East Midwood Jewish Center
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East Midwood Jewish Center is a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
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 at 1625
Ocean Avenue Ocean Avenue may refer to: Roads in the United States * Ocean Avenue (San Francisco), California, see Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station * Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), California * Ocean Avenue (Palm Beach), Florida; see * Ocean Avenue ( ...
,
Midwood, Brooklyn Midwood is a neighborhood in the south-central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded on the north by the Bay Ridge Branch tracks just above Avenue I and by the Brooklyn College campus of the City University of New York, a ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Organized in 1924, the congregation's
Renaissance revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
building (completed in 1929) typified the large multi-purpose synagogue centers being built at the time, and was from the 1990s until 2010 the only synagogue with a working swimming pool in Brooklyn. The building has been unmodified architecturally since its construction, and in 2006 was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP). Membership dropped during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and the synagogue suffered financial hardship, but it recovered, and by 1941 had 1,100 member families. In 1950 the congregation built an adjoining school; at its peak its enrollment was almost 1,000. As neighborhood demographics changed in the late 20th century, and Brooklyn's Jewish population became more
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
, the East Midwood Jewish Center absorbed three other Conservative Brooklyn congregations. The East Midwood Jewish Center had only three
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s from its founding until 2014. Reuben Kaufman served from 1924 to 1929, Harry Halpern from 1929 to 1977 and Alvin Kass from 1976 to 2014. In 2014, Matt Carl became the rabbi.


History


Founding

East Midwood was organized in 1924 NRHP Continuation Sheet, Section 8, p. 2. by Jacob R. Schwartz, a dentist who was concerned that his two sons had no nearby
Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...
which they could attend. Kaufman (1999), p. 258. From the start his intention had been to create a Conservative synagogue:
Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...
was seen as a compromise between
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
and
Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
, providing the familiar (and lengthy)
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
services of Orthodox Judaism, but, like Reform, adding some English prayers. East Midwood differed from earlier
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
synagogues in New York, as services were to be conducted in Hebrew and English only (not Hebrew and
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
), and the members were to come from immigrants from all over Europe, not just one city or region. NRHP Continuation Sheet, Section 8, p. 3. East Midwood held its first annual meeting on November 18, 1924 at the Jewish Communal Center of Flatbush (also known as the Flatbush Jewish Center), NRHP Continuation Sheet, Section 7, p. 3. and there elected its first president, Pincus Weinberg. Weinberg, who was also chair of the Real Estate Committee, was the father of
Sidney Weinberg Sidney James Weinberg (October 12, 1891 – July 23, 1969) was a long-time leader of the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, nicknamed “Mr. Wall Street” by ''The New York Times''Whitman, Alden"Sidney J. Weinberg, Known as 'Mr. Wall Street,' Is De ...
, who rose from the job of assistant porter to head
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
from 1930 to 1969. Prior to moving to Flatbush, Pincus Weinberg had been president of
Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes ( he, בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, "House of Israel – People of Truth"), more commonly known as the Kane Street Synagogue, is an Women in Judaism#Conservative Judaism, egal ...
. Greenwald (2001), p. 35. Barton (2006). East Midwood's first
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
was Reuben Kaufman, and its first
cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
was Jacob Schraeter. Kaufman, a Brooklyn native, had celebrated his bar mitzvah at Baith Israel Anshei Emes. Levin (2006).


Building construction

The Real Estate Committee almost immediately purchased land located on Avenue L between East 26th and 27th Streets. Most members, however, felt a location on
Ocean Avenue Ocean Avenue may refer to: Roads in the United States * Ocean Avenue (San Francisco), California, see Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station * Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), California * Ocean Avenue (Palm Beach), Florida; see * Ocean Avenue ( ...
would be more desirable. Issues arose with developing the land on Avenue L, and in 1925 the Committee purchased the current location at 1625 Ocean Avenue in
Midwood, Brooklyn Midwood is a neighborhood in the south-central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded on the north by the Bay Ridge Branch tracks just above Avenue I and by the Brooklyn College campus of the City University of New York, a ...
. The cornerstone was laid in 1926, and, although not complete, the building was fully enclosed by the autumn, and
High Holiday The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewi ...
services were held there that year. The Center's
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 ...
, which had been created in 1925 and held in a temporary structure, also moved into the new building. Designed in the
Renaissance revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
style, the building was finally completed in 1929 at the cost of $1 million (today $). Kaufman (1999), p. 259. It typified the new "synagogue-centers" being built at that time, combining the functions of both a synagogue and
community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
, and included "a synagogue, auditorium, kitchens, restaurant, classrooms, gymnasium, and swimming pool". That year Kaufman left the Center to become the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Kass (2006). and Harry Halpern became East Midwood's rabbi. Halpern, who also became an adjunct professor of pastoral psychiatry at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
(JTSA), would go on to serve as rabbi for 49 years, until his retirement in 1977, four years before his death in 1981. Waggoner (1981).


