Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun (KJ or CKJ) is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

synagogue, located on East 85th Street on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

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 A ...

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 ...

. The synagogue was founded in 1872. The synagogue is closely affiliated with the

Ramaz School The Ramaz School is an elite American coeducational Jewish Modern Orthodox day school which offers a dual curriculum of general studies taught in English and Judaic studies taught in Hebrew. The school is located on the Upper East Side of Manh ...

. It shares a building with the lower school, and is across the street from the

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

. The name Ramaz derives from the initials of Rabbi Moses Zevulun Margolies (1851–1936), the grandfather-in-law of the school's founder, Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein (1902–1979). Rabbi Margolies served as the synagogue's rabbi from 1906 until his death in 1936. Lookstein had served as the congregation's assistant rabbi after receiving his ''

semicha Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

'' in 1926 from the

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, and had assumed many of the roles as congregational leader while his grandfather was ill for many years before his death, assuming the title of senior rabbi after his grandfather's death in 1936. The current senior rabbi of the congregation, Rabbi

Haskel Lookstein Haskel Lookstein (born March 21, 1932) is an American Modern Orthodox Rabbi who serves as the rabbi emeritus of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Lookstein served as the rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun fro ...

, is the son of Joseph Lookstein and was a member of the first class of six students at Ramaz when the school was established in 1937. Haskel Lookstein was installed as assistant rabbi on June 14, 1958, serving under his father, and became Senior rabbi after his father's death in 1979. Rabbi Elie Weinstock is another leader of the congregation. In December 2008, it was reported that the congregation lost $3.5 million in the

Bernard Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ ...

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

. In August 2015, the congregation announced that Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz would assume the role of senior rabbi as of January 1, 2016. As part of the transition, Rabbi Haskel Lookstein assumed the role of Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Elie Weinstock was granted the title of "Rabbi", and Rabbi Roy Feldman remained as Assistant Rabbi.Heilman, Uriel
"For first time in 100 years, outsider tapped to lead Looksteins’ N.Y. shul"
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, August 3, 2015. Accessed August 4, 2015. "The Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side voted last week to hire as its new senior rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, who for two decades has led the Montreal congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem. Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, 83, who has been at the helm of Kehilath Jeshurun since the death of his father, Rabbi Joseph Lookstein, in 1979, will become rabbi emeritus.... When Steinmetz becomes senior rabbi, Associate Rabbi Elie Weinstock will become KJ's "rabbi"; rabbinic assistant Rabbi Roy Feldman will retain his role."

Prominent members

The Congregation is known for members who are prominent businessmen and philanthropists, including George Rohr, film producer Steven Haft, author

Lisa Birnbach Lisa R. Birnbach is an author best known for co-authoring '' The Official Preppy Handbook'', which spent 38 weeks at number one on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list in 1980. Early life and education Birnbach was born to a Jewish family on ...

, the New York real estate family Kushner (patriarch

Joseph Kushner Joseph Kushner (maiden name, né Berkowitz; 10 October 1922 – 5 October 1985) was a Belarusian-born American real estate investor and developer. At the end of his career, he owned over 4,000 apartments, houses, and properties. Biography Kushne ...

and his sons Murray Kushner and

Charles Kushner Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer, former federal inmate, and disbarred former attorney. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985. In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, a ...

) and

Ivanka Trump Ivana Marie "Ivanka" Trump (; born October 30, 1981) is an American businesswoman and the first daughter of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. She was a senior advisor in his administration, and also was the ...

, who converted to Orthodox Judaism before she married

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...

References

External links

Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kehilath Jeshurun, Congregation Orthodox synagogues in New York City Religious organizations established in 1872 Synagogues in Manhattan Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States 1872 establishments in New York (state)

Prominent members

See also

References

External links