JEWISH LIFE
Synagogues
Cemeteries
Organizations
SYNAGOGUES
Early Jewish people
who died in Portland were buried in the
non-Jewish Lone Fir Cemetery, in Southeast
Portland, Stark and 26th Ave.
Burials began there in 1846, when it was part of
the J.B. Stephens family farm. It became a
cemetery in 1854. Lone Fir Cemetery is
located at 2115 SE Morrison Street. [Lowenstein, Steven, The Jews of
Oregon 1850-1950; Portland, Oregon,
Jewish Historical Society of Oregon, 1987; with
permission from the Oregon Jewish Museum,
formerly the Jewish Historical Society of
Oregon, p. 49, and Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Fir_Cemetery]
Mt. Sinai Cemetery
Association was incorporated 1856. Land was purchased in
Carruthers Addition close to Portland. [p. 49,
Lowenstein] Carruthers Addition was an area near
the South Waterfront, where Interstate 5 is. No
cemetery is there now.]
In May 1858, a group
of men met at the National Hotel in Portland,
and formed Congregation
Beth Israel [house of
Israel], the first
Jewish congregation in Oregon. Leopold Mayer was
its first president. It met in Burke's
Hall on First Avenue in an upstairs loft over a
livery stable and blacksmith shop. The first
wedding was held there on September 19, 1858,
when Simon Baum and Marjana Bettman were
married. [Lowenstein, p. 49-50]
Congregation Beth
Israel built its own building at Fifth Avenue
and Oak Street in 1861. Laymen led the
services: Samuel Laski, Herman Bien, and
Herman Bories. Beth Israel absorbed the Mt.
Sinai Cemetery Association. [p. Beth Israel
Cemetery is located at 426 S. Taylors Ferry Rd.,
Portland, OR, across the street from River View
Cemetery [Google and Google Maps]
In 1863, Julius Eckman
became the first ordained rabbi to lead Beth
Israel. Julius Eckman was born in Posen in 1805.
He was trained under Leopokd Zunz at the
University of Berlin. He served as rabbi of
Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. He founded the
first Jewish newspaper in the West, the Weekly Gleaner in 1856. He worked to
restore the ancient Jewish congregation of
Kai-Fong-Fu in China. There were conflicts in
the congregation whether to keep the traditional
German service. Rabbi Eckman left in 1866 and
returned to San Francisco to edit a new
newspaper, the Hebrew Observer. [Lowenstein, p.
50-51] The Library of Congress website says that the Hebrew Observer was
published until 1888 in English, German and
Yiddish.
In 1867, Isaac Schwab
from Bavaria became rabbi and chazzan [cantor]. He, too
resigned. The congregation was becoming more
Reform. In 1872, Mayer May from Bavaria became
rabbi, chazzan and
Hebrew schoolteacher. He was progressive and
pushed for the prayer service to include
English. He got into conflicts over his ideas
and words, and he resigned in 1880. In 1884, the
congregation appointed Rabbi Jacob Bloch from
Bohemia. The congregation quietly and gradually
became more Reform. In 1889, a large, new
building was erected at Twelfth Avenue and Main
Street. It had large stained glass windows, two
towers topped by onion domes. Louis Fleischner
was the fundraiser. The building was destroyed
in 1923 by an arson fire. The synagogue's shammes [caretaker], a
Christian named Theodore Olsen, risked his life
to try to save the Torahs, but was only able to
save prayer books and records. He worked at the
synagogue for forty-seven years and was buried,
at his request, in Beth Israel's cemetery. After
the fire in 1923, the congregation held services
at the First Presbyterian Church, until the new
building was completed in 1928. Congregation
Beth Israel is located at 1972 NW Flanders
Street, Portland. [Lowenstein, p. 52-55, Google]
In 1869, Ahavai Sholom [lovers
of peace*] was formed as an
Orthodox congregation, and hired Rabbi Julius
Eckman to return to Portland. On December 5,
1869, the new synagogue was dedicated. It was
near Beth Israel on Sixth Avenue between Oak and
Pine streets. Rabbi Eckman stayed two years. He
returned to San Francisco, and died there in
1877. Rabbi Robert Abrahamson became the Rabbi
and chazzan from
1880 until his death in 1922. [Lowenstein,
p. 50-55] See Abrahamson article link. Ahavai
Sholom congregation began as Orthodox, and
gradually became Conservative.
