Preserving Baltimore s First Synagogue

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1 Preserving Baltimore s First Synagogue Dr. Yitzchok Levine Department of Mathematical Sciences Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ llevine@stevens.edu Note: Unless otherwise indicated all quotes are from The Lloyd Street Synagogue of Baltimore: A National Shrine by Israel Tabak, American Jewish Historical Quarterly ( ); Sep 1971-Jun 1972; 61, 1-4; AJHS Journal page 343. The article is available at Introduction While it is not known when Jews first settled in Baltimore, we do know that five Jewish men and their families settled in Baltimore during the 1770s. However, it was not until the autumn of 1829 that Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, whose Hebrew name was Nidchei Yisroel (The Dispersed of Israel), was founded. This was the only Jewish congregation in the entire state of Maryland at the time, and it was referred to by many as the Stadt Shul. The original 29 members of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation met in a room over a grocery store located on Bond and Fleet Streets (now Eastern Avenue). By 1835 the congregation occupied a one-story building on High Street and membership had increased to 55. In 1837 the congregation acquired a three story building on Harrison Street near Etna Lane where it worshipped until 1845 when it built its new synagogue on Lloyd Street. Rabbi Abraham Rice Readers of the Jewish Press are no doubt familiar with the life of Rabbi Abraham Rice from the articles Abraham Rice: First Rabbi In America, The Jewish Press, November 6, 2009, (Available at and The First Rabbi In America (Part II), The Jewish Press, December 4, 2009 (Available at Rabbi Rice, the first ordained Orthodox rabbi to settle permanently in America, became the spiritual leader of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation in Rabbi Rice was known for his piety and upright character and for a number of years he was probably the only person in America qualified to pasken sheilos. He became one of Orthodoxy s foremost spokesmen at a time when it was under attack from the Reform Movement. Abraham Rice s place in the history of American Judaism is secure. The courage and dauntlessness with which he defended the principles of historic Judaism give him a 1

2 unique place among the pioneers of Orthodoxy in America. His consistent and uncompromising stand in matters of Jewish theology were the strongest factor in stemming the tide of Reform. His devotion to the study of Torah and his depth of talmudic learning made it possible for [halachic] Judaism to gain a foothold on American soil, where for centuries Jewish life was spiritually barren and Torahless. His dedication to Jewish education and his personal instruction of many a youth in this community were responsible for a new generation of enlightened laymen to be raised up who changed the entire physiognomy and religious climate of the Jewish community of Baltimore. ( Rabbi Abraham Rice of Baltimore, Pioneer of Orthodox Judaism in America by Israel Tabak, Tradition, 7, 1965, page 119.) The Lloyd Street Synagogue Within a few years of Rabbi Rice s arrival the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation was able to build the Lloyd Street Synagogue. This was the first Jewish house of worship to be built in Maryland and is the third oldest surviving synagogue in the United States. There is no doubt that Rabbi Rice was the prime factor in the growth and consolidation of the congregation. It was under his guidance that the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation was able to build its own sanctuary befitting a Jewish community of stature and dignity. The architect commissioned to design the new synagogue was Robert Carey Long, Jr., who achieved renown for the several houses of worship he built in Baltimore at the time. In 1842, Long built the Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church; in 1843, St. Peter's Catholic Church; and the following year, Mt. Calvary Episcopal Church and the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church. The Jewish community was sufficiently affluent to afford the services of such an eminent architect, and the Lloyd Street Synagogue was completed and dedicated in The synagogue building was built of brick and was sixty feet wide by seventy-five feet deep. It cost about $20,000. The synagogue contained what was then a most innovative feature - a Shield of David (Magen David) that was conspicuously set in the main window of the synagogue above the Holy Ark, in the eastern wall, which everyone faced in prayer. Isaac Lesser, Chazzan of Congregation Mikve Israel of Philadelphia wrote the following description of the synagogue after attending the dedication ceremonies on Shabbos Parshas Vayelech (September 26 27, 1845): We will merely state for the information of our readers who doubtlessly feel an interest in the completion of the first house ever erected especially for our worship in Maryland, that its Eastern Front is ornamental with a Doric portico, through which is the entrance into the main building. A flight of steps on each side leads into the gallery which runs along the west, north and south sides. The main body is divided into two aisles, furnished with pews, in place of open seats, which struck us as something unusual in our 2

