July 23, 2023

Vol. 4, No. 30

Tisha B'av

The Jewish Encyclopedia:

Congregation Emanuel

Research Tool:

Synagogue Locations

How We Got Here:

Israel Pickholtz

Calendar:

Aug. 2: Aaronel deRoy Gruber

through Aug. 13: Green Book

Aug. 20: JGS Pittsburgh: Tyler Stump

Community:

"How We Got Here"

Under the Dome of Rodef Shalom

JCBA "Road-Trip"

Mystery portraits

Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries,

Memorial Plaques, Books,

Population Figures, Newsletters

July 26-27:

Tisha B'Av

Marcus Fried (seated left) and staff of the "New Horizon,"

photograph by William F. Mahon 

—from Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 12, 1949

Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. The 25-hour fast on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av was instituted in ancient times to commemorate the destruction of the two Holy Temples in Jerusalem.

Over the millennia of Jewish history, the day also accumulated a long list of late summer tragedies: the beginning of the First Crusade in 1096; the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290, from France in 1306, and from Spain in 1492; and the start of World War I in 1914. Even in pleasant, peaceful eras, Tisha B’Av has become a way to express and contain communal sorrow.

Marcus Fried wrote the poem “Tisha B'Av” for the June/July 1952 edition of “New Horizons.” It laments the Jewish exile using religious imagery from various Biblical sources, including the books of Psalms, Lamentations, and Jeremiah.

“New Horizons” was the “house organ” of the Jewish Home for the Aged, which is now called the Jewish Association on Aging. Residents of the home wrote, edited, and printed the monthly newsletter. Fried came to the Home after living in Beaver Falls, Pa. He joined the “New Horizons” as a printer but often contributed poetry to the monthly publication. He died on Sept. 8, 1952, just a few months after publishing this poem.

"Tisha B'Av," by Marcus Fried.

—from Jewish Association on Aging Records [2018.0028]

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania:

Congregation Emanuel

"Israelitish Reform." Article from Pittsburgh Daily Post, Aug. 25, 1874, describing the formation of Congregation Emanuel.

—Newspapers.com

Congregation Emanuel was a Reform congregation in Pittsburgh. It was founded in 1874 by former members of Rodef Shalom Congregation who wanted to conduct worship services in English, rather than German.

Organizational meetings began in August 1874. Congregation Emanuel rented and renovated Excelsior Hall at the corner of Federal and Lacock streets in Allegheny, Pa., now the North Side. The congregation hired Rabbi Benjamin Eger from Temple B’nai Zion in Titusville, Pa. The first services were held on September 6, 1874, with music provided by the Trinity Episcopal Church choir accompanied on harmonium.

Rabbi Eger left the following year for Toledo, Oh. Congregation Emanuel rapidly declined, appearing in the local press only sporadically. The congregation disbanded around 1884, when several members rejoined Rodef Shalom.

Our entry for Congregation Emanuel includes a bibliography of known citations.

Research Tool:

Synagogue Locations

Detail from G. M. Hopkins map showing Shaare Torah Congregation, Tiphereth Israel Congregation, and Poale Zedeck Congregation synagogues in the Hill District, 1923.

“God stands in the divine assembly” (Psalm 82:1)

According to tradition, the Divine Presence rests anywhere ten people gather to pray. By that measurement, how many buildings in Western Pennsylvania have hosted the Divine Presence? How many synagogues, halls, and living rooms?

For the past decade, the Rauh Jewish Archives has been compiling a list of every building in this region known to have hosted Jewish worship. We have identified more than 350 locations across Allegheny County and dozens more throughout the broader 26-county region of Western Pennsylvania.

Until now, this has been an internal resource, used by staff to assist with answering reference questions. Starting this month, we are beginning to make this database public on the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania. 

Screenshot of the new “Synagogues” database on the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania, showing listings for Adath Jeshurun Congregation in East Liberty.

We’re launching the database with 45 listings from 15 institutions. Each listing includes the name of the institution, the historic address of the meeting place, a map showing the current location of that address, the years the institution is known to have met at the address, the type of building (i.e. synagogue, hall, residence), the current status of the building (i.e. extant, demolished), known photographs of the building, information about alternate names and mergers, and citations with links to source material. Listings also link to existing entries on the Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania.

