Congregation Poale Zedeck

Congregation Poale Zedeck is a modern Orthodox congregation in Pittsburgh. It emerged in the early 1880s out of a community of Austro-Hungarian Jews who began settling in downtown Pittsburgh and the lower Hill District. The Austro-Hungarian Congregation Poale Zeydick of Pittsburgh was organized on November 6, 1881 and received its charter in 1883.^[1]Cooper, Charles I. “The Story of the Jews of Pittsburgh,” Jewish Criterion, May 31, 1918, p. 101 (online). Charter members included Philip Fried, B. Horr, Moritz Dunn, Jacob Blattner, Emanuel Geller, Josef Grünberger, Samio Weisz, H. Schwartz, Ignatz Horr, Max Friedman, Max Mandl, Vicktor Keller, Moritz Trattner, Martin Haupt, and David Goodfriend.^[2]Charter of Austro-Hungarian Congregation Poale Zeydick of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Charter Books (Vol. 8, Pages 274-279) (online). An important early member not listed on the charter was Frank Brunwasser.

Locations

Poale Zedeck initially met at the home of member Victor Keller on Market Street and soon rented a hall at 106-108 Grant Street. It purchased a house on Federal Street in the Hill District in 1891 and renovated it into a synagogue. The congregation moved into a former synagogue at 127-129 Crawford Street in 1899. The building had previously belonged to Agudas Achim Congregation and Beth Israel Congregation. The building was destroyed in a fire in December 1916 and was rebuilt and re-dedicated over the following year.^[3]Congregation Poale Zedeck, Pennsylvania, U.S., WPA Church Archives, 1937-1940 (online—Ancestry.com). ^[4]“Fire Causes $5,000 Loss to Synagogue in Crawford St,” Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 8, 1916 (online—Newspapers.com). ^[5]“Poale Zedeck Synagogue is Dedicated,” Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, Sept. 10, 1917 (online—Newspapers.com).

By the late teens, the growing membership of Poale Zedeck was divided between the Hill District and emerging eastern neighborhoods of Highland Park and Squirrel Hill. The congregation discussed relocating as early as 1924.^[6]“Poale Zedeck,” Jewish Criterion, Oct. 31, 1924, p. 28 (online—Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project). Starting with the 1926 High Holidays, the Squirrel Hill contingent began holding independent services in rented rooms at the Morrowfield Building at 5810 Forward Avenue.^[7]“Poale Zedeck,” Jewish Criterion, July 16, 1926, p. 12 (online—Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project). The congregation commissioned a new synagogue [Charles J. and Chris Rieger, architects] at 6315 Phillips Avenue in Squirrel Hill in 1928.^[8]“Poale Zedeck Synagogue to Hold Dedication Exercises Sunday.” Jewish Criterion, June 22, 1928, p. 12 (online). For several years after dedicating and fully occupying the Squirrel Hill synagogue, the congregation continued to maintain its synagogue on Crawford Street as a separate branch. It eventually sold the Crawford Street synagogue around 1941.

Poale Zedeck expanded its Squirrel Hill synagogue in 1956 with the Joseph Shapiro Education Center. The three-story building behind the synagogue has since housed various communal educational initiatives, including a nursery school, the Poale Zedeck School for children with mental health diagnoses, and the Prise Institute of Continuing Education. The congregation later installed an elevator in the synagogue. It added a kaylim mikvah (ritual bath for utensils) to the front of the synagogue in 1995.

Auxiliaries

Poale Zedeck operated a cheder (religious school) from its founding until at least the mid-1920s. The congregation dedicated a cemetery in the Sheraden neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 1883 and the Poale Zedeck Memorial Park in Gibsonia in 1954. A group of members chartered a beneficial organization called the Hungarian Sick and Relief Association in 1884. The Poale Zedeck Sisterhood was founded around 1913. The Poale Zedeck Men’s Club began with the move to Squirrel Hill in the late 1920s or early 1930s.

Leaders

Spiritual leaders include Rev. Julius Bloom, Rabbi Sol Bezalel Friedman (1920-1932), Rabbi Joseph Shapiro (1933-1974), Rabbi Eliyahu Safran (1974-1985), Rabbi Yisroel Miller (1985-2009), Rabbi Ari Goldberg (interim 2009-2010), Rabbi Daniel Yolkut (2010-present). Presidents include Philip Fried, Israel Greenberger, Samuel Hausman, Frank Brunwasser, Max Friedman, Isador Unger, Jacob Weiss, Adolph Greenberger, Sam Schoenberger, Maurice Chaitkin, Morris Schwartz, Morris Mazer, Morris A. Robins, Harry N. Morris, David H. Klein, Leo Berger, Carl Margolis, Donald B. Butler, Morton L. Markowitz, Norman H. Tabachnick, Lyon Mandelcorn, Alan Margolis, Elliott Falk, Joel Pfeffer, Jay Angel, Harold M. Goldwasser, Michael L. Steinberg, Carey D. Balaban, Harvey B. Henteleff, Dean Pollack, Lenny Plotkin, Ya’aqov Abrams, Lee Golden, and Louis Felder.

Bibliography

Exhibit history

• Author: Eric Lidji
• Created: February 28, 2022
• Current: October 23, 2023