Great Depression and mid-20th century

The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
took its toll on the congregation, and membership dropped. In order to cope with the financial burdens, dues were raised, teachers were given endorsed notes rather than paychecks, the Executive Secretary was laid off, pews were sold, and individual members provided mortgage guarantees. The synagogue survived, and membership recovered; by 1934 there were 300 members, and by 1944 there were 1,100. Joseph Eidelson ozef Ajdelsonbecame cantor in 1956. Born in Warsaw, Poland, Eidelson previously served as cantor at Warsaw's Sinai Synagogue, and in 1935 at the Great Synagogue of Vilna, Lithuania. In October 1968, then
Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...
was booed and jeered by a huge crowd at the East Midwood Jewish Center, in an infamous incident during the 1968 New York City teachers strike. New York Times, October 16, 1968. Lindsay had supported a school decentralization plan that had pitted mostly black parents against mostly Jewish teachers and school administration; after the administrator of the Ocean HillBrownsville school board dismissed 13 teachers and 6 administrators (mostly Jewish) for opposing decentralization, the
United Federation of Teachers The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,000 ...
"called a strike that closed 85 percent of the city's 900 schools for 55 days". McFadden (2000). When Lindsay arrived he was met by a mob of 2,000 people outside the synagogue, who shouted "Lindsay must go" and "we want
Shanker Shanker is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Shanker (1928–1997), president of the American Federation of Teachers * Ram Shanker (born 1985), Singaporean footballer * Sasi Shanker (1957–2016), Indian film director Se ...
". Halpern admonished the protesters, asking "Is this the exemplification of the Jewish faith?", but many replied "yes". Kahlenberg (2007), p. 108. Lindsay was heckled off the podium by the audience inside, and his limousine was "pounded on" and "pelted with trash" by the mob outside (which had grown to 5,000) as he drove away.See Kahlenberg (2007), p. 108, and Dash Moore (2003). The strike, which was marked by "threats of violence and diatribes laced with racism and anti-Semitism", ended when the
New York legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official t ...
suspended the administrator and the board. Following Halpern's retirement in 1977, East Midwood hired as rabbi Alvin Kass, a graduate of Columbia College and the JTSA, with a Ph.D. in philosophy from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
. Lipsyte (1996).


