NEW HAVEN COLONY HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY Manuscripts No. B54 Date processed: 1984 I. Title Hamden, Conn. Congregation Mishkan Israel. Records, 1843 - II. The papers of Congregation Mishkan Israel /Board of deposited in the Library on Jan. 1984 , by Trustees, Marc A. Wallman, pres n as a gift. III. Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 31 Approximate number of items: 10,626 IV. Restrictions :None v. Literary rights·of the unpublished writings of in these papers, and in other collections of papers in the custody of the New Haven Colony Historical Society Library, have been dedicated to the New Haven Colony Historical Society. VI. Press release was issued on VII. Biographical note: 9ee photo copy of printed history .attached. VIII. Analysis: See pages a through i 1· / 2/74 Processed by: Hannah Chaikind j • .f.• ~~ [_ f ·1 . " 1.' ~ MISHKAN ISRAEL 1840-1960 Congregation Mishkan Israel is the oldest Jewish religious society in Connecticut and .the second oldest in New England- after Jeshuat Israel of Newport, Rhode Island, which dates back to 1658. But jewish worship at New Haven had preceded the establishment - of Mishkan Israel by sixty-eight years, and our story properly begins with some reference. to that historic event of the summer of 1772. No less an authority than the Reverend Dr. Ezra Stiles, later presi­ dent of Yale College recorded the Incident for posterity. One of the most famous Diarists of his generation, Stiles wrote much about Jews and Judaism; he had served as a Congregational Minister at Newport, Rhode Island, had many warm friends connected with the ROLLING. OSTERWEIS Jes.huat Israel Synagogue there, and had studied Hebrew conscien­ Professor Osterweis, the historian tiously -with Rabbi Isaac Carigal, spiritual leader of the community. of the Congregation, was born During a visit to his New Haven relatives, the Hubbards, he made the at Savin Rock, West Hm·e11, following entry in ~.is diary for September 13, 1772: Connecticut, August 15, 1907. The summer past a family of Jews settled here, the first real Jews His parents, grandparents, and · (except two Jew brothers Pinto who renounced Judaism and all reli­ great grandparents were members· gions) that settled in New Haven. They came from Venice, settled of Mishkan Israel- and his down some little t\me at Eustatia in the West Indies, and lately re­ four daughters have been moved here. They are three brothers {adults), with an aged mother, confirmed here. His grandfather, Lewis Osterweis, served as and a widow and tier children, being all about 10 or 8 souls Jews, chairman of the building committee with 6 or 8 Negroes.:. for the Orange Street Tempie, Last Saturday they kept holy: Dr. Hubbard was sent for then to see 1894-1897. He, himself, has been· one ·of their sick:-he told me the family were worshipping by them­ ,Vice-President, Trustee, Co-Editor selves in a room in which were lights and a suspended lamp. This is of The Centennial Volume in the firstJewish worship in New Haven, A.D. 1772, that is 135 (134] 1940, and, since 1958, Historian years after Reverend Mr. Davenport preached the first sermon in that of the Congregation. - town. These Jews i.ndeed worship in the Jewish manner; but they are Mr. Osterweis is Associate Professor of History and Director of Debating not enough to constitute dnd become a Synagogue for which there and Public Speaking, at Yale must be 12 (Stiles erred- he should have said 10] men at least. University. He is the a11thor of the ·So that if there should hereafter be a Synagogue in New Haven, it official Tercentenary History of must not be dated from this ...... New Hm·en, Three Centuries of The ubiquitous and careful Dr.-Stiles has thus warned us that we New Have11, 1638-1938, and must not date the beginning of a New Haven Jewish congregation of six other books in the from the family wOrship of 1772, which he described. We shall heed field of American History. his advice, acknowledging our gratitude to him for this diary note, which serves as a perfect introduction to a later day, when enough ' men would be present ''to constitute.and become a synagogue." ~ The story of a continuous congregation starts at New Haven in 1840, • • ••• ~ ' {,lt1··~.."' '- l. /~ --...._ J I ~ j J • "j ,: when a group of Bavarian families es ta bl ished a permanent settle­ ment. At least two of them arrived the year before, but, so far as available sources indicate, we may fairly assume that sometime in 1840 the formal worship of Mishkan Israel had its beginnings. The official records of this first decade have unfortunately been lost, de­ stroyed years ago by fire; our oldest volume of Minutes, the second, begins in 1849. But we do know much about the period from other sources: the annual New Haven city directories, the first of which appeared in 1840-the