The Fifth Avenue Synagogue (קהלת עטרת צבי, Congregation Ateret Tsvi) 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 located at 5 East 62nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in 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 ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

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 ...

Founding

The synagogue was founded in 1958, by former members of Congregation Zichron Ephraim (now called Park East Synagogue) who opposed that congregation's decision to seat men and women together during services. Henry Hirsch, Myrtle Hirsch, Leib Merkin and Hermann Merkin were among the congregation's founders. Author

Herman Wouk Herman Wouk ( ; May 27, 1915 – May 17, 2019) was an American author best known for historical fiction such as ''The Caine Mutiny'' (1951) for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. His other major works include ''The Winds of War'' and ...

was an early member of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue.History of FAS
, Fifth Avenue Synagogue. Accessed December 7, 2008. Rabbi Emanuel Rackman was chosen in 1967 to succeed Rabbi

Immanuel Jakobovits Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 192131 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fi ...

, who had been the founding Rabbi of the congregation in 1959 and been elected to serve as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Rabbi Rackman served until 1977, when he was selected to serve as President of

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

. Rabbi Nisson Shulman served as the congregation's rabbi from 1977 until 1985. Rabbi Sol Roth assumed the leadership of the synagogue in 1986.

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 ...

Yaakov Kermaier assumed leadership of Fifth Avenue Synagogue in 2003 and made aliyah with his family in 2015. Rabbi Eli Babich, who was the associate Rabbi of Fifth Avenue Synagogue since 2013, was named the head Rabbi in 2019 . The

Chazzan 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, thi ...

is the noted cantor

Joseph Malovany Joseph Malovany(born in 1941 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli-born American tenor soloist. A world-famous cantor, serving as Hazzan of New York's Fifth Avenue Synagogue since 1973, and a Distinguished Professor of Liturgical Music at Philip and Sarah Be ...

Building

The stone-clad building was designed by

Percival Goodman Percival Goodman (January 13, 1904 – October 11, 1989) was an American urban theorist and architect who designed more than 50 synagogues between 1948 and 1983. He has been called the "leading theorist" of modern synagogue design, Philip N ...

, an architect who described himself as "an agnostic who was converted by Hitler." Goodman sought to interpret Jewish tradition in modern ways in the more than 50 synagogues he designed.

described Goodman's design as a "traditional Sephardic layout" with the bimah and aron in the center area facing rows of seats, thereby taking advantage of the depth of the property. In May, 2010, a new mikvah at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue was dedicated. Funding for construction was provided by

Ira Rennert Ira Leon Rennert (born May 31, 1934) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Renco Group. Background and education Rennert's parents were immigrants from Poland and Romania. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1954 ...

and family.

In popular culture

The synagogue appeared as a "cool 1950's apartment house" in a 2003 advertisement for the

Infiniti Q45 The Infiniti Q45 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured and marketed by Nissan's Infiniti brand for model years 1989-2006, over three generations. The first generation Q45 (1989–1999) was based on the Nissan President; the second generati ...

luxury car in an ad created by the

TBWA\Chiat\Day TBWA\Chiat\Day ( ) is the American division of the advertising agency TBWA Worldwide. Created in the 1995 merger of TBWA and Chiat/Day, the agency operates offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Nashville, and Mexico City. Prior to the merger, ...

. The agency received permission to use the building in the background of the shot under the proviso that it not be identifiable, so the address on the awning was changed to the non-existent "63003 77th Street". The congregation was paid an undisclosed fee.Dunlap, David W
"Via Madison Ave., a Secular Synagogue"
''

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 d ...

'', July 18, 2003. Accessed December 7, 2008. In the 1986

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

film, '' Hannah and her Sisters'' the building is panned across while being criticized for its architectural incongruity — "That's disgusting. That's really terrible." — after a shot of the consistent facades of the rest of the block.

References

;Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Synagogues in Manhattan Orthodox synagogues in New York City Upper East Side Jewish organizations established in 1958 1958 establishments in New York City Merkin family Synagogues completed in 1958 Percival Goodman synagogues Modernist architecture in New York City