Abraham and Mary Epstein Family, I-335
Aleph Zadik Aleph, I-555
Aleph Zadik Aleph, known almost exclusively as AZA, was founded in Omaha, Nebraska in 1924 as a local social and service group for young Jewish men. Eventually the AZA separated itself from its role as the official youth auxiliary of B’nai B’rith and continues to operate today as the BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization). This collection contains correspondence, pamphlets, governance documents and promotional material from AZA chapters on the North Shore (Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, and Swampscott-Marblehead), Mattapan, and Sharon.
Organized in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1931, the Alpha Delta Chapter was accepted into the national Alpha Phi Pi Jewish high school fraternity in 1932. After a period of dormancy, the Chapter was briefly reactivated in 1953 and an Alpha Delta Alumni group was formed in 1954. The material in this collection includes event programs and invitations, correspondence, photographs, news clippings and bulletins, Convention yearbooks, and a map and guide to Boston.
The American Technion Society was founded in 1940 as an organization to aid the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, with the goal to aid the technological and scientific advancement of Israel. The Women’s Division, which was founded in 1956, did so by focusing its efforts on three main national programs: faculty recruitment, medical engineering, and student aid. The collection contains correspondence, mailings, speeches, notes, minutes, news clippings, photographs, and documents pertaining to the National Board Meeting held on April 25, 1990.
The Anshey Dowig Association began in the last quarter of the 19th century, initially as informal meetings for Jews from the region of Dowig, Lithuania, living in the Boston area. The association functioned as a benefit society for its members and in 1898, with the acquisition of burial plots in a cemetery in West Roxbury, it also established itself as a chevra kadisha or burial society. The collection includes the constitution and by-laws, minutes, financial records, government documents & correspondence concerning the activities of the landsmanshaft, mostly relating to its cemetery in Dedham, as well as a fiftieth anniversary souvenir booklet with a membership list.
Baron De Hirsch Fund (microfilm only), I-80
The Baron de Hirsch Fund Records document the organization’s involvement in the planning of agricultural communities across the United States and to some extent in South America; the founding and administrative dealings of agricultural and trade schools; the establishment of the Jewish Agricultural Society; and the business records of the Fund itself. In addition, the collection documents the protection offered to immigrants through port work, relief, temporary aid, promotion of suburban industrial enterprises and removal from urban centers through the Industrial Removal Office, land settlement, agricultural training, and trade and general education.
Beth Hamidrash Hagodol (known colloquially as the Crawford Street Shul), was founded in 1913 in a small house on Harold Street in Roxbury, Massachusetts.This collection contains the business, activity and social records of Beth Hamidrash Hagodol, including correspondence, financial records, ledgers, yearbooks, souvenir books, and meeting minutes.
In 1916, the Jewish community of Boston established Beth Israel Hospital on Townsend Street in Roxbury to provide health care to immigrants in the area. Although accessible to everyone, the hospital provided Yiddish-speaking services for Eastern European Jewish immigrants and served kosher food, as well as conducted Jewish religious services. This collection contains reports, pamphlets and hospital publications.
B’nai B’rith (Lynn, MA), I-554
Although there is little information available about the Lynn, Massachusetts chapter of B’nai B’rith, internationally the organization is known for ensuring the continuity of the State of Israel and the Jewish people through education, advocacy and social services. This collection contains newsletters from the Lynn, Massachusetts chapter.
The B’nai B’rith Peabody Lodge No. 2765 was founded in 1969 as a local chapter of the larger B’nai B’rith International, which advocates for the Jewish people and works to combat anti-Semitism. The Peabody Lodge engaged in a variety of service and charitable activities in the Peabody area. This collection contains awards, correspondence, photographs, a scrapbook, and other miscellaneous materials.
The B’nai B’rith Swampscott-Marblehead Chapter No. 847 is a local chapter of B’nai B’rith International, an organization founded in 1843 that advocates for the Jewish people and the State of Israel and works to combat anti-Semitism. This collection contains a program for an installation and dinner as well as the chapter’s newsletters.
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) was founded in New York City in the 1880s by the Russian Jewish community of New York in response to the influx of Russian Jewish immigrants fleeing the pograms in the Pale of Settlement in Russia and Eastern Europe. In 1889, a shelter which was used to house many of the immigrants adopted the name “Hebrew Sheltering House Association.” This organization merged with HIAS in 1909 and by 1914, had branches operating in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The Boston office of HIAS was chartered in 1904 under the leadership of Harris Poorvu, Hyman Pill, Abraham Alpert, Meyer Bloomfield, Max Wyzanski and Samuel L. Bailen. Harris and operated autonomously from the national office in New York, even after their merger in 1916. HIAS ensured that Jewish immigrants had access to holiday and religious services and kosher food; provided shelter and social services; and assisted immigrants with finding employment and schools, often on short notice. This collection contains the individual case files of immigrants who received assistance from the Boston office of HIAS, ship manifests, tracer correspondence, scrapbooks, passenger lists and photographs. Some later individual case files remain restricted (those dated after 1960) and researchers will require permission from the archivist of AJHS New England Archives in order to view them.
Includes material preceding and relating to the founding of the Council, including early papers of the local American Jewish Committee and the Central Advisory Committee (a predecessor agency); the Constitution & by-laws of the Council; material relating to organizational membership in and representation on the Council; correspondence of the officers & staff; minutes of Council meetings and proceedings of its Administrative Committee and other committees; and finances of the Council. Includes also material on the relation of the Council to other Jewish agencies including the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, National Community Relations Advisory Council, and community councils and local agencies in other communities. Contains also extensive material on the activities of the Council, material on the public conferences of the Council; Council publications and releases; and photographs of Council activities and individuals connected with the Council.