contemporary local newspapers - and the diary of Isaac M. Wise, founder of American Reform Judaism. From. these we must try to construct the places wh~re our congregation worshipped between 1840 and the dedication of the lovely Court Street synagogue on July 11, 1856. The city directories from 1840 to 1846, while admitting that their· lists of residents were far from complete, include the names and addresses and places of business·of many early members of Mishkan Israel. Among them are Michael Milander, L. Leman and Charles The Court Street Temple Leman, Louis Rothschild, Jonas Ullman, Jacob Heller, Louis Mandle­ · dedicated 1856 baum, Sigmund Adler, William Myers, Sigmund Waterman, Leopold . Waterman, Marks and Hirshberg Clothing Store, Israel Bretzfelder, Alexander Rothschild," J.C. Katzenberg, and a number of others. It is the considered opinion of the writer that· the worship of 1the . City Market. They invited Or. Max U°lienthal, pioneer Reform Rabbi group, between 1840 and 1843, occurred either in the home of of New York City, to dedicate this new house of worship. He was Michael Milander, the first lay reader, at the corner of Grand Avenue unable to come and sent in his place his young assistant, who had and St. John Street (No. 58 Grand Street, in the early directories).­ arrived from Bohemia a few weeks earlier- Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. or abo'{e the Store of Heller and Mandlebaum, at the northeast cor­ In his published Reminiscences, Wise tells the story of his trip to ner of Grand Avenue and Sfate Street (No. 5 Grand Street in the New Haven by steamer, of his enthusiasm for Leopold Waterman, directories). Of the two locations, I am inclined to favor the second, president of the new Reform Group, and of his dedicating the hall principally because it was there that the Congregation dedicated its in Brewster's Building. He also records that he accepted an invita­ first official synagogue, in May, 1843 - and because it was large tion to preach "at the old congregation" at 5 Grand Avenue. Later he · enough for the· needs involved. noted in his diary that the experience at New Haven with Leopold The Connecticut statutes were amended early in 1843 to permit the Waterman and his Reform-minded associates had helped encourage incorporation of religious societies other than Christian. The pur­ him to go forward in a drive for American Reform Judaism- a drive chase of a cemetery in Westville the year before had been .negotiated which culminated in the establishment of the Hebrew Union College, in the names of individuals. Now, permitted by law, to organize a the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Central Confer­ congregation, New Haven's Jewish families emerged from private ence of American Rabbis, and all the rest. worship to dedicate the first synagogue of Mishkan Israel. The New As recognized leader of American Reform Judaism, Isaac M. Wise Haven Register for May 26, 1843, announced: "Strange as it may had dedicated dozens of Temples throughout the United States by sound, it is nonetheless true that a Jewish synagogue has been estab- the time of his death in 1900. But Mishkan Israel should never for~ 1ished in this city- and their place of worship (on Grand Street, · get that the honor of having been the first Reform Congregation to over the store of Heller and Mandlebaum) was dedicated on Friday be so dedicated belongs to her. Perhaps, some day we shall raise up afternoon." a talented painter in our midst who will try to recapture for us the . Here at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue, near State Street, the scene at Chapel and State Streets, on a warm August evening in new synagogue functioned until the summer of 1846, when the ma­ 1846, when a youthful immigrant Rabbi from Bohemia addressed an jority of the families withdrew to organize a Reform Congregation. eager group of fellow immigrants and dedicated their synagogue to · Their ranks growing with-constantly arriving newcomers who had been Reform Judaism. attracted to the Reform movement in South Germany, the seceding The Orthodox remnant of Mishkan Israel, few in number, carried on group rented a hall in Brewster's Building, a fine new structure at worship at 5 Grand Street until 1849, when they decided to unite -. southeast corner of State and Chapel Streets, just west of the with the larger group in the Brewster Building'. 1 \ 'I:., ) ?1·, - }: . ' . .. ~. However, when the Congregation purchase~ the Court Street Meet­ ~~:·~'":' <,·~:,~ ·' inghouse of the Third Congregational Church, in 1856, it precipitated a new split, this time a permanent one. The leaders of Mishkan Israel ~/f~~)·:--.. were resolved to follow the ritual of extreme Reform, and the dissatis­ Tii'. :- fied champions of Orthodoxy withdrew to organize the B'Nai Sholom ~{·~·· Synagogue.