For Jewish immigrants
from Eastern Europe, new synagogues were founded
to suit their customs and make them feel
welcome.
Talmud Torah was founded in 1893 at
Third Avenue and Mill Street. Its first members
were Russian Jews from North Dakota, and the
congregation was set up as Conservative. They
met in rooms above stores downtown. In the late
1890s, the Brethren Church at SW Eleventh Avenue
and Hall Street was purchased for $4,500.
[Lowenstein, p. 103-104]
In 1900, a small group
formed an Orthodox congregation called Neveh Zedek [oasis of
righteousness]. They held services daily
at a small store on First Avenue between Mill
and Montgomery.
In 1902, Neveh Zedek
merged with Talmud Torah to form Neveh Zedek
Talmud Torah.
In 1902-5, the strictly
Orthodox members started Shaarie Torah [gates of
Torah] leaving
Neveh Zedek Talmud Torah to remain Conservative.
In 1911, Neveh Zedek
Talmud Torah dedicated a new synagogue with a
square central tower and stained glass windows.
The name was later shortened to Neveh Zedek. It
existed for fifty years.
In 1961, Neveh Zedek
merged with Portland's other major Conservative
synagogue, Ahavai Sholom, to form Neveh Shalom. A new building was
completed in 1965, located at 2900 SW Peaceful
Lane, Portland. [Lowenstein, p. 94, 102-104, 113,
118, 123, 152-3, 164m 175, 195-6, 200, 214,
Google, Neveh Shalom's website
https://nevehshalom.org/]
In 1902, Shaarie Torah
used a building at Second and Morrison, then one
at First and Hall. The congregation expanded under
its first president, Joseph Nudelman. In 1905, it
purchased a Presbyterian Church at Third and
Washington, and had the building moved to First
and Hall. Thus it became the "First Street Shul."
In 1916, Rabbi Joseph Faivusovitch became the
synagogue's charismatic leader for the next thirty
years. The family changed its surname to FAIN.
Abraham Lapkowski came to Portland in 1905 from
Golta, Russia. He became the shammes at
Shaarie Torah in 1918 and held the post for over
forty years. The family changed its surname to
LABBY. Rabbi Fain was distinctive with his red
beard. He traveled throughout Oregon and
Washington to perform weddings and circumcisions.
He was taught to be a mohel and
perform circumcisions by Rabbi Robert Abrahamson
of Ahavai Sholom. Rabbi Fain also performed ritual
slaughters and supervised the milling of grain for
Passover.
Shaarie Torah has had
only nine rabbis in 109 years. In 1960, Shaarie
Torah built a new building at Park Avenue and
Jackson Street. Harold and Mark Schnitzer
co-chaired the building campaign. The congregation
was forced to move because of the planned freeway
construction. The Schnitzers raised more money,
and the State Highway Commission compensated the
synagogue. The new location was at Twenty-fifth
Avenue and Lovejoy Street in Northwest Portland.
Orthodox congregants, who walked to synagogue, had
to relocate to live near the new building, which
is at 920 NW 25th Avenue, Portland. [Lowenstein,
p.m 102, 104-108, 111, 113, 133, 139, 175, 189,
194, 200, 205, 214, Google, Shaarie Torah's
website https://shaarietorah.org/]
Ahavath Achim [brotherly
love] was founded in 1910 by
Sephardic Jews from Turkey/the Ottoman Empire, and
the Isle of Rhodes/the Ottoman Empire. Their
traditions came from Spain. In 1492, the Jews were
forced to leave Spain, or convert to Catholicism.
Their language was Ladino, a combination of
Spanish and Hebrew. The first services were held
in the old Newsboys Club at First and Hall. They
moved to the Neighborhood House, then to the Lodge
Room at the B'nai B'rith Building, the Jewish
Community Center, where it met from 1913 to 1930. In 1930 the
congregation began work on a brick building at
Third Avenue and Sherman Street.
