History

Heritage of Congregation Sons of Israel

The first known persons of the Jewish faith in Peabody settled here in the 1890's, immigrating from Lithuania and Russia. Worship services were held in private homes, and the children were taught Hebrew at home. As more families settled in Peabody, there was a compelling desire to establish a Congregation. On November 15, 1909, 18 men met at the home of Louis Glichouse on Buxton Street and planted the seed of Congregation Sons of Israel by becoming the Charter members. They included Samuel Rossen, Louis Glichouse, Barney Rubin, Samuel Slotnick, Harris Abelovitch, Hyman Israelovitz, Louis Altshuler, Jacob Edelstein, Harris Goldberg, Louis Karelitz, Robert Cohen, Sam Gilman, Jacob Gorenstein, Abraham Kaplan, and Abraham Perlman. The Charter was given to the Congregation by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on Dec. 14, 1909. The material assets of these men were small, but their hearts were big, their determination and courage were strong, and their vision far-sighted. New members began to join at 25 cents per month's dues, and with continued efforts to raise funds, the land was purchased in 1912, and a contract was made with Samuel Goldberg to construct this Synagogue for $6,500. Although Mr. Goldberg was not the lowest bidder, he was, among the bidders, the only member of the Congregation, and later became one of the Presidents. When more money was needed to complete the construction, the problem was solved by selling a corner of the land at Sanborn Street on which the house adjacent to us was built, by delaying the installation of a steam boiler, and by shortening the length of the balconies, as we see them now. The latter proved to be a good idea since it permitted more light from the windows, and a broader view of the artistic front wall. Until the completion of the Synagogue, regular services were held at the Red Men's Hall on Foster Street and a regular Hebrew school was established with Rev. Nathanson as the teacher.

The High Holyday services of 1913 were the first to be held in this Synagogue, with Rev. Nathanson as the Cantor. He was also the Shochet and had a contract with the Congregation by which he would go to the butchers to slaughter chickens at 5 cents each, and if he had to do this at a private home, he would be entitled to 10 cents a chicken with the Congregation subsidizing any difference in income up to $12 per week. When the Synagogue was first constructed, the Bimah was in the center of the Sanctuary, and a walkway was between the Bimah and Oren Kodesh, in the original orthodox manner, with a large brass chandelier hanging from the ceiling, with moveable chairs for the men, and benches in the balcony for the women. In 1925, the Sanctuary was rebuilt by installing the new Bimah and Oren Kodesh that we have today, as well as the pews which were donated by Max and Rhoda Korn, and the chandeliers, donated by David and Sadie Kirstein and Myer and Ida Kirstein. As can be expected in a Shul, there was controversy about the pews. Originally, when new pews were installed, the pews on each side of the Bimah extended to the front wall, but when some men said they had a contract for permanent seats at the wall facing the congregation, Mr. Korn had to have the pews rebuilt to satisfy these men.

The first President of the Congregation was Samuel Rossen, followed by Frank Hershenson, David Kirstein, Elihu Hershenson, Morris Isaacson, Samuel Goldberg, Allen S. Levy, Irving Sacks, Sidney Barosin, Hyman Sogoloff, Harvey Chandler, Bernie Horowitz, and now Sumner Greenberg. As an interesting point of reference, Harvey Chandler's "step" grandfather was Samuel Rossen, the first President. The first spiritual leader engaged by the congregation was the Rev. Maurice Ordman, who also served as the Chazan, and as the Shochet, and Mohel for the Jewish community. He was followed by the Rabbis Chaim Essrog, Irving Perlman, Samuel Langer, Arthur Oles, and from 1953 to 1962 Rabbi Noah Goldstein. M. Irving Herbster served as Ritual Director and spiritual leader from 1962 to 1998. Bart Perlman followed him, then Avrom J. Herbster, and now Bernie Horowitz is Ritual Committee Chair. The shamosim have been Jacob Morris, endearingly called the "Rebelle", Abraham Silverman, Morris Talkowsky, Rev Issac Miller, and Chaim Weisman , who was also the Torah reader from 1962 to 1979.

An important function of our Congregation was the Hebrew School, which, with all of the excellent teachers, committees, and the Sisterhood, added to our history, thanks to the leadership of teachers Moshe and Hilda Shiffman. With the advent of the new temples in Peabody, the population shift to West Peabody, and the aging of the Congregation, the enrollment dwindled and in the 1970's the Board of Directors of the Hebrew School made the difficult decision to disband.

