{{Short description|Liberal non-denominational synagogue in New York City}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{about|the Jewish liberal synagogue|the art and performance space|Angel Orensanz Center|the Jewish congregation that was located at this site|Anshe Chesed}} {{Infobox religious building | building_name = The Shul of New York | native_name = | image = Angel_Orensanz_Center_(51624759540).jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The Shul of New York, located in the [[Angel Orensanz Center]] | map_type = Lower Manhattan | map_size = 250 | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in [[Lower Manhattan]] | location = 172 Norfolk Street, [[Lower East Side]], [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]] 10002 | country = United States | geo = {{coord|40|43|16|N|73|59|09|W|rehion:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | religious_affiliation = [[Judaism]] | rite = [[Jewish religious movements|Non-denominational]] | consecration_year = | status = [[Synagogue]] | functional_status = Active | heritage_designation = Designated an historic landmark by New York City in 1987 | leadership = Rabbi Susan Falk | website = {{url|https://www.shulofny.org}} | architect = [[Alexander Saeltzer]] | architecture_type = Synagogue | architecture_style = [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] | general_contractor = | facade_direction = | established = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1849 | construction_cost = | capacity = 1,500 worshippers | length = {{convert|90|ft|m}} | width = {{convert|70|ft|m}} | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = Brick; [[stucco]] | nrhp = | added = | refnum = | designated = | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Anshe Slonim Synagogue | nrhp_type = | added = | designated_nrhp_type = | refnum = | mpsub = | designated_other2 = New York City Landmark | designated_other2_date = June 14, 1983 | designated_other2_number = }} | footnotes = <ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1"/> }} '''The Shul of New York''' is a [[Jewish]] liberal [[Jewish religious movements|non-denominational]] congregation and [[synagogue]] that is located within the [[Angel Orensanz Center]], at 172 Norfolk Street, [[Lower East Side]], [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States.
The building used by the congregation, the Angel Orensanz Center, was built in 1849, making it the [[List of the oldest buildings in New York|oldest surviving synagogue building in New York City]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Angel Orensanz Foundation |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/angel-orensanz-foundation |access-date=October 15, 2022 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> and the fourth-[[List of the oldest synagogues in the United States|oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States]].<ref>Gordon, Mark W. [https://ajhs.org/rediscovering-jewish-infrastructure-2021-update-on-united-states-eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century-synagogues/ "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: 2022 Update on United States Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Synagogues"], [[American Jewish Historical Society]], November 4, 2021. Accessed February 22, 2023.</ref> It was the largest synagogue in the United States at the time of its construction and is one of the few built in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://reformjudaismmag.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1340 |title=History: The Symbol that Split the Synagogue |author=Weissman Joselit, Jenna |date=September 2008 |work=Reform Judaism Magazine |access-date=October 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928200653/http://reformjudaismmag.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1340 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="google1">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FmQLYB4h6MC&q=%22shul+of+new+york%22+orensanz&pg=PA229 |title=The Lower East Side remembered and revisited: A history and guide to a legendary New York neighborhood |author=Mendelsohn, Joyce |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-231-14761-3 |access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w189IFhXcdsC&q=%22shul+of+new+york%22+orensanz |title=Fodor's 2003 New York City |author= |publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications |year=2002 |isbn=1-4000-1036-5 |access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref>