Congregants led the
services, and a traveling rabbi from Seattle
came for High Holidays. In 1962, urban renewal
forced a move. They attempted to move the brick
building, but it collapsed and cracked after
traveling one block. A new building on Barbur
was completed in 1965. It has a domed ceiling
and rounded roof. No microphone is needed when
someone is speaking in the center of the round
sanctuary. The sanctuary's altar is a beautiful,
hand-carved wall. Today the weekly services are
held at a location on Capital Highway in
Hillsdale, and membership includes some
Sephardic Jews and others. The building on
Barbur has been purchased by the city for a
future transit center, and leased back to the
congregation for now. It is used for holidays
and events. [Lowenstein, p. 81, 108, 110-111,
113, 198, 215, Google, Ahavath Achim's website
https://ahavathachimpdx.weebly.com/]
In 1911, Congregation
Tifereth Israel [glory of Israel] at
NE Twentieth Avenue and Going Street was the
only synagogue established on the east side of
the Willamette River. It was a small Orthodox
congregation. It gradually became more
Traditional, then merged with Shaarie Torah in
1986.
Linath Hazedek [resting
place of righteousness*] [1914] was
formed by Eastern European Jews as an Orthodox
synagogue. It merged with Shaarie Torah in 1964,
when urban renewal pushed them from their little
building at First and Caruthers.
Kesser Israel [crown of
Israel*] [1916] was formed by
Eastern European Jews as an Orthodox synagogue,
and still exists today at 6698 SW Capitol
Highway, Portland. It is the
longest-established Orthodox Shul in
Oregon, according to its website,
https://www.kesserisrael.org/
In 1924,
black-bearded Rabbi Zucker came to Portland and
started the short-lived congregation of Machzika Torah, as an offshoot of
Shaarie Torah. [p. 106 Lowenstein]
These
newer congregations are listed in a Google
search for synagogues in Portland:
Beit Haverim
[house of
friends*] has two
locations: 1111 Country Club Road, and
530 4th Street, both in Lake Oswego. It is a
Reform congregation founded in 1992.
https://www.beithav.org/
Congregation Bais Menachem [house
of Menachem*] is located at
6612 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, in the
Maimonides Day School building. It is a Chabad
congregation. chabadoregon.com/
Congregation
Beit Yosef [house
of Joseph*] is located at 4200 SW
Vermont Street, Portland. It is
Orthodox/Sephardic. Members are both Ashkenazi
and Sephardic.
https://beityosefportland.wordpress.com/
Havurah Shalom
[fellowship
of peace*] synagogue is located
at 825 NW 18th Avenue, Portland. It is a
Reconstructionist congregation, organized about 1980. https://www.havurahshalom.org/
Kol Shalom
[voice of
peace*] Community for Humanistic Judaism
meets at 1509 SW Sunset Blvd., #1E. It was
organized in 1993 as a Reform congregation.
https://www.kolshalom.org/
P'nai Or
[faces of light] This congregation
started about 1991, as a Jewish Renewal
congregation. It is influenced by Torah,
Kabbalah, Chassidic teachings, Jewish and
non-Jewish sources. It meets in the Hillsdale
Community Church, 6948 SW Capitol Highway,
Portland. https://www.pnaiorpdx.org/
Shir Tikvah [song
of hope] is located at 7550 NE Irving
Street, Portland. It is a mid-sized independent
congregation, founded about 2000.
https://www.shirtikvahpdx.org/
Kehilat Ari
Yehudah [Lion of Judah*] meets
at Bethel Church, 7220 SE Duke St. and 72nd
Avenue, Portland. It is a Messianic
Jewish community, not a standard Jewish
synagogue. https://kehilatariyehudah.wordpress.com/
There are twelve active
synagogues in the Portland area, of every
denomination.
CEMETERIES
Jones Pioneer
Cemetery had
some Jewish burials. It was established in 1872.
It is owned by Metro Regional Parks and
Greenspaces, and is an Oregon Historic Cemetery.
Lone Fir Cemetery had some Jewish
burials before there were any Jewish cemeteries.