This is a work in progress. We plan to start with synagogues in Pittsburgh, then continue to include small towns throughout Allegheny County, and then continue outward to the many small-towns of the surrounding counties. We’ll provide regular updates here in the newsletter. And of course, if you see any errors or missing locations, please email the archive or call 412-454-6406.

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

"How We Got Here: Israel Pickholtz"

“How We Got Here” is a project by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh to honor the many varied ways people have joined Jewish communities across Western Pennsylvania. To participate, just write a short account describing how you or your family came to settle in this region. It could be a story of immigration, conversion, a surprising DNA discovery, or some other pathway. To contribute a story, contact the archives.

This month, we’re sharing a story from genealogist Israel Pickholtz.

Color photograph of the former Machsikei Hadas Congregation synagogue (the Galizianer shul) at Wylie Avenue and Granville Street in the Hill District of Pittsburgh.

—from Gerald Sapir Papers and Photographs [MSS 775]

All four of my grandparents, as well as four of my great-grandparents, were in the United States before the First World War. 

We’ll begin with the youngest, the one who was actually born in Pittsburgh (actually “Old Allegheny,” now the North Side) and lived all of her 92 years there. My father’s mother, Margaret Rosenzweig, was born in 1903. Her father, Moritz Rosenzweig, arrived in 1901 and her mother Regina (Bauer) in 1902 with their three children plus two from his late first wife. 

The Rosenzweigs were from Trencin County Slovakia and the Bauers from Kunszentmiklos in Hungary. The older children were born in Budapest. 

The truth is, we have no idea why they went to Allegheny. Moritz lists a cousin on his passenger list, but I have not found hide nor hair of his man anywhere and the name is not at all familiar to me. 

Regina had some indeterminate cousins in Pittsburgh (Heidenfeld/Lowy which may have been Lowinger) but they arrived later. 

My father’s father, Morris Pickholtz, arrived in the US as a child. The family was not well off and they came in stages. Uncle Max in 1901, the two older daughters via Ellis Island in 1902, my great-grandfather Hirsch and a second son via Baltimore in 1903 and my great-grandmother and the three youngest via Montreal and St. Albans in 1904. My grandfather, the youngest, was not quite eight years old. 

What brought them to Pittsburgh? Hirsch’s sister Leah Braun had come some years earlier with her husband and three children. What had brought them, I have no idea.

What I can say is that my great-grandparents lived in her town, Zalosce in east Galicia, and quite a few families from there emigrated to Pittsburgh in the 1890s. When birth records from Zalosce (1877-1890) became available, I was amazed to see how many names I recognized from the neighborhood. Schwadron, Kweller, Lewinter, Charap (Herrop), Chotiner, Braun, Wachs, Zwiebel, Papernik and others. In fact, after WWI, Rabbi Wolf Leiter came to Pittsburgh, as well. His father had been the rabbi of Zalosce and I assume that the Pittsburgh community had brought him specifically. 

My mother’s parents knew each other in Russia though they married in New York. My grandfather’s younger brother, Frank Gordon, heard about a new town that surely needed people to sell them things, so off they went to Vandergrift. 

Uncle Frank did not stay long. (My mother said that he left because the girl he was interested in married Mr. Rubin.) My grandparents stayed, though my grandmother hated it. 

August 2:

A Celebration of Aaronel deRoy Gruber

The Irving and Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation recently donated the kinetic outdoor sculpture Alumascape III to the Westmoreland Museum of Ar in Greensburg, Pa.

In celebration of the donation, the foundation’s Executive Director Brittany Reilly will speak about the life and work of artist Aaronel deRoy Gruber at the museum on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 3 p.m. You can learn more about the sculpture at the museums' website, and you can research Aaronel's life in the Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers [MSS 335] at the Rauh Jewish Archives.

Alumascape III, photographed by Walt Seng, 1980.

—from The Irving & Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation Archives.

through August 13:

The Negro Motorist Green Book

“The Negro Motorist Green Book” was a travel guide listing restaurants, gas stations, department stores, and other businesses that welcomed Black travelers. In an era of Jim Crow laws and “sundown towns,” the Green Book offered critical, life-saving information and sanctuary for Black individuals and families traveling the country. Harlem postman Victor Green started the publication in 1936, based in part on a similar volume published in Yiddish for Jewish travelers. The Green Book continued annually through 1967.