Created to provide mutual aid and education, The Workmen’s Circle was established in New York in 1900 and officially chartered in 1905. Massachusetts established an Independent Workmen’s Circle in 1903 to maneuver around prohibitive insurance laws, but was able to unify with the national organization in 1921. Several chapters were operational in Massachusetts by 1911. The Boston District often mirrored National’s development, including the establishment of cemeteries, a chorus, a camp, and I.L. Peretz Schools. This collection contains correspondence, meeting notices and minutes, mortgages, curriculum, event flyers and programs, and news clippings from the Boston District, local branches, New England Region and National offices.
Boston YMHA-Hecht House, I-74
Contains material on the history of Hecht House, surveys, publications, and other material issued, photographs, and memorabilia. Includes similar material of the YMHA for the years 1933-1958, and for the merged organization for the years 1959-1970. Among the latter are the minutes of the Board of Directors (1959-1970) and budget reports (1959-1963). Contains some material of the Hebrew Industrial School as well as papers on the following institutions relating to the work of the Hecht House: Associated Jewish Philanthropies, Central Service Agency for Groupwork, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Greater Boston Council of Jewish Centers, Jewish Centers Association, Jewish Community Centers Camps, Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Boston, National Jewish Welfare Board, National Association of Jewish Center Workers, New England Association of Jewish Center Workers, New England Association of Jewish Center Youth Councils, New England Association of Young Adult Councils, United Jewish Youth Council, and United Synagogue of America.
Organized in April, 1924, the records of Boy Scout Troop 4 (Sachems) of Lynn, Massachusetts span from 1924 to 1945. During World War II, the scouts participated in an Emergency Service Corps, and were invited to participate in the Boy Scout – General Eisenhower Waste Paper Campaign. The material in this collection includes weekly meeting programs and reports, newspaper clippings, scout assignments and certificates, correspondence, financial records, a photograph, and the American flag used by the Troop.
The Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE) in Boston, Massachusetts, was founded in 1920 when the Associated Boston Hebrew Schools and Bureau of Jewish Religious Schools merged under the leadership of Louis Hurwich. While not the first centralized Jewish education organization in the country, the BJE was the first to receive support from its local Federation. From 1920 to 2009, the BJE provided consultation, evaluation and teacher training services using a variety of methods and tools. It worked closely with Jewish day schools, synagogue schools and non-traditional Jewish community programs to ensure professional standards and guidelines were implemented. This collection contains pamphlets, reports, correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, curriculum, programmatic information, grants, meeting minutes, agendas, audio-visual materials, media and publicity. For additional information, please see the Bureau of Jewish Education-Boston, Massachusetts, I-120.
The Cambridge Hebrew Ladies Educational Society was first formed in 1898 for the purpose of teaching the Hebrew language to Jewish children. The society was renamed the Cambridge Hebrew Women’s Aid Society in 1914, and reorganized to include a broad range of philanthropic causes, including the care of tubercular patients and provision of Passover food to the needy. The collection contains bound ledgers of meeting minutes from 1914-1969.
Chebra Gemilath Chesed (Boston, MA), I-130
The Chelsea-Revere School was established by Monas Berlin in 1896 and served the Chelsea, Massachusetts Jewish community until 1979. The collection contains the records of the institution and its activities including meeting minutes, financial records, correspondence, personnel manifests, memos, publications, memorial documents, and school function notices, as well as press materials in the form of newspaper clippings.
Chevra Kadisha Gemilath Chesed Emeth (Fall River, MA), I-132
Chevra Kadusha (Boston, MA), I-185
Combined Jewish Philanthropies,* I-220
The Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Boston, Massachusetts is the oldest federated Jewish philanthropy in the United States. The current incarnation of CJP was formed in 1960, when two separate federated philanthropies – the Combined Jewish Appeal and Associated Jewish Philanthropies – merged to create a single organization dedicated to serving the needs of Boston’s Jewish community. CJP’s records contain the history of several other organizations, from the forerunners of the current Federation to the Jewish institutions supported by CJP. Their beginnings can be traced to the founding of the United Hebrew Benevolent Association (UHBA) in 1864 at the Pleasant Street Synagogue (now Temple Israel.) This collection contains meeting minutes, correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, financial documents and ledgers, appeal information, publicity, programs, brochures and other written documents relating CJP’s history.
Contains material pertaining to the establishment of the organization, including a list of incorporators, and lists of constituent members, minutes of meetings (November 1970-February 1972), a speech giving a review of the group’s activities (1972), and financial records (July 1970-March 1972). Also contains general correspondence (March 1970-March 1972), correspondence with Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (1970-1971), and information on the group’s Chavurat Shabbat project (1972), and Jewish Students Projects.
Congregation Adath Israel (Newtown, CT), I-323
Incorporated in 1901, Congregation Ahabat Sholom constructed a German Romanesque synagogue on Church Street, which was dedicated in 1905 during a ceremony lead by the congregation’s first cantor, Benjamin Gordon. The congregation was one of Lynn’s several Jewish Orthodox congregations in the early 1900s. This collection contains administrative records, photographs, scrapbooks, and programmatic materials.
Congregation Ahaveth Achim Anshe Sphard (Chelsea, MA), I-222
Congregation Anshai Sfard (Anshei, Anshe, Anshi) was a Hasidic, conservative Jewish Synagogue established by Jewish immigrants in Lynn, Massachusetts from 1888 to December 1999. This collection contains a letterpress printing block used to print the incorporation papers, a large “Golden Book of Congregation Anshei Sfard,” which includes an illuminated manuscript with hand-painted and gold-leafed elements, a donor list, newspaper clippings, and photographs; meeting minutes, several family history scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, purchase and sales agreements, and photographs.
