HIGHLIGHTS FROM ANNUAL MEETING at AHAVAS SHOLOM

For those that missed the 35th Annual Membership meeting of NPLC held at Ahavas Sholom, in Newark, you really missed a treat... The highlight of the evening were the speakers and presentations against the back drop of the magnificent ark that was brought to Ahavas Sholom in 1929. The above slideshow contains images of members and guest who gathered at the meeting as NPLC discussed annual business and welcome our newest member Samer Hanini. Additonal images of Ahavas Sholom can be seen as you scroll to the bottom of this page.

'From Bergen Street... to Broadway' was the theme. Robert Steinbaum, VP of Ahavas Sholom spoke on "What's in Our Past - and The Future. Max Herman, President of the Jewish Museum of New Jersey (JMNJ) (second floor of Ahavas Sholom) talked about the history of the Museum. And, Linda Forgosh, Executive Director of the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest, explained the the significance of the "Weequahic Memoirs" now on it's second leg of its tour at the NMNJ. (Photos from that exhibit are at the end of this article).

The other highlight of the evening was Ulana Zakalak’s speech on the Significance of Ahavas Sholom. So informative was her presentation that we decided to copy it here, with her permission along with some photos of the inside of Ahava Sholom. As we look ahead to the upcoming year, think about how you can take an active role in preserving Newark History by volunteering time with Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee.

The Significance of Ahavas Sholom

by Ulana Zakalak

In 1869, on the occasion of the dedication of the votive chapel at the cathedral of Linz, the humble Austrian composer Anton Bruckner set a simple, anonymous prayer to music. This simple Latin prayer, so appropriate for today’s setting, has now become the standard choral piece for the dedication of religious buildings. The words are few but profound:

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est. The translation is “This place was made by God a priceless mystery; it is beyond reproach.”

To me, this is a wonderful way to describe this synagogue, a priceless mystery, the last remaining original active synagogue in Newark, a city, which once boasted over 30 synagogues and 70,000 Jewish residents. The priceless mystery of this synagogue applies to both its founding and its continued sustainment. It is the last vestige of over 150 years of Jewish history in Newark, the last remaining neighborhood synagogue. It is significant in its history and in its art: its carved mahogany ark is unique in the City of Newark. Dating from around 1872, it is the oldest existing ark in the State of New Jersey and one of the oldest in the metropolitan area.


The creation of Ahavas Sholom is unlike the founding of any other larger synagogues that preceded it. It is not of the size of B’Nai Jeshurun, the first Jewish congregation in Newark, nor does it have the opulence of B’Nai Abraham or the solemnity of Oheb Shalom. It is simply a neighborhood synagogue located in the same community as its congregants. It never attracted a large audience, or a famous rabbi. It was a neighborhood gathering place founded by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who settled along then Belleville Avenue. Because they were Orthodox, they required that their shul be within walking distance of their homes. These immigrants started stores along Belleville Avenue and lived above their stores. They sold furniture, household goods, clothing, produce and meats. They serviced the large Italian community to the north and west, the Old First Ward, as well as their own neighborhood. They also supplied Forest Hill, the wealthy residential section of the north Ward.

Temple Window from inside view

Temple Window from outside

Although the immigrants came from diverse places in Eastern Europe, and spoke a variety of languages, they were united by their need for a local synagogue where they could feel comfortable and their needs could be met. The larger city synagogues were well established by this time and had wealthier, more Americanized, or second, and third generation American congregants. They were located in the city’s Central Ward, where the bulk of the Jewish community resided. Many of these Central Ward congregations were drifting towards, or already, practicing Reform Judaism. The merchants of Belleville Avenue wished to retain their Old World traditions and their Orthodox faith, as well as learning American ways in their own setting. They considered themselves middle class and felt uncomfortable worshiping with the more established city merchants. Additionally, the geographic distance from the Central Ward synagogues further enhanced their isolation from the established Jewish community, fostering a pioneering spirit in a frontier outpost of the city’s Jewish Diaspora.

Some of the first pioneers of the area were Leopold and Ada Jacobson. They settled in the area in the late 1890s, after emigration from Latvia via Baltimore. Leopold was a cabinetmaker and antique furniture dealer. The Jacobsons chose the area due to its proximity to New York City and Forest Hill, where many of their customers could be found. Abraham Bienstock and his family came from Germany. He established a home furnishings business on Seventh Avenue, and was an especially popular merchant due to his ability to speak German, English, Yiddish and Italian, particularly useful due to the proximity of Newark’s Little Italy. By 1910, both sides of Belleville Avenue were lined with shops owned by eastern European Jewish immigrants.

In 1903, the Jacobsons were blessed with a son Saul, but with no synagogue available for his bris. The Jacobsons invited some of their fellow merchants to their home to form a minyan, a gathering of ten Jewish adults required to conduct a prayer service. They quickly organized as a congregation and immediately went to work raising money to build a synagogue. A mutual aid society was formed to provide medical and burial services for members. They started a Ladies Auxiliary and a Newark Chapter of Hadassah, Forest Hill group. In 1918, the congregation incorporated, and five years later this building was built, at a cost of $75,000.

In 1929, Leopold Jacobson heard that a magnificent ark was available from a demolished synagogue in New York City. In 1873, Anshe Chesed, originally on Norfolk Street, on the lower east side, had built a brand new synagogue on Lexington Avenue at 63rd Street with a magnificent ark. Due to the blending of various congregations and the sale of Lexington Avenue synagogue in 1926, the ark was put in storage. The ark had been in storage for a number of years and the congregation was anxious to get rid of it. Although it was given away without cost, Jacobson had to raise $200 to pay for cartage fees. He moved the ark to Newark and succeeded in trimming the ark to fit the much smaller space of Ahavas Sholom, using leftover pieces to create the bima. With the installation of this magnificent ark, Jacobson transformed the starkly simple, interior of this Neo‐Classical temple and provided a glorious focus for worship services. And here we are admiring this priceless mystery, the fruit of the labors of these early immigrants.

Yet during the time the congregation was most active, the Jewish out migration from Newark had already begun. In the 1920s, Jewish residents began moving to the new neighborhoods, first to Clinton Hill, in the City’s South Ward, and then to the Weequahic section. As the Jewish merchants of Belleville Avenue became more Americanized, they too moved south to the newer, less urban neighborhoods at the perimeter of the city. By 1950, most of the original merchants were in their seventies and retiring and their children did not want to continue their parents’ businesses. A major blow came to the area with urban renewal in 1953, when the First Ward’s Little Italy was demolished. Forty-six acres of Little Italy was demolished to provide public housing. On June 15, 1952, the New York Times, labeled the forty‐million‐dollar urban renewal plan as the “the largest slum clearance and development project in New Jersey.” About 1,300 families were displaces, many of whom shopped on Belleville Avenue. High rise, low‐income towers labeled Christopher Columbus Homes, replaced the community and hastened the deterioration of the remaining neighborhood. The final blow came with civil disturbances in 1967.

During this time, except for Ahavas Sholom, this priceless mystery, all of the Jewish congregations left Newark for the outlying suburbs, or merged with other congregations. Ahavas Sholom went through a very stressful period during the late 1960s and early 1970s and almost closed. Today the congregation is surviving, “almost thriving.” It has become a regular stop on various tours and the congregation has been able to begin an ambition restoration program….