The new exhibit “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” on display in the McGuinn Gallery of the Heinz History Center through Aug. 13, tells the story of this landmark publication and its impact on the nation’s rising Black middle class in the middle 20th century. The exhibit also reveals the world of the Green Book in Pittsburgh with artifacts from hotels, jazz clubs, restaurants, and more than 30 local businesses listed in the Green Book, including the Terrace Hall Hotel, Harlem Casino Dance Hall, and Palace Hotel. The exhibit features images from the Melvin Seidenberg Photographs at the Rauh Jewish Archives and the Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

August 20:

JGS-Pittsburgh presents:

"Researching Institutionalized Family Members

at the Pennsylvania State Archives"

with Tyler Stump

Color photograph of archivist Tyler Stump discussing a document with a patron.

Since the early 19th century, Pennsylvania has operated nearly 50 different state institutions for people with intellectual and mental disabilities. Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians lived in these institutions. Today, the Pennsylvania State Archives holds the historical records created by these institutions, which are invaluable resources for researchers and genealogists.

Join archivist Tyler Stump to explore this important part of Pennsylvania’s history and to learn about the information in the archives’ collections.

The program is Sunday, Aug. 20, from 1-3 p.m. at the Library & Archives reading room on the sixth floor of the Heinz History Center with a virtual option for those who wish to attend remotely. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to current JGS-Pittsburgh members.

"Researching Institutionalized Family Members at the Pennsylvania State Archives" is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center.

Please register online. This program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and to receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

This program is possible through the support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Tyler Stump has been an archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives since 2016. He helps collect and preserve records from state-run institutions such as asylums, prisons, and hospitals as well as many other government offices around the state. Tyler has degrees in history and library science from the University of Maryland. Though he grew up in Baltimore, Tyler has deep roots in Pennsylvania, mostly around York County, that go back to the 18th century. He currently lives in Camp Hill, PA, with his wife Andra who is also an archivist.

Community

From NEXT Pittsburgh

"What's Under the Dome at Rodef Shalom?"

NEXT Pittsburgh's Boaz Frankel visits with archivist Martha Berg to discover the secrets of Rodef Shalom Congregation's historic Fifth Avenue synagogue.

From the Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association

"Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania"

The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh has released a new documentary showcasing Jewish cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania.

“Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania” is a one-hour tour of the many cemetery properties overseen by the JCBA, as well as an overview of the organization’s ongoing work to care for these sacred burial grounds. The video is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these special Jewish cultural sites in our region. The video includes many historic photographs and documents from the collections of the Rauh Jewish Archives. 

From Rodef Shalom Congregation

A mystery in primary colors

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle reports on an effort by Rodef Shalom Congregation to identify two people from a pair of mid-19th century portraits in the congregation's holdings. Do you recognize these two people?

Research Tools

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project contains digitized, searchable copies of four local English-language Jewish newspapers between 1895 and 2010. It is a valuable tool for researching almost any topic about Jewish history in Western Pennsylvania. For a primer on using the website, watch our video.

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project in 1998 to preserve burial records from Jewish cemeteries across the region. Over a period of fifteen years, the information was compiled into a searchable, online database containing approximately 50,000 burial records from 78 Jewish cemeteries throughout the region.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project in 2020. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection of burial records from memorial boards at synagogues across the region. Volunteers are currently transcribing these boards and records are being added monthly to our online database. The database currently contains more than 2,000 listings.

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

University of Pittsburgh librarian and Rauh Jewish Archives volunteer Laurie Cohen created this comprehensive bibliography of the Rauh Jewish Archives library holdings from 1988 through 2018. It lists nearly 350 volumes arranged by type and then by subject. This a great tool to use early in your research process, as you’re surveying available resources on a given subject.

Jewish Population Estimates

Looking to figure out how many Jews lived in a certain part of Western Pennsylvania at a certain moment in time? This bibliography includes more than 30 estimates of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh and small-towns throughout the region, conducted between 1852 and 2017.

Synagogues

A database of buildings throughout Allegheny County known to have hosted Jewish worship services. Includes links to photographs and citations with original source material.

Rauh Jewish Archives Newsletter

The Rauh Jewish Archives has been publishing a weekly newsletter since 2020. The newsletter contains a variety of articles about local Jewish history, including much original research not found anywhere else. You can find and read every issue—more than 150!— in our new index.