The Jewish Center 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 Philosophy ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

located at 131 West 86th Street, on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States.

History

The synagogue was founded in 1918 by prosperous Jews moving into the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a neighborhood that was just being built along the new IRT subway line. As there was no Ashkenazi synagogue that could meet their needs, the Jews moving there decided to build a traditional Orthodox Synagogue in their neighborhood. The large synagogue is in a tall Neo-Classical building at 131 West 86th Street that contains a large number of social halls, classrooms, auditoriums and offices in addition to the Neo-Classical main sanctuary. The synagogue was the first in America to be built not only to serve as spiritual home to its members, but also as a cultural, social and recreational home. The synagogue's members affectionately refer to the synagogue as "The first Shul with a Pool." It continues to support a variety of educational and social programming.

Clergy

The first rabbi was

Mordecai Kaplan Mordecai Menahem Kaplan (June 11, 1881 – November 8, 1983) was an American Conservative rabbi, writer, Jewish educator, professor, theologian, philosopher, activist, and religious leader who founded the Reconstructionist movement of Judaism al ...

, who left in 1921 because his positions were too reform oriented and radical for the Orthodox congregation. The congregation then hired Rabbi Dr.

Leo Jung Rabbi Leo Jung (''Hebrew:'' Eliyahu; June 20, 1892 – December 19, 1987) was one of the major architects of American Orthodox Judaism. He was the indirect progenitor of the religious day school system common throughout North American Jewish co ...

, who later became involved in the founding and support of almost every major Orthodox organization in the United States and abroad, including the

Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations is an umbrella organisation of Haredi Jewish communities in London, and has an estimated membership of over 6,000. It was founded in 1926, with the stated mission "to protect traditional Judaism", and ha ...

, Agudath Israel,

Torah Umesorah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov (, also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; ) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for girls worldwide. Bais Yaakov, started by Sarah Schenirer in post-World War I K ...

movement (in Poland and the United States) and

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

. Following Rabbi Jung's retirement and assumption of the role of Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Dr.

Norman Lamm Norman Lamm (December 19, 1927 – May 31, 2020) was an American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, academic administrator, author, and Jewish community leader. He was the Chancellor of Yeshiva University until he announced his retirement on July ...

, later president of

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, took over the pulpit in 1959. The fourth rabbi was Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, an Irish scholar. Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter was rabbi from 1981 to 2000, and now serves as Senior Scholar at The

Center for the Jewish Future The Center for the Jewish Future is a non-profit center at Yeshiva University. Overview It consists of six divisions: * The Max Stern Division of Communal Services (at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary) offers continuing education fo ...

at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Dr.

Ari Berman Ari Berman (; born February 18, 1970) is an American Modern Orthodox/Religious Zionist rabbi and academic administrator serving as the fifth president of Yeshiva University. Early life and education Berman was raised in Queens in New York City, ...

, founding rabbi of The Jewish Center Young Leadership minyan, and who became the fifth president of Yeshiva University in 2017, was the sixth rabbi of the Center before making

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

in 2008. The current rabbi, since June 2008, is Rabbi Dr. Yosie Levine, an alumnus of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and

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 S ...

. He served as Rabbinic Intern, Assistant Rabbi and Associate Rabbi, before becoming rabbi when Rabbi Berman made aliyah. He is currently the co-chair of the Manhattan Eruv, and is active in numerous communal organizations including

AIPAC The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...

, the

Beth Din of America The Beth Din of America is an Orthodox '' beth din'' (court of Jewish law) serving Jews throughout the United States of America as a forum for arbitrating disputes through the ''din torah'' process, obtaining Jewish divorces, family law, and confi ...

and

UJA-Federation of New York UJA-Federation of New York ( United Jewish Appeal⁣ – ⁣ Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annual ...

, where he is a former Board Member.

References

External links

* {{authority control Synagogues in Manhattan Upper West Side Modern Orthodox synagogues in New York City Synagogues completed in 1918 1918 establishments in New York City Neoclassical synagogues Jewish organizations established in 1918 20th-century synagogues in the United States Neoclassical architecture in New York City