Synagogues

The collection contains 2 published items as well as architectural drawings of the synagogue in Recklinghausen.

The collection contains materials related to various activities of the Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. There is a variety of documents, including correspondence, annual reports, addresses, programs, printed materials, reports, and materials pertaining to the synagogue's burial ground.

The records of Temple Beth El offer a valuable insight into a small town Southern Jewish community. The community members, composed mainly of German Jews devoted to the Reform movement, participated actively in charity work and mutual benefit societies, and maintained a close relationship with Jewish communities throughout the South. Temple Beth El was one of the first members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Its history reflects the struggles a small town Jewish community experienced in maintaining their Jewish identity as well as the cooperation and acceptance of their non-Jewish neighbors. A significant part of the collection concerns the activities of women in the Helena Jewish community, who were a tight knit group that conducted extensive charity work. The Sisterhood took an active role as member of the Mississippi-Arkansas Federation of Temple Sisterhoods. The records also include minute books for the B'nai B'rith Esther Lodge. The collection contains correspondence, real estate deeds, financial ledgers, minute meetings, news clippings, a scrapbook, and photographs.

The collection comprises a portion of the records of the Jewish community of Wąbrzeźno, known in German as Briesen. The records date from 1871 to 1921, concentrated in the era when the town of Briesen was part of the province of West Prussia, in the German Empire; only a handful of items date from the years 1920-1921, when the town was part of Poland. The collection comprises administrative and financial records kept by the Briesen Jewish Community Council, except for one volume of records kept by the Jüdischer Lese-Verein (Jewish Reading Society) of Briesen, in the years 1901 to 1908. Approximately 40% of the collection comprises financial records, 1882-1921, including official budgets and tax lists; 20% concerns the community's religious institutions; and another 20% comprises records related to community employees, especially rabbis and cantors. The remainder of the collection includes correspondence, communal meeting minutes and decisions, circulars announcing meetings, and a variety of administrative records. Included are records pertaining to communal council elections; synagogue seat rentals; burials and the care of graves; the construction and maintenance of the mikveh (ritual bath house); the expansion of the cemetery; synagogue rules and the renovation of the synagogue; charitable activities, often in cooperation with regional and national Jewish organizations; and the religious school and Jewish elementary school.

The records chronicle the ideology behind the Reconstructionist movement, the founding and activities of the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, and its growth and transformation from an ideology and movement into an established American Jewish denomination, Reconstructionist Judaism. The records also document two seminal figures in Reconstructionist Judaism, Mordecai Menahem Kaplan and Ira Eisenstein. Included in the collection are the administrative records of the Foundation (minutes, financial records, bylaws), publications produced by the Foundation including manuscript submissions for the influential publication The Reconstructionist, correspondence, sermons, prayer books produced by the Foundation, syllabi, sheet music, photographs, and speeches, among other material. In the correspondence are letters from Martin Buber, J. Edgar Hoover, and Albert Schweitzer.

The records consist of a 1946 bulletin from Temple Emanu-El (Birmingham, Ala.), memorandum from the national NCJW Social Legislation Committee concerning health legislation (1947), Section meeting minutes for May 1949, correspondence lobbying for the Displaced Persons Act, information on voting in the 1950 and 1952 Democratic primaries, a newsletter issued by the United Fund of Birmingham for its 1956 campaign drive, and a 1977 survey of the needs of the older Jewish population of Birmingham.

The records of the National Council of Jewish Women, New York Section document the organization's community service, advocacy, and supportive administrative, fundraising, membership, and public relations activities from the Section's early years to the present. Included is a large amount of material from the National Organization in relation to the New York Section. This material is dated from 1896 to 1999 and consists of administrative, events, and advocacy matters. The New York Section's community services files include its work on aging, child care, consumer telephone referrals, counseling support, crime prevention, the disabled, domestic violence, early child education, feminism, homelessness, hunger, immigrants, Israel, Jewish education and promotion, literacy, probation, the sick, summer recreation for children and the elderly, and war relief. The Section's advocacy files consist of lobbying efforts for the rights of children, the disabled, the elderly, families, the homeless, immigrants, Israel, and women. The collection is primarily in English, with some Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Greek, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian. Among the types of material are audio tapes, blueprints, correspondence, minutes, photographs, publications, scrapbooks, and scripts.

