The Jewish Museum of New Jersey, at Ahavas Sholom, is located at 145 Broadway in
Newark,
Essex County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
, United States.
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The Museum was founded in 2003 and the museum's inaugural opening was in 2007. The historic building in the Broadway neighborhood is the longest continually operating synagogue in the city. It was built in 1923 and 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 artist ...
on December 13, 2000, for its significance in art, religion, and social history. The two-story brick building features Classical Revival architecture
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styl ...
.[ With ] It is one of fifty synagogues that once stood in Newark, serving a Jewish population of 70,000, once the sixth largest Jewish community in the United States.
From the gallery space of the Museum, one has a view of the majestic Aron Kodesh, or Holy Ark. Constructed in the 1870s for Congregation Beth-El, later Rodeph Sholom, at their second location on Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street in New York City, the hand-carved wooden Aron Kodesh was installed at its present location in Newark in the 1920s and is the oldest in the state of New Jersey.History of Congregation Ahavas Sholom
The Museum creates and curates rotating and traveling exhibitions, utilizing photographs, paintings, panel displays, artifacts, text, music and multi-media. The Museum also features topics such as local Holocaust survivors, Jewish Immigration in the state, and history of Sephardim in New Jersey.
The Museum is open for special exhibits and programs, as well as by appointment.
New Jersey has the fourth largest Jewish population in the country and it can trace back its Jewish roots to the 17th century. Mr. Joseph Selzer, the founder and former Board President had taken a visit to the Jewish Museum of Florida which is located in a restored 1936 synagogue. Selzer realized that despite New Jersey having such a high population of a practicing Jewish population, there was no Jewish museum to preserve the state's Jewish history.
There are over one-half million people in New Jersey who are Jewish and the creation of the museum will create the first centralized location with permanent, rotating, and traveling installations for the research, presentation, and exhibition of more than 400 years of Jewish History in New Jersey.
See also
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Prince Street Synagogue Prince Street Synagogue (Oheb Shalom), in the Springfield/Belmont, Newark, New Jersey, Springfield/Belmont neighborhood, is the Oldest synagogues in the United States, oldest synagogue building still standing in Newark, New Jersey, Newark, Essex Co ...
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Newark Museum
The Newark Museum of Art (formerly known as the Newark Museum), in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, A ...
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New Jersey Historical Society
The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition spa ...
References
External links
Jewish Museum of New JerseyGlobal Directory of Jewish Museums
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Museum Of New Jersey
Jews and Judaism in Newark, New Jersey
Synagogues in New Jersey
Neoclassical architecture in New Jersey
Synagogues completed in 1923
Museums in Newark, New Jersey
History of Newark, New Jersey
History museums in New Jersey
Museums established in 2007
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
Ethnic museums in New Jersey
Religious buildings and structures in Essex County, New Jersey
National Register of Historic Places in Newark, New Jersey
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
Culture of Newark, New Jersey
2003 establishments in New Jersey