It is at SE 26th Avenue and SE Stark Street,
Portland. The first burial was in 1846. It is also
owned by Metro, and is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Jewish Cemeteries
Ahavai Shalom Cemetery
is at 9323 SW First Avenue.
Neveh Zedek Cemetery
is at 7925 SW Canyon Lane.
They are both part of
Neveh Shalom Congregation.
Congregation Shaarie Torah Cemetery
is at 8013 SE 67th Avenue.
Nearby is Kesser Isreal Cemetery at 6509 SE
Nehalem Street.
Beth Israel Cemetery is at 4265 S.
Taylors Ferry Road.
Jewish Cemetery at
Riverview Cemetery is at 0300 S. Taylors Ferry
Road.
Havurah Sholom Cemetery
is at 825 NW 18th Avenue.
ORGANIZATIONS
NEWSPAPERS
The South Portland Jewish neighborhood had its
own newspapers. In 1893, the American
Hebrew News began
weekly publication in Portland, under its
publisher, Isaac Stern, and its editor, L.
Rosenthal. The paper cost two dollars per year and
reported news across the spectrum of the Jewish
community. It stopped publication in 1900.
[Lowenstein, p 123.]
1902, the Jewish Tribune was
published by Rev. Dr. Nehemiah Mosessohn and his
sons, David and Mose. Dr. Mosessohn was an
Orthodox rabbi and lawyer in Odessa. He and David
both attended the University of Oregon Law School,
and graduated at the same time. The newspaper was
strongly Orthodox and Zionist. David and Mose were
in the Chamber of Commerce, and the newspaper was
published in the Chamber Building. In 1919, the
family moved to New York City to publish the paper
there. The paper was sold in 1932 to the American
Hebrew News of New York.
[Lowenstein, p. 123-4]
In 1919, the Mosessohns sold the assets of their
Portland newspaper to David Cohen, who began the Scribe:
A Record of Jewish Life and Thought. Rabbi
Jonah Wise was the editor; Max Merritt was the
associate editor and David Cohen was the manager.
In 1926, Rabbi Jonah Wise moved to New York. The
publication moved to the Railway Exchange
Building. David, and later, with help from his
wife, kept the paper going until 1951. It had
serious content, and also a lot of reporting about
Portland's Jewish social events. [Lowenstein, p.
124]
The Portland Jewish Review began
in 1959 under the Jewish Welfare Federation, which
had been the Federated Jewish Societies. It
stopped in 2012, and started back up in 2020,
under the direction of an editorial board.
[Lowenstein, p. 124] It is online at
https://www.jewishportland.org/jewishreview, as a
function of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Portland.
Editor,
Jewish Review
editor@jewishportland.org
Jewish
Federation of Greater Portland
9900
SW Greenburg Road, Suite 220
Tigard,
OR 97223
503-892-7404 (leave message)
Oregon
Jewish Life is online at
orjewishlife.com. It is published by MediaPort
LLC, Phoenix, AZ.
Jewish Journal is about
Jewish life in California, Israel and all over the
world. It covers stories about Portland.
jewishjournal.com
NEIGHBORHOOD
HOUSE
Steven Lowenstein said in his book that the
Neighborhood House was the most important social
institution in South Portland. [Lowenstein, p.
138]
The Portland Chapter of the National Council of
Jewish Women founded the Neighborhood House in
1897, led by Mrs. Ben Selling from 1900 to 1932.
Its headworker and guiding spirit was Ida
Loewenberg from 1912 to 1945. It was a
settlement house and community center, open to
all. Newcomers learned sewing, cooking,
gardening, bible, household and manual skills.
The first dedicated Neighborhood House building
was completed in 1905. It had club rooms, an
office, and a gym with showers. It had a
kindergarten until 1917, when Portland Public
Schools added kindergartens. The Neighborhood
House reopened its kindergarten in 1925.
Americanization classes taught English and
prepared immigrants for citizenship. In 1909
there were three hundred pupils and fourteen
teachers. Another building was needed.
The new building was completed in 1910 at Second
Avenue and Woods Street. In 1925, addition was
added, to include a swimming pool, handball
courtsm a stage, boxing, wrestling and
weightlifting rooms. The Neighborhood House
provided well baby clinics, entertainment and
dances. The South Parkway Club met there. It was
a service club formed by ex-newsboys in 1916.