Congregation Anshe Sefard (Boston, MA), I-269
Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Anshe Sfard (Boston, MA), I-105
Congregation Beth Israel began in 1888 when a group of young men split from Shomre Beth Abraham to form their own congregation. A year later they relocated to an old Baptist Church located on Baldwin Place in Boston’s North End. The Baldwin Place synagogue housed a sanctuary on the ground floor as well as schools and meeting rooms in the space above. It was the largest shul in the North End and was considered the center of Boston Orthodoxy. Rabbi Moshe Zevulun Margolies presided over it and was considered to be the chief rabbi of Boston’s Orthodox community. In 1920 it was disbanded. This collection contains records of the Congregation Beth Israel, 1887 and 1890. It includes a constitution booklet from 1887. Also in the collection is a deed of sale from 1890 and an indenture that pertains to the deed.
Includes a copy of the constitution and a short history of the congregation; the minute books (1911-1923; 1939-1945) and financial records (1925-1937) of various activities of the synagogue and its relation with local, national and international Jewish events. Of special interest are the synagogue’s involvement in the providing of kosher meat in the Cambridge area, and its relation with the Cambridge and Somerville Hebrew Literary Association which maintained a Hebrew Free School. Minute book from the WWII period contains material on the congregation’s war effort and anti-Nazi and Zionist activities.
Congregation Beth Israel was founded in 1843 and is Connecticut’s oldest synagogue. Originally established as an Orthodox congregation, the synagogue eventually converted to Reform and was one of the founding members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (Union for Reform Judaism) in 1877. This collection includes event flyers, programs for services, sermons, anniversary books with historical information, and bulletins.
Congregation (Temple) B’nai Israel (Revere, MA), I-221
Congregation Kenesseth Israel (Boston, MA), I-266
Congregation Kesser Israel (Springfield, MA), I-150
Congregation Linas Zedek was located on Chestnut Street in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Founded by Ukrainian immigrants from the Kamen Kashirsky region and the local carpenter’s union, it was defunct by the 1980s. The synagogue’s cemetery is located in Everett, Massachusetts. This collection contains a ledger with minutes of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of Congregation Linas Zedek, a membership ledger, and miscellaneous event flyers and invitations in Yiddish. The minutes ledger is in English (from 1929-1931) and Yiddish (1931-1944), and also contains a news clipping about the founding of the Ladies Auxiliary with names of officers.
Congregation Mishkan Israel (Dorchester, MA),* I-114
Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, Connecticut, was founded in 1840. Their cemetery was established in 1843 in the Westville section of New Haven, Connecticut. This collection consists primarily of newsletters and other synagogue publications, as well as invitations to the 100thanniversary of the synagogue and other events.
Congregation Mishkan Tefila was founded in 1858 as Mishkan Israel, and is considered to be the oldest conservative synagogue in New England. Its founding members were East Prussian Jews who separated from Ohabei Shalom, which was predominately Polish at the time. In 1894, Mishkan Israel and another conservative synagogue, Shaarei Tefila, merged to form Congregation Mishkan Tefila. The synagogue moved its religious school to Walnut Street in Newton in 1955, and began planning for a new building in Chestnut Hill on Hammond Pond Parkway. The groundbreaking ceremony was on November 13, 1955. In 1958, services were held for the first time in the new synagogue building. This collection contains plays, annual reports, programs for events and dinners, and newsletters.
Congregation Ohave Sholom was formed on January 20, 1910 in Gardner, Massachuesetts. At the time the synagogue was built, Ohave Sholom had 20 families as members, but during World War I the population peaked, and 60 families held membership. However, by the 1970s membership began to decline and in 1998, with only 12 members remaining, the congregation dissolved.
Custom Tailor’s Cemetery Association (Boston, MA), I-260
The Delta Phi Alpha Fraternity was a Jewish fraternity at Massachusetts State College (now the University of Massachusetts.) This collection consists of one copy of the Mogen David, a newsletter by the Delta Phi Alpha Fraternity. The newsletter focuses on pledges as well as appeals to alumni for financial support. News and tidbits about former and current members of the fraternity are also included.
Elm Farm Foods, I-552
Elm Farm Foods was first established as M. Winer Company in 1895 in the North End of Boston. The expansion of this single small store in the next several decades preluded the rise and development of Elm Farm Supermarkets in the region, followed by the company’s shift from retail to wholesale. Winer family holdings have also included various affiliated trusts and corporations managing many aspects of the company’s business and real estate. The bulk of these documents depict the financial activities and accounting procedures of these company affiliates, focusing primarily on funds, investments, and shareholders. The collection also includes administrative documents, such as correspondence and memoranda, concerned with the management of real estate, retail operations, and personnel.
The Farband Labor Zionist Order was a Jewish fraternal organization founded in 1910 and chartered in New York in 1913. With branches across the United States and Canada, it functioned as a mutual aid society aligned with the Socialist and Zionist political party Poale Zion. The material in the collection includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, press releases, photographs, meeting minutes, brochures, and memos.
Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, I-477
The Massachusetts Observance of the American Jewish Tercentenary documents the correspondence, activities, photographs and publications of the Greater Boston Committee’s efforts to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of Jewish settlement in the United States. Many notable Boston Jewish community members were a part of the planning and implementation of activities, which included a celebration at Symphony Hall and a musical for children entitled, “A Happy Land.”
