reform Judaism in the United States. Life and religion Work for Russian Government Lilie ...

(1815-1882) honorary rabbi from 1852 to 1857 * J. Bondi 1859-1860 * J. Mielziner 1868 *J. Kohn 1911-1931 ... * Michael Strassfeld .-2001 * Jeremy Kalmanofsky 2001-Present

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...
im (cantors)

* Jonas Hecht (1805-1898) held the position c. 1845-1852 and again in 1859; one of the 12 original founders of the B'nai B'rith organization * L. Sternberger 1851 to 1859 * A. Sternberg 1861 to 1867 * ? Figel 1867 ... * Natasha Hirschhorn 2004- Present

Parnasim (presidents)

* Michael Schwab (d. 1898) 1862-1868; one of the 12 original founders of the

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

organization * S. Schuster 1868 * S. Hermann 1872 ... * Martin Sinkoff 2015 * Mark Paul 2018

Contemporary

Ansche Chesed is an egalitarian, participatory Conservative synagogue. In addition to its historic sanctuary, the congregation has a multi-story building with many classrooms and several event spaces. This makes it possible for multiple activities to take place in the building throughout the week, as well as for several

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...

im to meet within the congregation. The minyanim include: * Sanctuary Service * Minyan Ma'at * Minyan Rimonim * West Side Minyan Ansche Chesed's Sanctuary Service is the minyan that directly continues the historical congregation of Ansche Chesed; its name derives from the fact that it holds its services in the synagogue's sanctuary. This service follows the traditional Conservative liturgy (including full Torah reading and Haftarah and Musaf service). Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky delivers Divrei Torah (comments and explanations on the weekly Torah portion) several times a month and offers weekly comments on various aspects of the service. Cantor Natasha J. Hirschhorn leads the sung portion of the service, and is also Ansche Chesed's music director. Lay members of the congregation also participate actively in all facets of the service. Ansche Chesed runs a Hebrew School, with classes that begin in pre-school and continue through the teen years. The synagogue also runs an array of other educational initiatives, focused on adult learning, literature, and family programs. A Social Action Committee oversees a series of community outreach and support programs, including the hosting of a homeless shelter, local park clean-up activities, and programs focused on topics such as the environment. Ansche Chesed hosts several unaffiliated nursery schools, including Purple Circle, Morningside Montessori, Yaldaynu Preschool, and Discovery Programs. Ansche Chesed also house
The Havurah School
serving students from kindergarten through 7th grade. It is an independent, self-supporting school that has been at Ansche Chesed for over 20 years. At the Havurah School, students learn a wide variety of Jewish subjects primarily through the arts. Biblical improvisation, painting and drawing, work in clay, movement, creative writing, debate and music are some of the techniques used to experientially understand the Torah, the holidays, and the great themes of Jewish life, tradition, and philosophy.

References

External links

* *Google Maps view of th
114th Street location
showin
luchos
an
cornerstone
{{coord, 40, 47, 52.2, N, 73, 58, 15.4, W , display=title Dutch-American culture in New York City Dutch-Jewish culture in the United States German-Jewish culture in New York City Polish-Jewish culture in New York City Synagogues in Manhattan West End Avenue Upper West Side Byzantine Revival architecture in New York City Byzantine Revival synagogues Unaffiliated synagogues in New York City 1828 establishments in New York (state) Conservative synagogues in New York City