3 Synagogues. There is no platform or Teba (Almemar) but merely a reading desk placed close in front of the Ark. This, a decided defect, is owing doubtlessly to the narrowness of the building, a fault which we fear will not be easily remedied. The windows also, of which we think there are four on each side, have orange-colored glass which reflects a pleasant and subdued light, and precludes the necessity of blinds, always more or less inappropriate in a place of worship. The usual seats for the officers of the Synagogue consist of two handsome sofas, in perfect keeping with the other arrangements. The center aisle is carpeted, as are also the steps leading to, and the space in front of the Ark. The ceiling is quite plain and well calculated to convey the sound without fatiguing the speaker or reader too much, a fault often discoverable in public buildings. There are, we believe, two hundred and eighty numbered seats down stairs, of which all but eleven were rented the Sunday following the consecration. In the basement are two good school rooms, and a large hall filled up as a temporary Synagogue to be used as occasion may require. The basement also housed a mikvah and an oven for the baking of matzah. Reform Affects the Synagogue Membership in the synagogue continued to increase, so much so that in 1860 the original structure was enlarged by a 30 foot extension on its eastern end. However, increased membership proved to be both a blessing and a curse. It attracted some people who were influenced by the Reform movement. At first these people demanded some minor innovations, but, as time went on, they pushed for more and more changes. There were constant conflicts and dissensions. Rabbi Rice refused to compromise when it came to halacha. He viewed minor attempts to introduce ritual changes as the first steps toward a total break with Orthodoxy. He was not wrong! In 1849 things got so bad that, much to the shock of many synagogue members, Rabbi Rice resigned as spiritual leader of the congregation. When in 1862 the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation found itself without a rabbi, Rav Rice was asked to again become its spiritual leader. He agreed but did not serve for very long in this position, since he passed away on October 29, The congregation was now on a downward spiral toward Reform. In 1871 a number of the more religious members left and formed Chizuk Amuno Congregation with the goal of preserving Orthodox observance. Details of the history of the Congregation s change from Orthodox to reform are described in detail in Lost To Orthodoxy: The Fate of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, The Jewish Press, June 22, (Available at On February 3, 1889 the synagogue which had once been the centerpiece of traditional Judaism in Baltimore was sold for $12,000 to the newly organized Lithuanian Roman Catholic Parish and became the Church of St. John the Baptist! 3

4 Once Again a Synagogue The building on Lloyd Street that originally housed the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation was used as a church until In that year it once again became home to an Orthodox Jewish congregation - Congregation Shomrei Mishmeres HaKodesh (Guardians of the Sacred Heritage). Its members consisted primarily of observant immigrants from Russia and the Ukraine, many of whom were from a Chassidic background. In 1908 Rav Avraham Nachman Schwartz became the congregation s Rov, and he served in this position for 29 years. Rav Schwartz was a Talmudic scholar of great renown and became known as the Chief Rabbi of the Russian Jews. He was instrumental in the founding of the Baltimore Hebrew Parochial School which eventually was renamed the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore. This was the first Day School established in America outside of New York City. The Lloyd Street Synagogue was again a bastion of Torah and Avodah. For over 50 years Shomrei Mishmeres HaKodesh occupied a prominent position within the Baltimore Jewish Community and was known as the the leading synagogue in East Baltimore. Saved From Destruction After World War II the East Baltimore neighborhood in which the synagogue was located became affected by population shifts. Most of its Jews moved to other neighborhoods and by 1958 the few elderly Jews left in the neighborhood were unable to keep the congregation together. The building itself had deteriorated considerably, and therefore a movement was initiated to sell the building to commercial buyers or to tear it down and turn the ground into a parking lot. It looked like the first synagogue in Maryland would soon be no more. Fortunately, this did not happen. It was at this time that Wilbur H. Hunter, Jr., Director of the Peale Museum of Maryland, was commissioned by the Historic American Buildings Survey of the United States National Park Service to prepare reports on thirteen historic buildings in the Baltimore area, one of which was the Lloyd Street Synagogue. Mr. Hunter brought the historic and architectural significance of the Lloyd Street Synagogue to the attention of the National Park Service, and the Baltimore Jewish community. In a series of public lectures, he addressed Jewish groups on the importance of the first synagogue of Maryland and the urgent need to save it from disintegration. At the same time that the Lloyd Street Synagogue situation was being discussed, Dr. Isaac Fein was also trying to interest leaders of the community in founding a Jewish Historical Society of Maryland to collect records and papers of important early institutions and organizations before they were lost or destroyed. The group of community leaders which met considered, simultaneously, both subjects, and at that 4