Since 1849, at various stages, the building has been used as a synagogue, by the [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] [[Ansche Chesed|Anshe Chesed Congregation]] (1849–1873), the [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] Congregation Shaari Rachmim (1873–1886), the Orthodox First Hungarian [[Congregation Ohab Zedek]] (1886–1921),<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1">{{cite web |url=https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1440.pdf |title=Anshe Slonim Synagogue (original Anshe Chesed Synagogue), 172–176 Norfolk Street, Borough of Manhattan. Built 1849–1850; architect Alexander Saeltzer; Landmark Site: Tax Map Block 355, Lot 41|publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |date=February 10, 1987 |author=Kurshan, Virginia |access-date=December 10, 2023 }}</ref><ref name="google1" /> the Orthodox Sheveth Achim Anshe Slonim Synagogue (1921–1974 and then abandoned),<ref name="google2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter" /> and then acquired by the [[government of New York City]] following [[Vandalism|vandal]]ization (1981), after which it was sold to a succession of owners: Hungarian Development, Inc. (1983), Seashells, Inc. (1984), and finally Angel Lopez Orensanz (1986).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://maps.nyc.gov/taxmap |title=New York City Dept. of Finance Digital Tax Map |website=NYC.gov |access-date=July 8, 2019}}</ref>
== History == === Use by Ansche Chesed === The synagogue was built by [[Ansche Chesed|Congregation Ansche Chesed]] (”people of kindness”), at the time known as Anshe Slonim. Formed in 1825, Congregation Ansche Chesed consisted primarily of [[German Jews]], as well as [[Dutch Jews]] and [[Polish Jews]]. They were mostly recent immigrants.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> It was the third Jewish congregation in New York City, after [[Congregation Shearith Israel|Shearith Israel]] (1655; from which the members of Congregation Ansche Chesed broke away) and [[B'nai Jeshurun (Manhattan)|B'nai Jeshurun]] (1825).<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" />
Congregation Ansche Chesed purchased the three lots upon which the synagogue was built, at 172 Norfolk Street (between [[Stanton Street]] and East Houston Street), on the [[Lower East Side]] of New York City in April 1849, for $10,500 (today ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|10500|1849|r=-3}}}}).<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> The lots had originally been part of [[Peter Stuyvesant]]'s estate.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> The synagogue building was designed by [[Eisenach]] (Germany)-born architect [[Alexander Saeltzer]], who was engaged in February 1849.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /><ref name="nytimes1999">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/19/nyregion/neighborhood-report-lower-east-side-a-synagogue-s-artistic-route-to-a-rebirth.html |title=Lower East Side; A Synagogue's Artistic Route to a Rebirth |work=The New York Times |date=December 19, 1999 |author=Berwick, Carly |access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="google4">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHSCYyN_dYkC&q=Anshe+Chesed+Synagogue+norfolk&pg=PA132 |title=New York City |publisher=New York Review of Books |year= 2002|author=Kahn, Robert |isbn=1-892145-08-1|access-date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> and designed it in the [[Gothic Revival]] style.<ref name="google1" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w189IFhXcdsC&q=%22shul+of+new+york%22+orensanz |title=Fodor's 2003 New York City |publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications|year= 2002|isbn=9781400010363 |access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref>
The building opened in 1849 as Anshe Chesed Synagogue and was also known as the Norfolk Street Congregation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1873/12/28/archives/union-of-two-congregations.html |title=Union of Two Congregations |work=The New York Times |date=December 28, 1873 |access-date=October 12, 2011}}</ref> The synagogue was formally opened and consecrated on May 16, 1850, with New York City's mayor and a number of members of the New York City [[New York City Council|Common Council]] and Christian clergy among the invited guests.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> It was the largest synagogue in the United States and could hold up to 1,500 worshipers, with men on the main floor and women in the gallery.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google2">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWXnRWvl0Q0C&q=%22shul+of+new+york%22+orensanz&pg=PA15 |title=From Abyssinian to Zion: a guide to Manhattan's houses of worship |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2004 |author=Dunlap, David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |isbn=9780231125420 |access-date=October 10, 2011 |via=Google Books }}</ref> It was the first German-synagogue in New York and the second [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] synagogue after [[Congregation Emanu-El of New York|Congregation Emanu-El]] (1845).
