NEW ROCHELLE, NY — On Sunday, June 26th at 5:00PM, Congregation Anshe Sholom of New Rochelle (50 North Ave) will celebrate its 120th anniversary with a gala dinner honoring its past rabbis and presidents. One hundred twenty is an especially important anniversary in the Jewish tradition, as it is the number associated with longevity. Given the unpredictable migratory patterns of American Jewry, it is rare for a suburban synagogue to survive for that many years and still to be thriving.
Anshe Sholom was the first Jewish institution established in New Rochelle and is the oldest continuously functioning Orthodox synagogue in Westchester County. All of the other local synagogues, irrespective of denomination, began as breakaways or offshoots of Anshe Sholom. In honor of the occasion, a commemorative journal is being written which will include a detailed history of Judaism in the “Queen City on the Sound.” Several hundred guests, including leading figures in Westchester Jewry and political life, are expected to attend the dinner.
Anshe Sholom was founded in 1896 to create a permanent home for Jewish prayers services in New Rochelle. Prior to that date, services were conducted for the high holidays on an ad hoc basis in rented locations. The synagogue’s first building was located at 13 Bonnefoy Place, just south of the downtown commercial district. The synagogue’s first clergyman, Rabbi ItzchakLeibKadushin, was hired in 1904 for the princely sum of $5 per week. The synagogue was enlarged and refurbished in the late 1940’s under the leadership of Rabbi Dr. Solomon Freilich.
In 1959 Anshe Sholom welcomed Rabbi Dr. Philip M. Weinberger as its new spiritual leader. Rabbi Weinberger led the campaign to construct a new synagogue building on North Ave, two blocks south of the original site. In 1963, amid great fanfare and a procession of Torah scrolls, the congregation entered its new home. (The old synagogue building still stands to this day and is occupied by a Haitian church,Eglise de Dieu.) Rabbi Weinberger, together with his beloved wife Hannah (of blessed memory), guided the synagogue for 37 years until retirement in 1996.
Rabbi Ely Rosenzveig led the congregation from 1996 until his departure for Israel in 2012. Rabbi Evan Hoffman is the current spiritual leader. Under his guidance, Anshe Sholom has become a center of Jewish learning, offering traditional daily Talmud study as well as academic Jewish studies courses.
The Jewish community on the Sound Shore side of New Rochelle is currently experiencing a renaissance thanks to the efforts of Congregation Anshe Sholom to attract young Jewish families to the neighborhood. People are motivated to move by the quality of life, affordability of housing, and warmth of the congregation. The synagogue is proud of its role in the broader communal project of revitalizing downtown New Rochelle. After years of demographic decline, the recent upswing in Jewish life in southern New Rochelle raises hopes that an illustrious congregation with a glorious history could yet thrive for another 120 years.