"A New Congregation in East Liberty"
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
The Montefiore Hebrew Congregation was established in the East End of Pittsburgh in July 1915. The founders were former members of B’nai Israel Congregation and claimed to represent a younger and more Orthodox contingent within that congregation. The leaders included Morris Feldstein, A. Goldinger, Louis Shoop, and J. Weinthall.
Although the name “Montefiore Hebrew Congregation” appears in only one newspaper report, an unnamed congregation with some of the same leadership began holding Sabbath services and religious school classes in room 302 of the Vilsack Building in August 1915. The congregation arranged High Holiday services that fall at the Carnegie Lecture Hall at Station Street and Larimer Avenue. In newspaper reports, the group announced intentions to obtain a charter and a synagogue following the High Holidays that year, but by 1916 the breakaway group appears to have rejoined B’nai Israel.
Several of the principals behind the Montefiore Hebrew Congregation also became early leaders at Adath Jeshurun Congregation, which broke away from B’nai Israel in 1917.