Late 20th and early 21st century

As Brooklyn's changing demographics made non-Orthodox institutions less viable, East Midwood absorbed three other congregations, including the Jewish Communal Center of Flatbush, NRHP Continuation Sheet, Section 8, p. 4. where East Midwood had held its first annual meeting, and, in 1978, Flatbush's Congregation Shaare Torah. In Loving Memory: Rabbi Aaron Pomerantz, East Midwood Jewish Center website. In 1996, membership was 1,000 families. At that time the membership had become divided over the issue of
role of women A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
in the synagogue. Though some members left the congregation over this issue, by 2009 East Midwood had become fully egalitarian. According to then-Vice President Michael Sucher "Those individuals who championed depriving women of the rights to be full members of the congregation were overruled by a majority of members who wanted to have an egalitarian Conservative congregation". Dickter (2009). The synagogue building has remained architecturally unchanged since its construction, and was from the 1990s until 2010 the only synagogue in Brooklyn with a functioning swimming pool. In June 2006, it was added to the NRHP. That year the congregation received a $300,000 loan from the
New York Landmarks Conservancy The New York Landmarks Conservancy is a non-profit organization "dedicated to preserving, revitalizing, and reusing" historic structures in New York state. It provides technical assistance, project management services, grants, and loans, to owne ...
for repairs for "masonry and steel repairs on the side and rear facades." 2007 Annual Report, New York Landmarks Conservancy, p. 15. It also raised $40,000 in order to receive a 2:1 " matching grant" of $20,000 from the Conservancy, and completed the repair work in 2007. In November 2007 East Midwood was awarded a $409,575 New York State Environmental Protection Fund grant to "restore features of the sanctuary including stained glass windows, stained glass dome and skylight." Press release, Governor Eliot Spitzer, New York State Executive Chamber, November 29, 2007. Environmental Protection Fund Projects, New York State Executive Chamber, November 29, 2007. Aaron Pomerantz joined as associate rabbi in 1978. Born in Poland, he had escaped Europe after the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, moving to Canada and then the United States. There he graduated from Manhattan's Washington Irving High School, and in 1952 received his
rabbinic ordination 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 ...
from
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or ''Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin'' ( he, יְשִׁיבַת רַבֵּינוּ חַיִּים בֶּרלִין) is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. Chaim Berlin consis ...
. From 1948 he had served as ritual director and then rabbi of Congregation Shaare Torah, joining the East Midwood Jewish Center when the two congregations merged. He served until his death in May 2009. Joseph Eidelson retired to become Cantor Emeritus in 1995, 9 years before his death in 2004. Sam Levene became East Midwood's cantor in 2004. Born in Jerusalem and raised in Toronto, Levene was a graduate of the H.L. Miller Cantorial School and the JTSA's cantorial program. Kass retired to become Rabbi Emeritus in 2014. During his tenure Kass, also served as a New York City Police Department chaplain for over 40 years, and had previously served as a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
chaplain for two years. At one point during his service as Police Department chaplain he and his family received months of 24-hour security after death threats, and at another he defused a hostage situation by providing the hostage taker with sandwiches from the
Carnegie Deli The Carnegie Deli is a small Jewish delicatessen, formerly a chain, based in New York City. Its main branch, opened in 1937 near Carnegie Hall, was located at 854 7th Avenue (between 54th and 55th Streets) in Midtown Manhattan. It closed on De ...
.See Parker & Freeman (2004), pp. 60–61, Jacobs (2006). Kass, who teaches ethics at the Police Academy, was instrumental in getting Jewish police officers time off to observe the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
. He also convinced the NYPD Shomrim Society (the
fraternal organization A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
of Jewish members of the New York City Police Department) to admit David Durk. Durk, along with the more famous
Frank Serpico Francesco Vincent Serpico (born April 14, 1936) is an American retired New York Police Department detective, best known for whistleblowing on police corruption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a plainclothes police officer working in B ...
, had been the source of the allegations of police corruption that led to the formation of the
Knapp Commission The Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption (known informally as the Knapp Commission, after its chairman Whitman Knapp) was a five-member panel initially formed in April 1970 by Mayor John V. Lindsay to investigate corruption wit ...
. Matt Carl joined as rabbi in 2014. A graduate of
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
and the JTSA , he had previously served as rabbi of Battery Park Synagogue in Manhattan and Congregation Mount Sinai in Brooklyn.


East Midwood Day School

East Midwood Jewish Center ran a successful
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 ...
for after school Jewish instruction. Mission & History, East Midwood Jewish Center website. As a child in the 1940s, feminist author
Susan Brownmiller Susan Brownmiller (born Susan Warhaftig; February 15, 1935) is an American journalist, author and feminist activist best known for her 1975 book '' Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape'', which was selected by The New York Public Library as o ...
attended it two afternoons a week. Brownmiller. Gay (2012), p. 83. In 1950, the congregation built a three-story school building and a two-story bridge link between the school and synagogue. At its peak in the early 1950s the school had an enrollment of almost 1,000. East Midwood subsequently created a Conservative
Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiate s ...
, serving students from kindergarten to Grade 8, and also providing "afternoon religious instruction for public school students through high school" Fioravante (1996)., operated separately from the Talmud Torah. Author and talk show host
Dennis Prager Dennis Mark Prager (; born August 2, 1948) is an American conservative radio talk show host and writer. He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''The Dennis Prager Show''. In 2009, he co-founded PragerU, which creates five-m ...
taught at the day school. Koppell (2004). It was later renamed the Rabbi Harry Halpern Day School, in honor of Rabbi Halpern. Like the synagogue, the day school also suffered from Brooklyn's changing (and increasingly Orthodox) demographics; Siegel (2008). enrollment had dropped from 400 students to 99 by the early 21st century. Invigorated by a new principal, enrollment climbed to 160 by 2008, but the school was still not financially stable. In addition, the day school had become more independent in the 1990s, and its relationship with the synagogue deteriorated to that of a tenant to a landlord. As a result, some of the synagogue's board members wanted to evict the school and find a new tenant. In 2009 the synagogue and the school signed a new agreement to bring the two organizations closer again, under which the synagogue would absorb some of the school's costs, and the parents of school children would become members of the synagogue. According to the synagogue's website, however, in 2018 the day school "reorganized itself, and modified into a more orthodox tradition". The Talmud Torah continued to operate as a congregational school.