Louis Hurwich, then superintendent of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Boston, founded Hebrew Teacher’s College in 1921. Hurwich was concerned about Jewish teachers leaving the field of Jewish education for other professions and sought an educational system that promoted Hebrew literacy at all levels. Hebrew Teacher’s College was also responsible for maintaining Hebrew High School (Prozdor), located at 14 Crawford Street in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Those students who graduated from the high school could matriculate to Hebrew Teacher’s College without having to take an exam. In 1943, the high school offered Talmud classes in addition to its regular curriculum, with studies in the Bible, Hebrew, Jewish History, and codes and customs. In 2002, the College moved to its current location in Newton, Massachusetts. One year later, it opened its Rabbinical School. This collection contains brochures, catalogs, commencement addresses, event fliers, invitations, pamphlets and publications.
Hebrew Education Alliance and Congregation Toras Moshe (Boston, MA), I-231
Hebrew Free Loan Association (Pittsfield, MA), I-205
The Hebrew Free Loan Society was organized in 1912 to assist those in need of temporary financial relief. Formed in the wake of increasing immigration from Eastern Europe and the proliferation of urban poverty, the Society also became a constituent of the Federation of Jewish Charities. These records document the Society’s major operations and include administrative articles, in meeting minutes, and financial reports and statements.
The Hebrew Teachers Association of Greater Boston was founded in 1909. Its primary purpose was to unite qualified Jewish educators and to provide for their material and spiritual status. The Association first developed a curriculum based on the Bible, the Hebrew language and Jewish history in 1918. It was revised by a committee including the greater Boston Hebrew school principals, the Bureau of Jewish Education and prominent rabbis in 1922. The Association was also involved with Jewish cultural life.
Contains the papers of the Society founded in 1938 by recent German speaking Jewish immigrants to Boston to assist their initial adjustment to the economic, cultural, spiritual, and social life of the American community and subsequently, to provide mutual assistance to its membership and aid to other immigrants. The collection consists of the Society’s by-laws (1953, 1956, 1964); handwritten notes with the names of Officers and Directors (1949-1961), plans for cultural and social programs, agenda of Board of Directors’ meetings, Officers’ meetings, and Annual General Membership meetings (1950-1958); printed announcements of annual meetings (1963-1974); minutes of meetings in English and some in German (1954-1975); printed news bulletins (1956, 1961-1975); printed announcements of social and cultural events (1960-1974); printed matter related to sundry other activities of the Society (1964-1968); and miscellaneous printed announcements (1972-1974).
The Independent Order of Brith Abraham was a Jewish fraternity society headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 1887 after breaking away from its parent society, the Order Brith Abraham (founded 1859.) As a fraternal society it offered sick, death and funeral benefits for members, with both male and female members. In 1981 it merged with B’nai Zion, which is no longer in existence. The Dr. Gaster Lodge, No. 689, was most likely named for Dr. Moses Gaster, a Jewish scholar and Zionist. This collection contains an address book of members in Yiddish, a few blank invitations for meetings, a financial ledger, and membership ledger. The financial ledger includes minutes to a 1917 meeting of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Local 171. Both ledgers are wrapped in tissue and should be handled with care.
Interfor Club, (Lynn, MA), I-563
The Interfor Club of the North Shore was originally founded in 1930 by David L Winer, a Boston University Law School graduate, as the Brandeis Associates. Initially having twenty-two members who just graduated high school, the Interfor Club, which stands for Inter Collegiate Forum Club, began meeting at the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in Lynn. The collection is comprised of revisions to constitutions, event programs, financial records, photographs, scholarship information, member lists, and detailed meeting minutes which outline the club’s daily activities.
The International Yiddish Cultural Movement (IKUF) was organized in Boston and held meetings there for a year. This collection contains the minutes of meetings of the International Yiddish Cultural Movement (IKUF), which occurred in Boston from 1964-1965. The minutes are in Yiddish.
Israel Numismatic Society of Massachusetts, I-306
Jecomen Club, I-564
The Jecomen Club was a fraternal organization established in 1925 and based in Lynn, Massachusetts. Men over the age of twenty-one with a college degree were eligible to apply for membership. The group hosted both social and philanthropic events, including an annual fundraising theatrical production for the Jecomen scholarship fund. The material in the collection describing the club’s operations includes meeting minutes, photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and program books.
The Jewish Community Center of Fitchburg, Massachusetts was founded in 1947. Not much else is known about the Center. This collection contains Bulletins from the founding of the Center to 1964.
The Jewish Center of New Haven, Connecticut was first founded as a branch of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in 1913. It would later join with the Young Women’s Hebrew Association and would remain the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association until 1938, when it merged with the Hebrew Institute to form the Jewish Center of New Haven. The Center provided vocational guidance, exercise programs, a day camp, and educational activities for the Jewish community of New Haven.
This collection contains a range of materials documenting the Jewish community of Lynn, Massachusetts. Included are materials from Jewish-owned businesses, Jewish individuals and families, and Jewish organizations in Lynn.
This collection contains a range of materials documenting the Jewish community of Peabody, Mass. Included are materials on Jewish-owned businesses, Jewish individuals and families, and Jewish organizations in Peabody. The collection was established by the Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore through many separate donations of materials relating to Peabody’s Jewish community.
This collection contains materials collected by Boston’s JCRC, which monitored the situation as well as participated in the review of the report. Materials include news clippings, written reactions from the organizations, notes and correspondence from JCRC director Robert Segal, and the full report with recommendations, reactions and NCRAC action steps.