Worship services were conducted daily in the traditional manner, and in 1953, an additional service was included, called "The Early Morning Sabbath Service." Norman Altshuler, Edward Edelstein, M. Irving Herbster, Sol D. Hershenson, Leo Lippa, and Louis Meyerson, with the guidance of Rabbi Goldstein organized this service. This service was instituted to enable persons to have a religious service but did not have time to attend the regular Sabbath Services. And it has continued, without interruption, until the present time, some 55 years! After Rabbi Goldstein left Peabody to become a professor of Talmud at the Yeshiva Yitzchak Elchanan in New York, Sabbath services have been conducted by members of the congregation including, among many, Norman Altshuler, Irving Sacks, William Shoer, Arthur Axelrod, Robert Shaw, Jack Gold, Irving Bacherman, Melvin Zeitlan and Linda Rose. Robert Shmase and Sidney Barosin have served as Torah readers. William Spatrick has served as Gabbai (Assistant) for many years. Overall direction was provided by M. Irving Herbster, followed by his son Avrom, and now by Bernie Horowitz, our Ritual Director. He is assisted by the congregants who are well versed in our morning services. The time of our services has also been changed to 9 AM to reflect the changes in lifestyles of our congregation during these 55 years.

In 1962, mixed seating of men and women was instituted, and in 1993 the Synagogue became "egalitarian" during the year, by counting women in the Minyans, and allowing women to receive Aliyahs. Freda Kravetz became the first woman to receive an Aliyah to be called to the Torah.

The 1970's proved to be a difficult period for our Shul. Our membership had dwindled to 30 and the Synagogue was half-filled for the High Holydays. However, with the merging of the heritage of Congregation Anshe S'fard, and the renovations made possible by donations from the Sisterhood of the Peabody Hebrew School, the feeling grew that the Shul was "here to stay." Edward Edelstein, with much insight, helped form and raise money for a Trust Fund to ensure that the Shul would have financial security in the future. The Trust Fund recently was named in his memory.

Our sister shul, Congregation Anshe S'Fard, had been established in 1916 on nearby Little's Lane to serve the “Russische” community. It was known as the “Little Shul” while Congregation Sons of Israel was known as the “Big Shul.” When the Little Shul closed in the late 1970's, its heritage continued with our Shul. Under Murray Tanzer's initiative, and Ron Tanzer's assistance, the Oren Kodesh was brought to our Shul and installed in the downstairs chapel. Saul Tanzer was the President of Congregation Anshe S'Fard from 1945 to 1978. Every Saturday the Yahrzeits of the week on all of our tablets are remembered.

In 1979 the remaining members of the Sisterhood of the Peabody Hebrew School, under the leadership of Mary Madow (the first Jewish girl born in Peabody) and Sarah Bernstein donated the dormant funds of the Sisterhood to the Shul. This generous act enabled the rehabilitation of the basement space into a combination chapel and social hall, construction of a new kitchen, and renovation of the lavatories.

In the 1980's, Monthly Friday Night services were instituted, and were led by M. Irving Herbster, Bart Perlman, and Avrom Herbster. We continue with this tradition, now led by Bernie Horowitz with occasional guest leaders, cantors, and speakers.

In 1980 we installed a new heating system for our social hall, chapel and kitchen. In 1982, the new windows were installed with donations, principally from the Ossoff family foundation, and other work done to the outside of the building. Most of this work was done with the donations of a few former Peabody residents who didn't forget where their roots are. In 1983 the front wall was redecorated, along with the ceiling and side walls. In 2003, we installed a new air-conditioning system. The ceiling was repainted in 2006 and work will begin soon on remodeling the foyer. You can see for yourselves how beautiful the Synagogue looks. It evokes a sense of wonder by all who see it for the first time.

In 1998, the chapel/social hall was dedicated to the memory of M. Irving Herbster, who was considered by many people to have been the "heart and soul" of the Synagogue. In 2007, it was re-named the Herbster Sanctuary for his dedicated service to the Synagogue, in addition, the sanctuary was remodeled and the bookcases were renamed the Avrom J. Herbster archives for all his Judaic books that our now in our library.

The Synagogue is still run as it was through all these years with an open-door policy. Whether you are a dues paying member, or come as a guest, everyone is given the same "Kovid" or honor as our members. All of this progress is the result of a great effort by hard working committees including Officers and Directors who you will find named in the designated link.

The men and women named in this brief sketch are only a few of those who helped this Congregation grow so that it became an important force for religious, educational, and social life in this community. They gave us a great and strong heritage, which we now hold in our hands. But a heritage is only meaningful if it is nurtured and given strength. That is our responsibility which we will fulfill and perpetuate with the cooperation and help from all of our members, the descendants of the people inscribed on our records and from the descendants of those people whose names are engraved on the Memorial Plaques in our Synagogue. With these thoughts we look to our 100th Anniversary in 2009 with great optimism, enthusiasm, and hope.

We are pleased that our Synagogue membership is almost 300 family units, can seat over 400 people, and is full for the High Holy days.

Last revised: June, 17th, 2008

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