Its members were traditional in their beliefs and the congregation was "moderately traditionalist."<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /><ref name="nytimes1999" /> Services were conducted primarily in [[German language|German]]. It diverged from [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] tradition in that its [[hazzan]] and the [[pulpit]] faced the congregation, rather than being located in the center of the congregation, and the services were accompanied by musical instruments, including an organ that was added in 1869 at the same time as family [[pew]]s were introduced, with men and women sitting together.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /> A choir of men and women was also introduced.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> In the 1850s, it had the largest membership of any synagogue in the United States.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> Munich-born Dr. [[Max Lilienthal]] was the first rabbi at the new synagogue.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> Dr. [[Jonas Bondi]] became the synagogue's rabbi in 1858.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" />
In 1874, Congregation Ansche Chesed merged with Congregation Adas Jeshurun, relocated uptown to Lexington Avenue and East 63rd Street, and formed Congregation Beth El. That congregation subsequently merged into Congregation Emanu-El, in 1927.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /><ref name="google2" />
=== Later congregations === After Ansche Chesed left, the synagogue was used by several Eastern European Orthodox Jewish congregations, which reconfigured the space to the more traditional orientation and removed the organ.<ref name="google1" /> It was first sold to Congregation Shaari Rachmim (Gates of Mercy) in 1873, which used it until 1886.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /><ref name="google2" /> Then, as Shaari Rachim moved to New York City's [[Upper West Side]], the synagogue was sold to The First Hungarian [[Congregation Ohab Zedek]] (To Love Righteousness) in 1886, which used it as its home until 1921.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /> A congregation named Sheveth Achim Anshe Slonim (People of [[Slonim]], [[Belarus]]; founded in 1888) worshiped there from 1921 to 1974 and called it Anshe Slonim Synagogue.<ref name="google2" /><ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/18/nyregion/new-life-is-envisioned-for-historic-synagogue.html |title=New Life is Envisioned for Historic Synagogue |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 18, 1987 |author=Dunlap, David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |access-date=October 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter">{{cite web|url=http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/designation_reports/index.php?action=detail&resource_id=924&request=a%3A5%3A%7Bs%3A6%3A%22action%22%3Bs%3A4%3A%22list%22%3Bs%3A5%3A%22title%22%3Bs%3A0%3A%22%22%3Bs%3A8%3A%22keywords%22%3Bs%3A7%3A%22norfolk%22%3Bs%3A14%3A%22year_published%22%3Bs%3A0%3A%22%22%3Bs%3A7%3A%22boolean%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22AND%22%3B%7D&start=0|title=Search results | npc.mayfirst.org|publisher=neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org|access-date=August 23, 2015}}</ref> By 1974, membership in the synagogue had dwindled as the neighborhood changed and the Slonim community had dispersed.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /> The synagogue was abandoned and was vandalized.<ref name="neighborhoodpreservationcenter1" /><ref name="google1" /><ref name="orensanz1">{{cite web |url=http://www.orensanz.org/pdf/orensanz-booklet.pdf |title=From Anshe Chesed to Angel Orensanz; 156 Years at 172 Norfolk Street |author=Al Orensanz |publisher=Angel Orensanz Foundation |year=2005 |access-date=October 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727154505/http://orensanz.org/pdf/orensanz-booklet.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book |author=Orensanz, Al |url=https://orensanz.org/orensanz-booklet.pdf |title=From Anshe Chesed to Angel Orensanz: 156 Years at 172 Norfolk Street |publisher=Angel Orensanz Foundation |location=New York |date=2005 |isbn=0-976-0601-2-4 }}
== External links == * {{official website|https://www.shulofny.org}}
{{Synagogues in the United States}} {{Lower East Side, Manhattan|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:1849 establishments in New York (state)]] [[Category:Dutch-Jewish culture in the United States]] [[Category:German-Jewish culture in New York City]] [[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in New York City]] [[Category:Gothic Revival synagogues]] [[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]] [[Category:Polish-Jewish culture in New York City]] [[Category:Unaffiliated synagogues in New York City]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1849]] [[Category:Synagogues on the Lower East Side]]