Jewish Culture Club (Boston, MA), I-179
The Jewish Family and Children’s Service was established in Boston, Massachusetts in 1946. It is the oldest social service agency in Boston devoted to serving the Jewish community, and it is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States. A major constituent agency of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, the JF&CS traces its origin to the United Hebrew Benevolent Association, founded in 1864. This collection contains governance and activity records of the JF&CS, including by-laws, a personnel practices code, reports, correspondence, event programs, meeting minutes of the board of directors, and speeches and papers presented at conferences.
The Jewish Family Service of the North Shore was founded by a group of Jewish women in the winter of 1897. This collection contains brochures of the Jewish Family Service 100th Anniversary Gatsby Gala in 1997, Our Community Heroes- Annual Community Service Awards and Celebration in 2003, 2004 and 2010.
The Jewish Federation of the North Shore was founded in 1938 in Lynn, Massachusetts with the objective to support organizations that helped enrich the Jewish community on the North Shore and abroad. After a period of declining donations and to consolidate services, the JFNS Board of Directors voted to merge the organization with the Combined Jewish Philanthropies in 2013. The collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings and publications from JFNS, as well as a large group of photographs and documents produced for the Board of Directors in the early 21st century.
The Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore (JHCNS) collected the records of the North Shore Jewish community and developed exhibits, cultural events, and publications to preserve and disseminate the history of the community. JHCNS’s records contain administrative documents, such as by-laws, deeds of gift, loan agreements, and fundraising paperwork, as well as documents related to exhibits put on between 1991 and 2002.
The Jewish Historical Committee (originally called the Committee on Archives) was sponsored by the Associated Synagogues of Greater Boston, and was intended to collect and preserve material related to the Jewish communal life of Greater Boston. The idea of the committee was first conceived at a meeting of the Rabbinical Association of Greater Boston. This collection contains minutes from the first three meetings.
Jewish Media Service (Wellesley, MA), I-456
The records provide material relating to the accreditation, fundraising, management, planning, policies, programs, and public relations of a hospital that continues to serve the Greater Boston area. The records includes correspondence of various Presidents, Board Members, and Executive Directors; Board and committee minutes; scrapbooks, photographs, videotape, and film created by the Public Relations department; records of various Auxiliary groups; correspondence, reports, surveys, and other documents relating to the Pediatric Rehabilitation Program; and artifacts such as plaques, portraits, and silverware.
The Jewish Rehabilitation Center for Aged of the North Shore (JRC) was founded in 1945 as a convalescent home for the elderly in the North Shore Jewish community. Over the years, the organization expanded and became a permanent residence for the elderly, and with the opening of its assisted living facility in Peabody, the JRC became the largest not-for-profit home for the elderly on the North Shore. The collection contains programs for meetings and events, as well as a small group of photographs and newspaper clippings.
This collection contains scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, newsletters, photographs, and event flyers from the Jewish War Veterans chapter in Lynn, MA, which was founded in the 1950s. The documents provide information on the organization’s purpose and activities. Some information on Jewish War Veterans organizations and their Ladies Auxiliaries in the general North Shore area can also be found in this collection. In 1991, an exhibit was held in the North Shore about the Jewish veterans from the area, and materials from that exhibit are included here as well.
The Jewish Vocational Aid Society, Boston, founded by Mrs. Margaret Davidson and incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts in 1907 as the Jewish Children’s Aid Society; original purpose was in aiding destitute Jewish children. In 1936 became known as the Jewish Vocational Aid Society; members focused efforts on raising funds for needy Jewish students. Later, eligibility for scholarships was expanded to include non-Jewish students as well. In 1973 was forced to transfer most of its funds to the Combined Jewish Philanthropies and become a constituent agency of the latter organization. In 1979, remaining funds were transferred to the CJP and the JVAS was effectively dissolved. Collection contains correspondence, invitations, notices of meetings and functions, JVAS by-laws, program books for annual brunches and luncheons, appeals for money, miscellaneous financial reports, lists of committees and an election ballot, case reports, papers marking the transferring of funds from the JVAS to the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, correspondence with the CJP, miscellaneous correspondence, a program book for the 25thanniversary celebration, and newspaper clippings.
There is little information on the Kadimah Zionist Club as an organization other than being a regional branch of the Zionist Organization of America. Past presidents included Benjamin Rabalsky, Morris Rabinovitz, and Max Miller. The club occupied two locations, 27 School Street in Boston in 1929 and by 1934 and 1935, Barristers Hall, also in Boston. This collection contains the records of the Kadimah Zionist Club, 1929-1935. It includes a membership list for January 1929, letters sent to members from the president announcing upcoming meetings, and an undated raffle book. The raffle book is of interest as it is a raffle for two paintings, “Tower of David” and “Palestine Dwellings” done by the artist Joseph Tepper.
The Kehillath Israel Synagogue Collection includes numerous photographs, publications and event information pertaining to services, fundraisers and anniversaries at the Synagogue from its first official year in 1924 to more recently, 2001. The primary bulk of the papers consist of photographs, K.I. Brotherhood papers and ephemera, and activities supported by the Synagogue. Kehillath Israel was home to noteworthy Rabbis, including Louis M. Epstein, Judah Nadich, and Manual Saltzman. Correspondence, photographs and programs about events regarding these three Rabbis are included in this collection. Also part of the collection are several scrapbooks, most of which are very fragile, that offer a glimpse into the synagogue’s own historical documentation process.
In the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries, Brockton, Massachusetts was an industrial center that drew Jewish artisans and laborers to the city. They formed an organization known as the Labor League. This collection contains ledger books with member names and financial records.