The collection comprises a portion of the records of the Jewish community of Ostrów Wielkopolski, today in west-central Poland, in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The region was annexed by Prussia in 1793, in the Second Partition of Poland; in German the town was known as Ostrowo. The records date mainly from 1834 to 1919, with a few materials from as early as 1822. During this period the town was part of the Posen (Poznań) region of Prussia and, after 1871, of the German Empire; in 1919, it was incorporated into the Second Republic of Poland. The community numbered nearly 2,000 members in the late 19th century and declined steadily thereafter due to migration of members to larger German cities or overseas; only a small Jewish community remained during the interwar period. The records are mainly those of the Jewish communal administration, or council; a small amount of material pertains to several community voluntary organizations. Included are financial records such as budgets, balance sheets, and tax lists; communal minutes and decisions throughout the period; correspondence with the government, and, to a lesser extent, with Jewish organizations and other Jewish communities; records pertaining to community members' naturalizations, marriages, births, and synagogue seat contracts; petitions from individual community members, especially pertaining to charitable aid in the mid to late 19th century; records pertaining to communal educational and religious institutions; records on the hiring and employment of community rabbis,cantors, and other personnel, including application materials from candidates not hired; property records and mortgages; documentation of construction and renovation of communal buildings; records related to court cases, bequests, and estate and guardianship matters; and ephemera such as meeting notices and announcement fliers, as well as scattered clippings.

This collection contains several types of materials relating to the various activities of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, including published bulletins, yearbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, audio recordings, and photographs. This collection also contains disbound scrapbooks, some of which are extremely fragile.

Collection consists of bulletins, invitations, programs, and an audiocassette pertaining to the 150th anniversary celebration of the first Reform congregation in Philadelphia. An exhibit guide within the collection provides extensive historical information. The collection also includes a biographical sketch of the late Rabbi Bertram W. Korn, and a service of installation for Rabbi Bradley N. Bleefeld. The audiocassette consists of a compendium of services used by the Congregation over the last 150 years.

The file contains various documents pertaining to the educational activity of the Reich Representation of German Jews (Reichsvertretung der Deutschen Juden) and comprises six folders.

Two amateur films of the Reinheimer family in Washington Heights, depicting family life and religious services.

Copies about the Rosenthal family in Grosseicholzheim and Kleineicholzheim

Publications "Judentum und Abendland" by Willy Hartner (1961), "Festgabe" for the tenth anniversary of the Akademie fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums, 1919-1929. Two Publications concerning the dedication of the new synagogue in Augsburg (1917): Festschrift "Ein Gang durch die Geschichte der Juden in Augsburg" and "Reden bei der neuen Synagoge zu Augsburg am 4. April 1917." Whitfield (Waitzfelder) family correspondence; photograph of Waitzfelder tombs; annoucement for a welfare film presented by the Israelitischer Frauenverein Augsburg, clipping. Letter by Ruth Whitfield, Goldberg's daughter, explaining the fate of her family after the November pogrom. Various documents pertaining to the family of Ruth Goldberg, especially documents relating to her grandfather Michael Goldberg (marriage contract (1877, original document, old German script), birth certificate for Jacques Julius Goldberg (1881, copy); death certificate; Citizenship certificate ("Naturalisationsurkunde") for Michael Goldberg and his family (1898, Speyer, original document, old German script); Heimatschein for Michael Goldberg (1898, Landau, original document, old German script); Julius Goldberg's registration book for the University of Heidelberg (1902, original document); marriage certificate for Jacques Julius Goldberg (Strassburg, 1911, original document); funeral sermon for Michael Goldberg (Landau, 1914); newspaper clipping (1914); Various diploma and certificates for Jacques Waitzfelder: diploma as a political economist (University of Munich, 1926), Hoeherer Justiz- und Verwaltungsdienst (Wuerzbuerg, 1927), Admission as a lawyer (Munich, 1933).

The collection contains various ephemera pertaining to the 20th century history of Jews in Germany and German Jews in Israel, including stamps, letters and postcards, cirulars and leaflets, and membership cards.

Contains the minute book (May-December 1898) and other material of the Ladies' Patriotic Relief Society of Newark, N.J., organized to assist needy families during the Spanish-American War; a diary of the War Period, and mimeographed copies of the Kussy family genealogy and the history of Miriam Auxiliary of Oheb Shalom Congregation in Newark from 1880-1945.

This collection consists primarily of photocopies, largely of materials pertaining to memorial and reconciliation events for the Jewish community of Schermbeck in the 1980s.

The children and descendants of Isaac Mendes and Rachel Levy Seixas included individuals who had a great impact on communal affairs and colonial Jewish life in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, and Richmond. Though this collection does not preserve the total volume of papers produced by every family member, the documents contained herein demonstrate the importance of the family in both Jewish and secular life in late 17th and early 18th century North America.

The collection is valuable to researchers studying the Seixas family; civic, mercantile, and religious contributions of Jews in the colonial era; Jewish communities in New York, Philadelphia, Newport, and Richmond; the importance of religion to Colonial Jews; Jewish participation in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and World War I; Jewish converts to Christianity; Jews as masons; and Congregation Shearith Israel of New York.

