Congregation Shomrei Emunah ( he, קהל שומרי אמונה) is an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

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 ...

located in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 1907, the congregation moved into its present edifice in 1910. Its current rabbinical leader is Rabbi Aviezer Cohen. Its current chazzan (cantor) is Chazzan Adler. The chazzan sheini (secondary cantor) is Chazzan Nachman Schneider (who is currently the chief cantor at Congregation Beth Israel of Borough Park & cantor emeritus at Congregation Young Israel of Laurence & Cederhurst.)

History

Congregation Shomrei Emunah was established in 1907 by a group that included a number of

Torah scholars ''Talmid Chakham'' is an honorific title which is given to a man who is well versed in Jewish law, i. e., a Torah scholar. Originally he, תלמיד חכמים ''Talmid Chakhamim'', lit., "student of sages", pl. תלמידי חכמים ''talmid ...

. It published its bylaws on September 3, 1907. In the beginning, services were held in a Masonic hall at New Utrecht Avenue and 56th Street. In 1910 the congregation constructed its own building at the corner of 14th Avenue and 52nd Street. The imposing, yellow-brick edifice designed in Romanesque Revival style features a large skylight over the '' bimah'' (reader's platform). The subsequent founding of Beth El, Congregation Anshei Sfard, and Bnai Yehuda drew membership from Shomrei Emunah, leading to the latter's sobriquet as "The Mother of Jewish Institutions" in Boro Park. Congregation members also played a role in the establishment of the Yeshivas Etz Chaim (the neighborhood’s first day school) and the Israel Zion Hospital (today Maimonides Medical Center). In the early years of the congregation, the Chofetz Chaim had advised Torah scholars traveling to America that they should turn to Shomrei Emunah upon their arrival. Rabbis who have addressed the congregation include Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, Rabbi

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one ...

and Rabbi

Boruch Ber Leibowitz Boruch Ber Leibowitz ( yi, ברוך בער לייבאוויץ he, רב ברוך דוב ליבוביץ, Boruch Dov Libovitz; 1862 – November 17, 1939, known as Reb Boruch Ber, was a rabbi famed for his Talmudic lectures, particularly in that ...

Rabbinic leadership

The synagogue installed its first rabbi in 1926. From 1928 to 1935 the spiritual leader was Rabbi

Wolf Gold Rabbi Wolf Gold ( he, זאב גולד, Ze'ev Gold, born Zev Krawczynski on May 2, 1889, died 8 April 1956) was a rabbi, Jewish activist, and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence Born in Szczuczyn he was a descendant o ...

, a founder of the Williamsburg

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educat ...

and Mesivta Torah Vodaas. From 1935 through 1973, Dr. Harry I. Wohlberg, a professor of Bible and homiletic literature at Yeshiva University, was the synagogue rabbi. Wohlberg was the first rabbi to receive a lifetime contract from an American Orthodox synagogue. From 1973 through 2008, the synagogue was led by the renowned Rabbi Yaakov Pollack. Since 2008, the synagogue's spiritual leader is Rabbi Aviezer Cohen, who was educated in Yeshivas Brisk under the tutelage of Rabbi Berel Soloveitchik.

Activities

The synagogue made a name for itself in the Borough Park community with its strong emphasis on

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

. In 1918 it founded a ''Chevra Shas'' (

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

study society) and afterwards introduced other study groups on

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

, '' Ein Yaakov,'' ''

Chayei Adam Chayei Adam (חיי אדם "The Life of Man") is a work of Jewish law by Rabbi Avraham Danzig (1748–1820), dealing with the laws discussed in the Orach Chayim section of the Shulchan Aruch. It is divided into 224 sections - 69 dealing with daily ...

'', and '' Rif''. In 1935 it inaugurated a Chevra Mishnayas U’Gemilas Chesed, which combines group study of Mishnayos with the distribution of interest-free loans to individuals and organizations. The emphasis on Torah study made the synagogue popular among former

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

students and residents interested in continuing their study of Torah and

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

(Jewish law) on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

and during their free time; it also made the synagogue a popular stopping-point for visiting European

. In response to news of the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938, Shomrei Emunah held a public gathering "where FDR was praised for his stance on behalf of Jews". In 2009 the synagogue was targeted for an anti-Jewish protest by members of the Westboro Baptist Church led by Fred Phelps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shomrei Emunah (Borough Park) Orthodox synagogues in New York City Synagogues completed in 1910 Synagogues in Brooklyn 1907 establishments in New York City Romanesque Revival synagogues