Labor Lyceum Workmen’s Circle (Brockton, MA), I-268
The Lexington Jewish Leisure Group was formed in 1972 by members of Lexington’s Temple Emunah and Temple Isaiah to serve as a social group for older and retired Jewish people. After the Group affiliated with the Golden Age Council, a service of the Associated Jewish Community Centers, in 1972, it would also hold meetings at Belmont’s Temple Beth-El. The Leisure Group organized outings and activities for the Jewish senior citizens of the area.
The Louisa May Alcott Club was established in November of 1895 at 9 Rochester Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It operated as a self-governing club with 11-17 year old girls. A constitution was set in place that ensured the girls would each pay five cents a week towards the club, but only while they were working. The participating girls were all immigrants or children of immigrants, and classes were held at the building to teach the girls English, cooking and sewing. In 1896/1897 the club moved to a building at 17 Oswego Street. This collection includes a typescript of a description of the club, written by someone with the initials M.M.R.
The Lynn Hebrew Young Men’s Aid Association was founded in 1903 by a group of Lynn men who wanted to assist new Jewish immigrants. In the 1940s, Lynn was no longer a community of immigrants, and the focus of the organization began to change. Now members utilized the club for various medical and insurance benefits, as well as for socializing. By January 1970 the Jewish community in Lynn had dwindled and the organization voted to dissolve the organization. This collection includes financial and membership ledgers, by-laws in Yiddish and English, and membership forms and cards.
Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, I-56 and I-56A
The Massachusetts Board of Rabbis was founded in 1938 as the Rabbinical Association of Greater Boston by Rabbis Herman Rubenovitz, Louis Epstein, Joshua Loth Lieberman, Beryl D. Cohen, and Sam Abrams. During the 1970s the Board focused on its chaplaincy work in hospitals as well as timely topics, such as social action, chevruta, and health insurance for Rabbis. This collection contains minutes, correspondence and statements regarding the Board’s work around hospital chaplaincy, kashruth, Israel, intermarriage, and the Vietnam War.
The Max C. Rosenfeld Foundation is an organization that grants non-interest loans to young Jewish women in the Greater Boston Area who need financial help in receiving an education or vocation. This collection includes administrative records of the Foundation, including Board of Trustees meeting minutes and Max Rosenfeld’s will, in which he detailed the purpose and establishment of the Foundation, as well as materials relating to the application process and recipients of loans. Many items are restricted.
Meretz Relief Association, I-217
The Boston Meretz Relief Association (Boston MRA) was founded by the Jewish immigrants of the town of Meretz, Lithuania, Russia. Officially incorporated in 1893, the Boston MRA was an association that celebrated their Meretz identity and heritage, as well as a humanitarian association dedicated to assist all Meretzers in need, whether in Boston or in Israel. This collection contains constitutions, meeting minutes, financial reports, correspondence, photographs (including photos of the Lithuanian town of Meretz and its inhabitants between the two World Wars), and miscellaneous historical information.
Mount Scopus Lodge in Malden, Massachusetts was a Masonic Lodge established in 1930 by Bertram E. Green and George Kramer. Named for the mountain from which Roman legions and crusaders conducted their assaults on Jerusalem, the Lodge had a strong following in the first ten years of their existence. This collection contains by-laws, concert programs, and a booklet with a historical sketch.
Mosaic (Journal), I-178
Mosaic was an academic journal of literature, art, politics and opinion, published by students of the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel Society of the B’nai B’rith. Its contributing authors consisted of both students and faculty. The exact founding date of the journal is unknown, possibly 1959/1960, but it is certain that its last publication was spring of 1971. This collection contains correspondence, financial records and two ledgers, reviews of the publication, and copies of subscription forms, a packing slip and fliers. One of the financial ledgers is fragile and should be handled with care.
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Greater Boston Evening Branch was established as a section of the larger national organization in 1981. Originally called the Moonlighters of Greater Boston, the group went through a period as the Young Women’s Branch, before becoming the Evening Branch. The collection contains an incomplete run of newsletters from the section’s beginnings through 1993, as well as member correspondence, such as announcements and invitations. The collection as includes notes and minutes from some of the Young Women’s and Evening Branch board meetings.
New Century Club, I-95
On January 1, 1900, a group of lawyers and doctors gathered at a meeting called by Jacob J. Silverman to discuss the advantages of living in Boston with its many surrounding institutions of higher learning, and how they could increase their cultural knowledge. They also wanted to learn from each other the basic principals of their various professions. The members of the club eventually consisted of lawyers, optometrists, physicians, scientists, and members of a variety of other professions as well. This collection contains scrapbooks, photographs, news clippings and correspondence.
The New England Jewish Free Press (NEJFP) started as a project by students at the Harvard Hillel Graduate Society, and it soon expanded and collaborated with other universities and organizations. Despite its expansion, it remained an independent student facilitated organization. NEJFP produced two main publications: Jewish Boston: a Guide and New England Jewry. I. This collection contains the original statement of purpose, correspondence, meeting notes, volunteer applications, financial records, and various ephemera (button, bumper stickers.) Please note that the volunteer applications are restricted.
The collection includes the incorporation certificate, by-laws, and meeting minutes of the Forum. Also included are newspaper clippings relating to the Forum and its activities. The bulk of the collection comprises the Forum’s scrapbook, 1958-1990, and the concert files, 1962-1988.
This collection consists of the New England Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry’s correspondence, articles, public awareness materials, membership lists and financial statements from 1970-1975. Included are letters to and from government officials and Rabbis who supported the cause. Notices and flyers are comprised of membership meetings, protests, and lectures. Memorabilia, such as bumper stickers and a protest flag (made of paper) are also included in the collection.
