Sigma Kappa members playing hockey, perhaps at the Schenley Park ice skating rink, c.1960—from Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, MSP 389. |
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As we've been looking at the history of Jewish youth clubs all this year, a shadowy figure has been lurking at the margins of our story. That figure?
Adults.
Individual youth clubs were founded and run by kids. But the entire system of youth clubs was encouraged and overseen by adults—adults at the Hebrew Institute, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House, the Jewish Community Center, B'nai B'rith International, and the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.
Adults also had clubs, and for the rest of the year we'll explore different manifestations of Jewish adult clubs—social, familial, ethnic, and political.
For the month of August, we'll look at social clubs like the Concordia Club, Westmoreland Country Club, Green Oaks Country Club, and others.
All this year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting stories of Jewish club life in Western Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate records of a local Jewish club, or just chat about clubs, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.
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August 8—Rosh Chodesh Elul |
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Cornerstone laying ceremony for the Irene Kaufmann Center at the corner of Fobres and Murray, 1958—from Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, MSP 389. |
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The Hebrew month of Elul is traditionally a time of spiritual reflection before the High Holidays arrive in the fall. In keeping with its mission to provide communal opportunities for reflection, support and connection, the 10.27 Healing Partnership is organizing a free afternoon of learning on August 8 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 5505 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
Presenters include Sara Stock Mayo, Cantor Julie Newman, Rabbi Doris Dyen, Rabbi Moshe Mayir Vogel, and Robert and Stephanie Miller. Rauh Jewish Archives Director Eric Lidji will lead a discussion on Deuteronomy 27:1-8, which describes one of the earliest public monuments in Jewish history.
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On Sunday, May 12, 1907, at least 147 people crowded into the Hirsch-Baskin Co. store at Sandusky and Ohio streets in Allegheny, Pa. to decide who they would be.
They had been meeting for years as an informal prayer group. They had recently resolved to form an actual congregation, one with a charter, a synagogue, a religious school and a sisterhood. They had sent out invitations to an organizational meeting. It was set for a Sunday, presumably so the merchants could get away from their shops. At the meeting they planned to elect officers. And of course, they needed to choose a name.
The minutes report the following deliberation: “Two names were proposed: Ahava Sholem and Beth Israel. The name of Beth Israel, being the choice of the majority of members, was selected.”
That’s all we know...
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Rabbi Pinchas N. Gross (left) and Harry Katz (right) at a Dec. 25, 1954, meeting to select a new name for the former Eastmont Hebrew Congregation, now known as Parkway Jewish Center Shaar Ha-shamayim—from Parkway Jewish Center Records. |
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[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—from Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]
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The Rauh Jewish Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa. |
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Plan a Visit
Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000
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A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.
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