The name game

The first Jewish congregation in western Pennsylvania started in 1848. It was called Shaare Shamayim, referencing a verse in Genesis. It means “Gates of Heaven.”

Over the next 105 years, western Pennsylvania would be home to no less than five other “gates.” A group from Kovno founded Shaare Torah in 1890. A group from Poland founded Shaare Zedeck in 1895. A group representing various corners of the Russian Empire united in 1906 as Shaaray Tefillah. A group of early religious Zionists founded Shaare Zion in 1914. The congregation initially donated all its charity to the Jewish National Fund. A group in the emerging suburb of Eastmont founded Shaar Ha-shamayim in 1953. In the longstanding Jewish tradition of calling synagogues by their streets, the Eastmont congregation became better known as Parkway Jewish Center.

The second congregation in western Pennsylvania was Beth Israel, meaning “House of Israel.” It began in 1852. Over the following century, this region would have many other Beth Israels. The Jews of Altoona founded one in 1874. Russian Jews in the Hill District founded one in 1896. The Jews of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. founded one in 1907. The small towns of Sharon and Washington each had a Beth Israel, as did Charleroi for a few months in 1907. The Jews of Wilkinsburg founded one in 1937. A group of young Jewish engineers hired to work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in the mid-1950s found each other in the hallways and soon created Beth Israel Center in Pleasant Hills.

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The third congregation was Rodef Shalom in 1856. It means, “pursuing peace.” In the years to come, there were Rodef Shaloms in Homestead, Johnstown and Charleroi.

The fourth congregation was Tree of Life. There were many Tree of Lifes planted throughout western Pennsylvania. Here are those I know, listed chronologically: New Brighton (1862), Oil City (1892), McKeesport (1897), Mt. Pleasant (1900), Uniontown (1902), Ellwood City (1909), Canonsburg (1914), Rochester (1918) and Monongahela (1923). Brownsville (1915) had a short-lived Tree of Life, as did Charleroi (1917). The Jews of Irwin started the non-congregational Tree of Life Brotherhood in 1938. Tree of Life appears to have been the most popular synagogue name in western Pennsylvania.

The fifth congregation was Beth Hamedrash Hagodol. It was founded in 1869 as B’nai Israel, meaning Sons of Israel. B’nai Israel today is more closely associated with the former congregation in East Liberty. The B’nai Israel in East Liberty was founded by children of founders of B’nai Israel downtown and was likely named such as an homage.

McKeesport has a Temple B’nai Israel. Kiski Valley had an Agudas B’nai Israel. There were Sons of Israels in DuBois, Houtzdale, Midland and Rankin. Young People’s Synagogue is also called Bonhai Israel, which means “Builders of Israel” but references a rabbinic bit of wordplay connecting the Hebrew words for “children” and “builders.”

The sixth congregation in Pittsburgh was Congregation Emanuel, founded in 1874. A decade earlier, German Jews in Franklin, Pennsylvania, had also founded a Congregation Emanuel. When oil busted, they left. The Eastern European Jews who immigrated to Franklin around the start of World War I found that the corporation was still active, and so they took it for themselves, reviving the earlier Congregation Emanuel. The first synagogue in the Pittsburgh suburbs was Temple Emanuel of South Hills in 1951.

The seventh congregation in Pittsburgh was Poale Zedeck (Workers of Righteousness). There has only been one Poale Zedeck in all of western Pennsylvania, but righteousness has flowed like a river thanks to the previously mentioned Shaare Zedeck, as well as Beth Zedeck (founded by Russian Jews in the Hill District in 1899), Ahavos Zedeck (founded by the Jews of Hazelwood and Glenwood in 1910) and Ohave Zedeck (founded by Jews in the Oakcliffe section of South Oakland after World War I).

The eighth congregation in Pittsburgh was Beth Jacob in 1883. There were also Beth Jacob congregations in New Kensington, Aliquippa, Duquesne and briefly (again) in Charleroi. Beth Jacob means “House of Jacob.” A group of Romanian Jews founded New Light Congregation in 1899 as Ohel Jacob, which means “Tent of Jacob.”

The ninth congregation was the short-lived Knesseth Israel in 1886. A group of Romanian Jews in the Hill District founded a new Cneseth Israel in 1903 and later moved to the East End in the early 1950s. A group of Jews in Kittanning and nearby Ford City chartered Kneseth Israel in 1918. All three congregations had the same spelling in Hebrew and different spelling English. There was also a Knesseth Israel in Monessen.

The tenth congregation was Beth Abraham. It soon became a cemetery. It was likely named for the patriarch but perhaps was named for a prominent member. The same was true for Kehillath Isaac (Isaac’s Congregation), founded in the Hill District in 1934 and later renamed Beth Mogen David. It had an Isaac or two among its incorporators.

Agudath Achim was founded in the Manchester section of the North Side in 1913. To raise funds, it auctioned off its name in 1915. Rudolph Solomon purchased the rights to name the congregation after his father. And so it became known as Beth Jehuda.

Torath Chaim began in East Liberty in 1928. The name references a phrase from liturgy but also a founding member Hyman Shapiro, whose Hebrew name was Chaim.

The members of the emerging Monroeville Jewish Congregation chose the name Temple David in 1957, inspired by signs for the local King David Real Estate Co.

The eleventh congregation was Mischan Israel (Tabernacle of Israel), founded in 1887. It may have also been known as Refuge of Strangers, although the record is fuzzy.

The twelfth congregation was Ahave Sholem (Lovers of Peace). It was founded in 1889 by Jewish immigrants from Galicia and Romania, likely united by a mutual preference for the Nusach Sfard liturgy. With the growth of the local Jewish community, the congregation soon split along ethnic lines. The Romanians went to the previously mentioned Ohel Jacob, while the Galitizianers went to the new Machsikei Hadas.

There were other peace lovers. A group living in the Strip District started Ohav Sholom in 1904. A group in the emerging North Hills started Ohav Shalom in 1968.

The thirteenth congregation was Choye Adam (“Life of Man”). It broke away from the original B’nai Israel in 1889. According to an article at the time, its founders left because “they are not as wealthy as other members of the congregation and think that they are not treated properly.” They may have named their shul after the Rabbi Avraham Danzig, also known by his book “Chayei Adam,” written for “the cultured layman.”

In the years since, at least three other local congregations were named for famed rabbis: Chofetz Chaim, Beth Midrash Rambam and the Baal Shem Tov Shul.

I could keep going, but that seems as good a place to stop as any. PJC

Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. He can be reached at rjarchives@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6406