Ostro Hebrew Marshoe Society,* I-436
The Ostro Hebrew Marshoe Society was the overseer of the Ostro Hebrew Marshoe Cemetery, located on Baker Street in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1984, it merged with the Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts, which is now responsible for the care of the cemetery. This series contains by-laws of the Society and its Cemetery Association.
Rehabilitation Services of Boston, Massachusetts was sponsored by the Jewish community to assist prisoners in Massachusetts correctional facilities, and focused on developing services for Jewish inmates. The organization was concerned with problems in correctional programs, available rehabilitation services, and general care for Jewish inmates. This collection contains a list of Jewish inmates in three correctional facilities, correspondence pertaining to inmates, their care, parole and preparation for parole, reports and minutes from meetings. Please note that folder 1, Correspondence, and folder 5, Names of Jewish Inmates, contain inmate details and are restricted.
The Ladies Bikur Cholim Society of Roxbury, Massachusetts, was the founding organization of Jewish Memorial Hospital. In the 1920s, Beth Israel Hospital moved to a larger medical facility in Boston and sold their existing building to the Society. The president at the time of the building’s purchase was Ida Cooper. This collection contains the minutes book of the Board of Directors meetings, with meeting minutes and membership lists from 1928-1932. The meeting minutes specifically discuss the purchase of the old Beth Israel Hospital Building (dated October 2, 1928.) Minutes are well-written and detailed, and provide additional insight into the founding and beginnings of Jewish Memorial Hospital.
The Student Coalition for Soviet Jewry (SCSJ) was founded in 1977 in response to the arrest of Anatoly B. Shcharansky. Thirteen students from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts went to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress about the problems faced by Jews in the Soviet Union. The numbers of students involved continued to grow, and expanded to include students from other colleges and universities in the United States. The Washington Lobby, which was held every February, provided opportunities for students to meet with members of Congress to educate them on the plight of Soviet Jews and urge them to get involved, either in letter writing campaigns or the adoption of Refuseniks. Students also participated in silent vigils in front of the Soviet embassy and met with representatives of the Soviet Affairs desk at the State Department. This collection includes correspondence, news clippings, newsletters, photographs, informational sourcebooks, and congressional monitoring reports.
Synagogue Council of Massachusetts (Formerly Associated Synagogues of MA), I-454
The Synagogue Council of Massachusetts was founded in 1941 as the Associated Synagogues of Greater Boston (and later the Associated Synagogues of Massachusetts). The documents in this collection describe the proceedings and activities of the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, as well as those of its affiliated organizations, including the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, the Rabbinical Association of Greater Boston, the Kashruth Commission, the Beth Din, and the Jewish Chaplaincy Council. This collection contains meeting minutes, correspondence, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, reports, financial documents, photographs, scrapbooks, news clippings, directories, and newsletters.
Temple Beth El was founded in Lynn in 1924. In 1946, members of the congregation split off to form Temple Israel, and in 1968, Temple Beth El expanded from its Lynn location to Swampscott. The two temples reunited in 2005 to become Congregation Shirat Hiyam. This collection contains documents related to many areas of synagogue life, including general membership, the music program, the Religious School, temple governance, and the Sisterhood.
In 1916, the Jewish community of Boston established Beth Israel Temple Beth-El, located on the East Side of Providence, dates back to 1849, with the creation of the group “Sons of Israel.” On September 10, 1849, Solomon Pareira, Leonard Gavitts and Morris Steinberg were granted an acre of land along the New London Turnpike (now Reservoir Avenue) to establish a cemetery. In 1854, the Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David was established, leading to president Solomon Pareira’s deeding of the cemetery land in 1857 for the sole utilization of the congregation. This collection contains programs, sermons and newsletters. Although the congregation was originally Orthodox, it affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (Union for Reform Judaism) in 1877.
Temple B’nai Abraham is a Conservative congregation, originally founded in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1908 as the Sons of Abraham. The Hebrew Community Center was annexed to the synagogue in 1930 and incorporated social groups, such as the Sisterhood and the Beverly Lodge of B’nai B’rith. The congregation expanded to a new location in 1962 and officially changed their name to Temple B’nai Abraham. The collection was formed by a former president of the Sisterhood and contains Temple B’nai Abraham programs and announcements, Sisterhood newsletters, and photographs.
Temple B’nai Jacob was an Orthodox synagogue on Sylvia Street in Lexington, Massachusetts. Their first service was held on Passover, 1916. Although this congregation is no longer operational, two synagogues in Lexington — Temple Emunah (Conservative) and Temple Isaiah (Reform) — have their roots in Temple B’nai Jacob. This collection contains one financial ledger in English and Yiddish for Temple B’nai Jacob.
Temple Emanuel (Andover, MA), I-442 and I-442A
Temple Emanuel was founded in 1920 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It began by serving a small immigrant Jewish community that has since grown to an affluent and lively congregation of about 600 families. This growth occurred largely under the tenure of Rabbi Harry A. Roth, who lead the congregation from 1962 until 1990 and oversaw the temple’s move to Andover, Massachusetts. This collection includes correspondence, photographs, and sermons.
Temple Israel (Boston, MA), I-458
Temple Israel was founded as Congregation Adath Israel in 1854 when a group of German Jews broke from Congregation Ohabei Shalom. The congregation was also known as the Pleasant Street Synagogue. In 1859, the congregation purchased cemetery land in Wakefield, Massachusetts. The synagogue was, and remains, a Reform congregation, and has been home to well known Rabbis, including Joshua Loth Liebman and Roland B. Gittelsohn. This collection contains flyers, newsletters, pamphlets, sermons and a yearbook.
