“What It Was Was Love”

Tree of Life Sisterhood 70th anniversary history script read at the Donor Luncheon. The script captures 70 years of Tree of Life Sisterhoods’ history, including its first Benefit Bazaar held at the Duquesne Gardens; President Teddy Roosevelt’s visit to the Synagogue before its golden anniversary; Rabbi Herman Hailperin’s tenure with the Congregation; the 1927 Purim show that raised $3,000 for the Congregation; the sadness of the Great Depression and the 1936 flood of Pittsburgh; Hebrew School’s move to Squirrel Hill in the 1930s; the first Thanksgiving Eve dance; Tree of Life Sisterhoods’ war relief efforts during World War II; its $35,000 pledge to the new Synagogue being built in Squirrel Hill; celebration of the Tree of Life Sisterhoods’ Golden Anniversary in 1949; its fulfillment of the $35,000 pledge in 1952 and commitment to a second pledge of $50,000; purchase of the Craft Avenue Synagogue by the Pittsburgh Playhouse in 1951; renovation of the Tree of Life Sisterhood Room in 1961; dedication of the Synagogue’s new sanctuary in 1963; celebration of the Congregation’s centennial in 1964; Tree of Life Sisterhoods third pledge  to the Synagogue in 1967; Rabbi Solomon M. Kaplan’s tenure with the Congregation. Typescript, English, 13 pages.