Prominent individuals in this collection include: Ephraim Hart, Grace Seixas Judah, Mrs. Jesse Judah, Israel Baer Kursheedt, Sarah Seixas Kursheedt, Hayman Levy, Nicholas Low, Isaac Moses, Naphtali Taylor Phillips, Benjamin Mendes Seixas, David G. Seixas, Gershom Mendes Seixas, Isaac Benjamin Seixas, Isaac M. Seixas, Jacob B. Seixas, Joshua Seixas, and Moses Mendes Seixas.

The collection includes: account records, books, circumcision instructions and register, correspondence, drawings, estate papers, a eulogy, family trees, legal documents, petitions, photographs, prayer books, a sermon, and shipping records.

This collection is arranged into four series: Series I: Family Papers; Series II: Moses Seixas (1744-1809); Series III: Gershom Mendes Seixas (1746-1816) and descendants; and Series IV: Benjamin Mendes Seixas (1748-1817) and descendants.

The collection consists mainly of clippings from German and British newspapers collected by Stephen Nicholls, documenting his interest in Jewish communities in the German East as well as Jewish-German relations in general, anti-Semitism, etc. Also included are reprints of several of his manuscripts touching on these topics and a few articles from other authors, including Ken Ambrose; Udo Beer; Frauke Dettmer; Peter Pulzer; Judith Sternberg; and Martin Tielke.

Collection encompasses an extensive variety of organizations, subjects, and formats and is most useful for genealogists and researchers interested in general information. Researchers looking for a particular publication will also find this collection helpful.

Folder 1 contains a photograph of synagogue Ohav Shalom (NYC), copies of publication for the reconstruction of the Jewish community in Berlin, letter by Susan Fischel with reference to the historical foundation of the Leo Baeck Lodge

This Collection documents the lifespan (1926-1982, 1990-1992, 1994) and activities of the joint Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Jewish communities' efforts in coordinating Jewish life and activities in America. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, and ephemera including photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., Edward Kennedy, and Presidents Eisenhower, Truman, and Johnson, along with Eleanor Roosevelt. Of particular interest is correspondence and photographs documenting the removal, reconsecration, or burial of ritual Synagogue items for repatriation from Europe to the U.S. and South America after WWII; also contains information on damaged synagogues in France.

This collection is comprised of the following publication: Journal (1981-1993).

This collection is comprised of event fliers, an organizational history, and miscellaneous materials concerning religious services. The collection also contains the following publications: The Ben Zukor Community Program Quarterly (1984), and Congregation News (1976-1996, 2006).

This collection contains a Directory of Bulletin Sponsors (1975) and the following publication: Bulletin (1951, 1956-1962, 1975-1976).

This collection contains a 25th Commemorative program, book fliers and fliers, invitations and pamphlets concerning exhibits and events. The following publications are also included in the collection: Bulletin (1937-1963), and Journal of the Jewish Center (December 1918, September 1920).

Over 270 items include: voluntary Jewish organization monthly dues stamps and seals; synagogue and Kosher labels; Berlin Community Council membership booklets; Jewish sport club certificates; multilingual stamps of the Harand Movement ‘against race hatred and human misery’ (including an autographed postcard photo of founder Julie Harand); and a notable collection of Jewish Veterans Relief Stamps of World War l (RJF). Jewish merchants and banks are also represented in colorful advertising labels and seals. Also included are several Nazi anti-Semitic items and post-World War II depictions of restored synagogues destroyed by Nazis.

Contains the surviving papers of Rabbi Tobias Geffen who served as a rabbi in New York City (1904-1907), Canton, Ohio (1907-1910), and Atlanta, Georgia (1910-1970). Includes extensive correspondence with members of his family, autobiographies in Yiddish and English (several versions) and other material relating to his personal life.

Collection documents the activities and missions of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA), primarily during the presidencies of William Weiss (1933-1942), Samuel Nirenstein (1942-1948), Moses Feuerstein (1954-1965), and Rabbi Pinchas Stolper’s tenure as Executive Vice President (1976-1994).

Founded in 1898, the UOJCA, also known as the Orthodox Union, serves as the leader, organizer, and voice of affiliated Orthodox Jewish congregations in North America. Divisions of the UOJCA reflected most prominently in the collection include the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, the Women’s Branch, the Kashruth Division, the Department of Synagogue Services, the Israel Center, as well as regional branches.

Subjects addressed in the collection include Sabbath and high holiday observance, dietary laws, Baal Teshuva, slaughterhouse legislation, funeral standards, education, and synagogue management and outreach. Materials include correspondence, minutes, clippings, speeches, UOJCA publications, financial documents, and a few photographs.

Manuscript minute book of the Board of Trustees of the St. Louis United Hebrew Congregation for the years 1841-1859. Includes the constitution and by-laws, reports of various synagogue committees and their activities, and information on the cemetery owned by the Congregation.