Temple Ner Tamid was founded in 1959 by local Jewish families who wanted a conservative synagogue in their home town of Peabody, Mass. Following its inception the congregation was able to buy a tract of land and raise money for construction of the temple, which was completed in 1965. Included are correspondence and other mailings, event programs, seating charts, temple by-laws, a Landscaping Committee record book, meeting and expense reports, and membership lists.
Temple Ohabei Shalom was founded on February 26, 1843 by several Boston Jewish families, and is the first synagogue established in Massachusetts. After meeting in the homes of both a founding congregant and the first elected Rabbi, Abraham Saling, Ohabei Shalom dedicated its first building on Warren (now Warrenton) Street in Boston in 1852. In 1855, the German Jewish congregants left Ohabei Shalom and founded Congregation Adath Israel (now Temple Israel in Boston.) The Polish Jewish congregants maintained the name Ohabei Shalom and the cemetery land in East Boston. In 1858, East Prussian Jews also left the congregation, forming Die Israelitische Gemeinde Mishkan Israel (now Miskhan Tefila in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.) This collection contains flyers, programs and tickets for events as well as copies of bulletins and newsletters, such as Brotherhood Bulletin,Stars and Stripes, Temple Bulletin and Temple Tidings.
Temple Shalom is an Egalitarian Conservative Synagogue in Salem, Massachusetts, formerly called the Sons of Jacob. The congregation was formed by European Jewish immigrants in the Salem area in 1898. This collection includes photographs of congregation members and activities, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, meeting minutes, and various publications.
Temple Sinai was founded in 1953 and became a hub of vibrant Jewish life on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Rabbi Meyer Strassfeld served as the congregation’s spiritual leader from 1965-1989, and during this time he involved the community in the Soviet Jewry movement and led the dedication of a Torah scroll saved during the Holocaust. The collection contains many event flyers, booklets, and newspaper clippings that illustrate Temple Sinai’s active community.
Touro Synagogue (Newport, RI),* I-461
Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the nation’s oldest synagogue. The Jewish community of Newport was founded in 1658 by a small group of Sephardic Jews seeking religious freedom. In 1758, Isaac Touro, a Dutch Jew, became the community’s spiritual leader. Shortly after, the congregation purchased land and hired Peter Harrison to design the Synagogue. The building was dedicated in 1763, and has continued to serve Newport’s Jewish community. This collection consists of addresses, annual reports, correspondence, board meeting minutes, articles and newspaper clippings concerning the synagogue, as well as publications, a calendar, dedication pamphlets, postcards, slides, negatives, a scrapbook and invitations to miscellaneous events. Most of these materials are secondary and were collected by staff at the American Jewish Historical Society. For original records, please contact the Newport Historical Society.
United Hebrew Benevolent Association (Boston, MA), I-211
Consists of an audited report of the finances of the association, from the time of its establishment until February 18, 1929. One of the schedules notes the members of the association with their addresses; material pertaining to a kosher meat controversy including a circular from Rabbi M. Klachko and correspondence regarding the controversy, a summary of the event and identity of the various participants and a humorous invitation to a meeting of the Association and one photograph.
Noemi #11 was an organizational branch of the charitable organization United Order True Sisters. The members of Noemi #11 were particularly dedicated to the philanthropic cause of aid to disabled children, and had a strong association with Children’s Hospital, Boston, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The collection includes meeting minutes, personal histories of the lodge, programs, photographs and correspondence.
Founded in 1846, the United Order of True Sisters originated in New York with the intent of increasing philanthropy and providing an outlet for women. In 1947, the United Order of True Sisters Cancer Services was founded to raise funds to support oncology centers. The material in this collection includes event programs, a certificate of life membership, and the correspondence of Sylvia Shapiro, vice-president of the UOTS.
The Upper Valley Jewish Community (UVJC) is an egalitarian congregation on the campus of Dartmouth College. The congregation hosts a Hebrew School and publishes the newsletter, “The Jewish Connection.” This collection consists of several issues of the publication, “The Jewish Connection,” as well as other miscellaneous invitations and programs for a variety of events.
West End House of Boston, I-285
The West End House is a Boys and Girls Club that was established in 1906 by a group of thirty-five boys who were the children of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Their aim was to provide a place where they could meet and work to improve their lives through mental, physical, and moral advancement. The club began in 1903, but was officially established in 1906 following aid received from the Jewish Federation, as well as James and Helen Storrow. From the 1940s-1971 the West End House under went numerous changes that included a more broad and diverse membership, change in location, and becoming part of the Boys and Girls Club. In 1971, it moved to Allston-Brighton where it continues to serve urban and immigrant youth.
The Women’s Palestine Agricultural Association, Palagrass, was an organization founded in Boston in the 1920s. Inspired by the work of Rahel Ben-Zvi, Palagrass was established to aid in the agricultural development of Palestine, and later, Israel. This collection contains correspondence, financial records, programs, photographs and membership information.
The Women’s Scholarship Association was founded in 1907 with the mission to “further higher education among women in general and among Jewish young women in particular by granting them scholarships and loans for study toward a degree at accredited schools and colleges.” It dissolved in 1993. This collection contains financial records, correspondence, event materials, a constitution, and by-laws. Restricted scholarship applications are also included.
Little history is known about the Young Women’s Hebrew Association in Everett, Massachusetts. The first YWHA was organized in New York City in 1902 and soon grew nationally, with branches in several states. The YWHA of New England, which the Everett chapter was most likely a part of, was organized in 1913. It is unknown when the Everett chapter was started or dissolved. This collection contains a fragile ledger with membership names and dues paid; receipts from Filenes, Jordan Marsh, and other Boston businesses; and, membership application cards and a list of suspended members. Items in this collection belonged to Sara S. Schwartz, who was a treasurer.