5 meeting organized the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland and turned over to that organization, in addition to the objectives outlined by Dr. Fein, the consideration of the acquisition of the Lloyd Street Synagogue. On July 23, 1968 the Jewish Historical Society of Maryland purchased the Lloyd Street Synagogue building. There were a number of conditions that the Board of Shomrei Mishmeres insisted upon as part of the purchase agreement. These included the stipulation that the building was to be kept closed on Shabbosim and Yomim Tovim and was never to be used as a place of worship. These conditions were imposed to make sure that the building would never be used for any purposes that were not in strict accord with the Orthodox traditions of the Congregation. The building had been neglected for some time and was in need of extensive restoration. Despite this, the Historical Society was determined to restore the synagogue to its original shape and appearance, no matter how extensive and costly the repairs. These repairs involved a new roof and the bracing of supporting timbers, some of which had to be replaced. The walls were shored up and repainted so that no trace of the cracks was visible. The concrete pillars had to be completely restored and the beautiful old brick of the exteriors of the building was sand-blasted and repaired. The interior was likewise redecorated and refurbished; even the stained-glass window with the Star of David design, which had been broken, was restored from shards of the broken glass and remaining lead molding. The pews on the main floor and the balcony, dating from 1845, were still in good enough condition to be retained. A replica of the ark was reconstructed as part of the renovation of the Bais HaMidrash. (A special area on this level is set aside to serve as a museum.) It took more than five years of diligent work by a group of dedicated men and women to bring this project to fruition. The total cost, including the purchase of the property and the other expenditures, amounted to $95,508, all of which was contributed by generous and civic-minded members of the Jewish community of Baltimore. On April 15, 1965, the City of Baltimore presented the Jewish community with a Bronze Plaque, which was affixed to the wall at the southwest corner of the Lloyd Street Synagogue. Special dedication ceremonies were held in honor of this occasion with Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin, representing the City of Baltimore, and Professor Jacob R. Marcus of Cincinnati, Ohio, representing the American Jewish Historical Society. Affixed to the building is a tablet bearing the seal of the city of Baltimore which reads: HISTORIC BALTIMORE LLOYD STREET SYNAGOGUE FIRST SYNAGOGUE ERECTED IN MARYLAND 5

6 DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 26, 1845 RESTORED BY JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MARYLAND AS A HISTORIC SHRINE, NOVEMBER 8, 1964 AWARDED BY THE CITY OF BALTIMORE, THEODORE R. MCKELDIN, MAYOR, 1964 In 2008, the Jewish Museum began an ambitious $1 million restoration project with the help of the prestigious Save America s Treasure s Program. The work modernized the physical plant of the building, restored it to its 1864 appearance and created a multimedia exhibit, The Building Speaks, to interpret this rich history. The Lloyd Street Synagogue now stands as a proud and sacred monument to the Jewish religious history of Maryland. 6

Additional photos of the synagogue are at http://tinyurl.com/4gb7rgv The two pictures below are from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/md0174/ See also http://www.

7 Additional photos of the synagogue are at The two pictures below are from See also From Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database 7

8 Photographer: Lanny Miyamoto - Historic American Buildings Survey Taken: October 1958 Caption: Interior of the Lloyd Street Synagogue Submitted: May 15, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Database Locator Identification Number: p23421 File Size: Megabytes 8

9 9

10 Restoration of the Lloyd Street Synagogue 2008, courtesy JMM From 10

Baltimore s First Synagogue

Baltimore s First Synagogue Dr. Yitzchok Levine Department of Mathematical Sciences Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ 07030 llevine@stevens.edu Note: Unless otherwise indicated all quotes are