BBRS FIELD TRIP TO THE ELDRIDGE STREET MUSEUM
On Sunday, April 12, BBRS families enjoyed our tour of the beautiful and historically meaningful Eldridge Street Synagogue Museum (www.eldridgestreet.org.) The synagogue, no longer holding services, underwent a $20 million dollar renovation and is magnificent!
It was fascinating to learn the history of the synagogue and of the Jewish culture of the Lower East Side of yesteryear. In the smaller, lower-level sanctuary, amongst other interesting finds, we were amazed to see a chewing tobacco holder, built into a wood post surrounding the bimah, as well as spitoon bowls used by congregants in days of old!
The main, renovated sanctuary had beautifully restored stained glass windows, intricately painted ceilings, and beautiful wood of the pews and original planked flooring. Surrounding the walls were glass cases displaying a huge collection of Chanukiot, some of which were a century old. After hearing our docent’s description of the sanctuary’s history, Cantor Wallach chanted a prayer on the raised bimah, noting the fine acoustics. What a thrill!
The synagogue was built in 1887 during a period of mass immigration to the United States. From 1880-1924 nearly 85% of the more than 2.5 million Jews settled in N.Y.C., with 75% of those settling on the Lower East Side. The synagogue became a spiritual and communal home for Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. By 1892 the synagogue’s members were made up of a diverse group of Jewish professionals, artisans, peddlers and laborers. The synagogue was surrounded by Jewish shops and tenements for many years.
After 1980 the congregation’s members dwindled and the neighborhood’s cultures changed as well. Eventually, the synagogue could no longer be maintained and subsequently deteriorated. In the 2000’s the Eldridge Street Project was born and the building restored for 20 years. Today the museum at Eldridge Street welcomes visitors from around the world and hosts tours, programs, concerts and festivals. Our group highly recommends that you tour the museum. We also recommend a delightful, delicious visit to the Pickle Guy and the Economy Candy Store. We had a wonderful, happy day!
Patti Kahn – BBRS Director
CBI ACES PARTICIPATES IN LIVING HISTORY OF JEWISH NEWARK
I want to share some recollections about the senior generation at CBI, some of whom I’ve known for forty years. Since I’ve been involved in this remarkable ACES program, it has become apparent there is a need for providing stimulating programs and activities for those over 65, many of whom are either retired, work remotely, or are somewhat isolated. To that end, a dedicated committee of four has stepped forward to share ideas, work on details, and follow through to give many CBIers some great offerings.
March 17, 2026 was one of those special days. We had an ambitious plan for an active day. Months ago, Roberta, Hedda, Cantor Wallach and I started working on a plan for an excursion to Ahavas Shalom, the last remaining synagogue in Newark, a reminder of that city’s Jewish golden years which concluded around 1967. There was a demise of over forty synagogues and an exodus of about 60,000 Jews around those post-riots years. Onto the scene enters a man named Eric Freedman who dreamed of Ahavas Shalom Synagogue rising from the ashes to serve as a beacon for all Jews that we will always have a presence in New Jersey’s largest city.
ACES members heard his story, schmoozed with him, and dined together in an environment which he forged over several decades. The synagogue is active, with its share of simchas and regular Shabbat services to a loyal group of members from outside Newark. We admired the 1879 hand-carved Aron Kodesh, the Holy Ark, housing five Torahs.
For a moment in time, our ‘seniors’ were intimately involved in a Jewish miracle. They absorbed the energy, piety, architecture, community, and love – driven by Tikun Olam – of Ahavas Shalom Synagogue. It was fitting that Cantor Wallach joined Mr. Freedman on the 1905 bima, leading us all in several spirited songs and, in so doing, CBI’s ACES left a profound impact on this historic synagogue. Eric commented, “I’m impressed that everyone knows the songs!”
The work of Eric Freedman and others demonstrate Jewish resilience. They have transformed darkness into light, considered a ‘Divine joy.’ And, on a chilly winter day, all of us were proud to have been a small part of that special synagogue, an outpost against Jewish obscurity in the big city.
Roberta juggled the details and fed our appetites via a delicious lunch in the downstairs kosher dining hall. Then, back on the luxurious bus for a ten minute ride to the Newark Public Library to enter the sanctum of the Philip Roth Personal Library.
Josh Prager, a Roth authority and Library staff member, guided us around Roth’s personal notes, manuscripts, photos, and many shelves housing his enormous personal collection of literature. Josh, a former Wall Street Journal writer and author of several books, was a fountain of information about this legendary Jewish writer from the Weequahic neighborhood of Newark.
As we rode back for the nine mile journey to CBI, we committee volunteers breathed sighs of relief, cautiously smiled, and strode to our cars with the thought that this was an historic and meaningful day for our ACES members. We know there will be more to come. Stay tuned!
Also, we invite you to join the ACES Programming Committee. It’s really a great group.
Art Fredman, for, Roberta Rabin, Hedda Maleh and Cantor Wallach
