Shaare Shamayim Congregation

Shaare Shamayim Congregation (Gates of Heaven) was the first Jewish congregation in Western Pennsylvania. It emerged in the late-1840s, as Pittsburgh was beginning to attract a small but stable group of Jewish settlers. The future founders of the congregation began meeting for prayer as early as 1846. They established the congregation as early as 1848, using rented space at Penn Avenue and Sixth Street, in downtown Pittsburgh. Shaare Shamayim dedicated a synagogue in early August 1849 at the Vigilant Fire Engine House at 78 Third Ave. The congregation applied for a charter in late August 1849, but it is unclear whether the application was approved, rejected, or withdrawn.

Shaare Shamayim Congregation originally included members from present-day Germany, as well as a smaller group of “Poseners” from present-day Poland and Lithuania. This second group broke away from Shaare Shamayim in 1852 to form Beth Israel Congregation. The split originated in a debate over the ownership of the Bes Almon Cemetery, which was held independently of the congregation. Shaare Shamayim and Beth Israel reunited in 1853, and Shaare Shamayim started the Hebrew Burial Association that same year. Sometime before 1856, the Posner members of Shaare Shamayim placed an advertisement in the Occident newspaper, seeking a new spiritual leader. In protest, most of the German members left Shaare Shamayim along with its current spiritual leader, Rev. William Armhold, to form Rodef Shalom Congregation. The two congregations reunited around 1860 as Rodef Shalom, which had obtained a charter.

Spiritual leaders of Shaare Shamayim Congregation include Rev. Bernard Mannheim (1848-1849), Rev. Moses Sulzbach (1849-1853), Rev. Emanuel Marcusson (1853), Rev. William Armhold (1854), Rev. H. Solomon (c1855), and Rev. Rosenthal (1859-1860).

Known members of Shaare Shamayim include C. D. Arnsthal, Alexander Fink, William Frank, Nathan Gallinger, Louis Hirschfield, Leopold Jaroslawsky, and J. Morgenstern.

Bibliography

Books and Articles

• Feldman, Jacob. “The Jewish Experience in Western Pennsylvania,” Pittsburgh: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, 1986 (catalog record).
• Feldman, Jacob. “The Pioneers of a Community,” American Jewish Archives Journal, Nov. 1980. (online—American Jewish Archives).
• Feldman, Jacob. “The early migration and settlement of the Jews in Pittsburgh, 1754-1894,” undated (online).

Documents

National Library of Israel

• “News Items (Pittsburgh),” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, November 1846, p405 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, September 1849, p332 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, June 1851, p167 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, May 1852, p108 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, September 1852, p317 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, January 1853, p509 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, April 1853, p77 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “Wanted, at Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, October 1855, p5 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Aug. 1857, p247 (online—National Library of Israel).
• Jaroslawski, L. Letter to the Editor, The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Oct 1858, p353 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Sept. 27, 1859, p161 (online—National Library of Israel).
• “News Items: Pittsburg,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Nov. 22, 1860, p213 (online—National Library of Israel).

Newspapers.com

Pittsburgh Daily Post

• “Synagogue,” Pittsburgh Daily Post, Aug. 7, 1849, p2 (online—Newspapers.com).
• Gate of Heaven Congregation charter application, Pittsburgh Daily Post, Aug. 29, 1849, p2 (online—Newspapers.com).

The American Israelite

• “Congregation Sharai Shemaim of Pittsburg,” American Israelite, Aug. 25, 1854, p54 (online—Newspapers.com).
• Wise, Isaac Meir. “Editorial Correspondence.—No. I (Pittsburgh),” American Israelite, Oct. 30, 1857, p130 (online—Newspapers.com).
• “Observer,” Letter to the Editor, American Israelite, Jan. 15, 1858, p222 (online—Newspapers.com).
• Shaare Shomayim classified advertisement, American Israelite, Jan. 22, 1858, p227 (online—Newspapers.com).
• Wise, Isaac Meir. “Editorial Correspondence.—No. II (Pittsburgh),” American Israelite, Aug. 20, 1858, p54 (online—Newspapers.com).
• “Pittsburg, Pa.,” American Israelite, May 13, 1859, p358 (online—Newspapers.com).

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

• “Jewish Synagogue,” Fahnestock’s Pittsburgh directory for 1850, p116 (online—Historic Pittsburgh).

Leeser Digital Library

• Nathan Gallinger to Isaac Leeser, letter, Jan. 18, 1850 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Nathan Gallinger to Isaac Leeser, letter, Aug. 9, 1852 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Nathan Gallinger to Isaac Leeser, letter, Dec. 14, 1852 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Nathan Gallinger to Isaac Leeser, letter, Sept. 9, 1853 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Menachem Elya Marcussohn to Isaac Leeser, letter, January 1, 1853 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Menachem Elya Marcussohn to Isaac Leeser, letter, January 8, 1853 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Menachem Elya Marcussohn to Isaac Leeser, letter, Fall 1853 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Leopold Jaroslawski to Isaac Leeser, letter, March 28, 1854 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• Menachem Elya Marcussohn to Isaac Leeser, letter, Nov. 14, 1854 (online—Leeser Digital repository).
• William Armhold to Isaac Leeser, letter, Jan. 17, 1855 (online—Leeser Digital repository).

Exhibit History

• Author: Eric Lidji
• Created: June 19, 2023
• Current: June 19, 2023