Architecture

The East Midwood Jewish Center synagogue building's architect is uncertain. Howe (2009), section 8, page 10, footnote 35. The design is officially credited to the Building Committee and Irving Warshaw, the construction superintendent. The architect's name is not recorded in synagogue records, nor on the building's dedicatory plaque. The Center's
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP) nomination form, however, argues that the architect was Louis Abramson, based on visual evidence and one piece of written evidence. Abramson was a leading architect of synagogue-centers at that time. He designed a number of New York examples, including the original synagogue-center, the Manhattan Jewish Center (1918), as well as the Brooklyn Jewish Center, the Flatbush Jewish Center, and the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center (all constructed in Brooklyn between 1920 and 1924). While the Flatbush Jewish Center has been completely remodeled, the Brooklyn and Ocean Parkway Jewish Centers are visually similar to the East Midwood Jewish Center, and the Brooklyn Jewish Center in particular has an identical layout. The written evidence consists of an entry in a souvenir journal commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Flatbush Jewish Center, stating that Abramson drew East Midwood's plans. The NRHP nomination form speculates that Abramson drew the basic plans for the East Midwood Center, and that the Building Committee completed them, in order to save money. Alternatively, Maurice Courland's 1957 obituary claims the East Midwood Jewish Center as his work.See New York Times, November 18, 1957, which also attributes the design of the Flatbush Jewish Center to Courland. Courland also designed a number of synagogues and New York landmarks, including Brooklyn's Magen David Synagogue. Howe (2009), section 8, page 10.


Famous members

Famous congregational members have included
Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
, who was
confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
at East Midwood, Pogrebin (2007), p. 19. rather than having her bat mitzvah there, because (at the time) Conservative Judaism did not have bat mitzvah ceremonies for girls (a fact Ginsberg could not understand). Bader Ginsburg (2016), pp 15–17. Dolsten (2016). When Ginsberg was 13 she also had essays published in the synagogue's bulletin about Stephen S. Wise, and on prejudice and world unity following
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. Filmmaker
Marc Levin Marc Levin is an American independent film producer and director. He is best known for his '' Brick City'' TV series, which won the 2010 Peabody award and was nominated for an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking and his dramat ...
was also a member; Kalish (2005). Levin's grandfather, Herman Levin, had been a president of the East Midwood Jewish Center, and had also helped found, and been a long-time lay-leader of, the Reconstructionist movement. New York Times, April 2, 1990. East Midwood has also had members who have died under tragic circumstances, including Jason Sekzer, who was killed in the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, The 4,000 Jews Rumor,
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
's
Bureau of International Information Programs ' The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) supports the department's public diplomacy efforts by providing and supporting the places, content, and infrastructure needed for sustained conversations with fo ...
website.
and Danny Farkas, a New York police lieutenant and National Guard soldier who died while stationed in
Kabul, Afghanistan Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
. Edward (2008). Chandler (2008). Yaniv (2008).


Media appearances

In 2018 scenes from the television series ''
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as ...
'' were filmed here. Ginsberg (2018).


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *, Jewish Center of Kings Highway,
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
,
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, NPS Form 10-900, OMB No. 1024-0018. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


East Midwood Jewish Center website
*Lipsyte, Robert

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 23, 1998. {{National Register of Historic Places in New York 1924 establishments in New York City 1929 establishments in New York City Conservative synagogues in New York City Midwood, Brooklyn Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn Jewish organizations established in 1924 Renaissance Revival architecture in New York (state) Renaissance Revival synagogues Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues completed in 1929 Synagogues in Brooklyn Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City