"Dedication of Sefer Torah"
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
Tiphereth Israel Congregation was an Orthodox congregation in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. It was founded in the 1890s by Jewish immigrants from the Litvishe town of Sejny in Suwalk gubernia in present-day Poland.[1]Tiphereth Israel Congregation church archives inventory questionnaire (online-Ancestry.com). It was originally known as “Chevra Torah Anshe Sanee” or informally as “The Sanyeer Shul.” It was chartered as Tiphereth Israel Congregation in February 1912 with 10 trustees: Charles Rosenberg, Louis Goodstein, William Losman, David Berkman, Simon Miller, Jacob Cohen, Isaac Martinsky, Harry Schnitzer, S. J. Rogalsky, and Harry Kalson. Other members listed in the charter included Harry Levine, K. Israel, Joseph Sanes, A. Hirsch, and Louis Siff.[2]Tiphereth Israel Congregation charter, 1912 (online).
Initially lay-led, Tiphereth Israel hired Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf Kochin sometime between 1909 and 1914. He remained with the congregation until his death in 1946.[3]“Rabbi Kochin Taken by Death At Age of 75,” Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 26, 1946 (online-Newspapers.com). The congregation stopped meeting around that time, and in 1950 transferred its Torah scrolls to 10 colonies of Hapoel Hamizrachi in Israel and to the Children’s Village in Raananah.[4]“Impressive Ceremony to Mark Presentation of Sifre Torah to Israel,” Jewish Criterion, Feb. 17, 1950 (online).
Services were held in a rented room on Scott Street near Colwell Street until 1908, when the congregation acquired the Warren A.M.E. Church at Fullerton and Clark Streets and converted the building into a synagogue.[5]“Dedicate Synagogue Before Large Crowd,” Pittsburgh Gazette, March 23, 1908 (online-Newspapers.com). [6]“Jewish Synagogue to be Dedicated,” Pittsburgh Press, March 13, 1908 (online-Newspapers.com). [7]Tiphereth Israel Congregation synagogue, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Aug. 24, 1929 (online-Newspapers.com). Sometime after dedicating the synagogue, the congregation established a cemetery on Oakwood Road in Shaler Township.[8]Tiphereth Israel Congregation church archives inventory questionnaire (online-Ancestry.com).
In addition to its own membership, Tiphereth Israel became the congregation of choice for members of Pliskover Free Loan Association, which did not have a synagogue of its own.[9]“By Myself I’m a Book,” p. 108-109.
References
| ↑1, ↑8 | Tiphereth Israel Congregation church archives inventory questionnaire (online-Ancestry.com). |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Tiphereth Israel Congregation charter, 1912 (online). |
| ↑3 | “Rabbi Kochin Taken by Death At Age of 75,” Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 26, 1946 (online-Newspapers.com). |
| ↑4 | “Impressive Ceremony to Mark Presentation of Sifre Torah to Israel,” Jewish Criterion, Feb. 17, 1950 (online). |
| ↑5 | “Dedicate Synagogue Before Large Crowd,” Pittsburgh Gazette, March 23, 1908 (online-Newspapers.com). |
| ↑6 | “Jewish Synagogue to be Dedicated,” Pittsburgh Press, March 13, 1908 (online-Newspapers.com). |
| ↑7 | Tiphereth Israel Congregation synagogue, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Aug. 24, 1929 (online-Newspapers.com). |
| ↑9 | “By Myself I’m a Book,” p. 108-109. |
