Bidspirit auction | (AMERICAN-JUDAICA). Shemoth HaNiftarim. Deceased Members

(AMERICAN-JUDAICA). Shemoth HaNiftarim. Deceased Members of the Chevra Kadisha of Congregation Ahavath Torah, ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY . HEBREW MANUSCRIPT written on vellum. Contains Names of 19 men and women, the Founders of the Synagogue. Some Yiddish, the whole set within architectural arch, flanked by lions and Scriptural verses. Stains, not affecting text, small hole lower right. 22 x 33 inches. Englewood, New Jersey, 1912-33.     The community members listed on this memorial board were a mix of native-born Americans and immigrants. Some of them were old enough to have lived through the Civil War period, with one, Tanchum Pearlman, having been born as early as 1844. The founding of Congregation Ahavath Torah in 1895 would lead to many religious firsts in Northern New Jersey - the first dedicated prayer services, the first locally sourced Kosher meat and the first permanent synagogue structure. Without a doubt, every single one of these ‘Founding Fathers’ listed would be amazed to discover that THE RELIGIOUSLY-BARREN LANDSCAPE OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY IN WHICH THEY HAD PIONEERED ORTHODOX LIFE WOULD 100 YEARS LATER BE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE LEADING CENTERS OF JEWISH LIFE AND LEARNING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE WORLD.     Names on the list include Nehe Schlamis Sher, wife of Reverend Benjamin Sher, the first religious leader of the community, as well as Max Moses Moskin, who helped acquire Englewood’s first Torah scroll. (Moskin’s son, Albert would serve as mayor of Englewood from 1956-59).     Founded in 1895, Congregation Ahavath Torah of Englewood was the first synagogue in Bergen County, New Jersey. Lacking a dedicated building, the eight founding families initially met in the home of Jacob Reznick, before deciding to form a rotation system between member families.      By 1911, the community was 50 families strong and purchased its first permanent home at 33 Humphrey St. Within a year, it outgrew the premises and relocated to a larger building on Englewood Avenue, where the synagogue would remain until 1960. During the 1910’s, Kosher meat was made locally available for the first time in northern New Jersey thanks to a butcher joining the ranks of Ahavath Torah. This convenience availed the community from having to travel to New York for meat (there was no bridge in those days), and served as a further draw for the growing Kehillah.     One of Ahavath Torah’s best-known rabbinic leaders during this period was Rabbi Moshe Gold (1913-1956). Son of R. Zev Wolf Gold, a signator to Israel’s Declaration of Independence, Gold studied in Chevron, the Mir and RIETS, where he befriended R. Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. Serving as rabbi of Ahavath Torah from 1948 to his untimely death in 1956, R. Gold established northern New Jersey’s first Jewish day school and nursery under the community’s auspices. Until this point, the closest Jewish schools were in Paterson and Jersey City. Gold’s son, Rabbi Chaim Gold, would teach in Manhattan Day School for more than 50 years.     R. Gold was succeeded by Rabbi Benjamin Walfish from 1958-1960, who was followed by Rabbi Isaac Swift, serving from 1960-1984. R. Swift established the Moriah Elementary School in 1964, which was initially operated within the synagogue building. In the 1970’s, R. Swift, along with other community members (including Alfred Frisch), would found the Frisch High School. The two schools have thousands of alumni.     Guiding Ahavath Torah into the 21st century is Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, serving at the helm of the community since 1984. Under R. Goldin, synagogue membership has almost doubled; it stands today at about 750 families.     (See Kerry Olitzky & Marc Lee Raphael, The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook. Greenwood, 1996).     The individuals listed were some of the earliest interments made into Ahavath Torah’s cemetery in Saddle Brook, New Jersey- in use since 1909- where their gravestones stand today. The full list of names (with supplemented English names and lifespans) is as follows: MEN: Moshe (Max) Moskin (-1912). Nissan (Nathan) Oppenheim (1864-1918). Tanchum Pearlman (1844-1919). Selig Rubinstein (1847-1921). Yosef (Joseph E.) Levinsohn (1872-1921). Yaakov (Jacob) Gordon (1868-1925). Aharon (Arnold) Birsh (1863-1925). Binyamin (Benjamin) Weides (1855-1927). Moshe (Morris) Shirk (1869-1928). Shlomo (Solomon) Albert (1842-1930). WOMEN: Nehe Schlamis Shor (1870-1912). Sarah Wides (1875-1915). Nana (Natalia) Lewitz (1891-1926). Rivkah (Rebecca) Moskin (-1924). Dvosha Brown (1838-1925). Zlata (Dora) Kansky (1862-1926). Deborah (Freida Maryashe) Druskin (1870-1927). Yetta (Yenta) Wides (1869-1931). Rivkah (Rebecca) Asch (1863-1933).