The Council of Jewish Women built an
organization that became a major force for
progressive social reform. [Lowenstein, p.
138-145] Urban development forced the residents
to move, so the Neighborhood House also moved to
the Hillsdale neighborhood.
The Neighborhood House still
exists at 7780 SW Capitol Highway. Its
mission: We
continue our mission of bringing neighbors
together throughout Portland by offering
innovative and high-quality education,
anti-poverty and senior support services that
make a difference in the lives of our clients
and the community. Its
website is https://nhpdx.org/.
Charity is an important component of
Jewish life. In
addition to the Neighborhood House there were a
large number of organizations: fraternal
organizations, their branches and auxiliaries,
religious schools, cemeteries, social and
educational clubs. There were Zionist
organizations, United Jewish
Appeal, Jewish Shelter
Home, Jewish Old
People's Home, Jewish
Service Association, Jewish
Relief Society, and more loan and benevolent
societies. In 1920, most of the benevolent
societies combined to form the Federated
Jewish Societies. [Lowenstein, p. 146-7]
Today, Federated Jewish Societies is called the Jewish
Federation of Greater Portland. Its
mission: The Jewish
Federation of Greater Portland is the
support system for your Jewish journey.
Since 1920, the Jewish Federation has helped
nourish your Jewish life, enrich our
community, and keep Jewish culture strong in
Portland and around the world. We are your
direct route to tried and true services that make the
most effective and meaningful impact. Explore the
ways we can make a difference - together. https://www.jewishportland.org/
B'NAI B'RITH
In 1900, there were four B'nai B'rith
lodges: two formed in the 1850s and two
formed in the 1890s.
1914 a B'nai B'rith Building was
completed on 13th, between Mill and Market. It was
funded largely by one of the lodges and
Congregation Ahavai Sholom. It was fancier than
the Neighborhood House.
In 1919, when the various organizations were
consolidating into the Federated Jewish Societies,
the four B'nai B'rith lodges united into a single
lodge, number 65, in honor of the founding lodge
in Oregon. Seven hundred members were recruited;
Joseph Shemanski was the president. The lodge grew
to be the largest B'nai B'rith lodge on the West
Coast. The women formed the Daughters of the
Covenant. The Ramblers social club was started at
the building in 1921. ["Ramblers" stood for Right,
Ambition, Merit, Benevolence, Love, Energy,
Religion and Service.] Ramblers held dances,
organized its own orchestra, had basketball and
swimming teams, and held banquets.
In 1923, the B'nai B'rith Building was renamed the
B'nai B'rith Center, and in the 1940s, it expanded
and became the Jewish
Community Center.
B'nai B'rith began summer
camp for boys and girls in
1921. In 1928, it was permanently located at
Devil's Lake at Neotsu, near Lincoln City, Oregon,
on land donated by Julius Meier. July was for
boys, and August was for girls. Recently, the camp
added events for all ages. [Lowenstein, p. 161]
The camp's website:
https://bbcamp.org/summer-camp/
The Jewish Community Center moved to the Hillsdale
neighborhood in 1971. The new center was dedicated
in 1976 as the Mittleman
Jewish Community Center, named for Helen
Mittleman, wife of Harry Mittleman, who made a
large donation to retire the Center's mortgage.
[Lowenstein, p. 156-61] Mittleman Jewish Community
Center is located at 6651 SW Capitol Highway,
Portland. Its website is
https://www.oregonjcc.org/. Its email is
mjcc@oregonjcc.org
Sources:
*Translations of Hebrew names of synagogues
were provided by Natan Meir, Professor of
Judaic Studies and Academic Director of the
Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic
Studies, Portland State University,
www.natanmeir.com.
Lowenstein,
Steven, The Jews of
Oregon 1850-1950; Portland,
Oregon, Jewish Historical Society of Oregon,
1987; with permission from the Oregon Jewish
Museum [formerly the Jewish
Historical Society of
Oregon]
Wikipedia
Google
searches
Synagogue and
cemetery websites
Linda Kelley
September 2020
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