Guide to the Torath Chaim Congregation Records, 1928-1993
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Torath Chaim Congregation Records
- Creator
- Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania
- Collection Number
- MSS#914
- Extent
- .5 linear feet (One box)
- Date
- 1928-1993
- Abstract
- The Torath Chaim Congregation was founded in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1927 by Rabbi Jacob J. Hurvitz and closed on August 28, 2004. The Torath Chaim Congregation Records consists of cemetery ledgers, congregation minutes, the congregation constitution and by-laws, and the property deed for 728 North Negley Avenue.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English and Yiddish.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
In 1927, Rabbi Jacob J. Hurvitz and several of his followers organized the Torath Chaim Anshe Sfard Congregation, which met at 728 North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's East End neighborhood. Rabbi Hurvitz had immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1911. He first settled in Massachusetts and then left that area to join extended family living in Pittsburgh. Most of the early members of Torath Chaim were Russian, Yiddish-speaking immigrants; however the congregation's religious services followed religious rituals influenced by the Sephardic tradition.
After Rabbi Hurvitz left the congregation, returning to Massachusetts in 1930, the congregation continued to grow. The small house that served as the synagogue in its first years was remodeled in 1931 and again in 1948, which then allowed seating for 700. Renovations also included a women's balcony and a large mural, painted by Samuel Savage, which was installed over the ark. The congregation supported a Hebrew school, ladies' auxiliary, and a cemetery located in Hampton Township, Allegheny County, Pa.
By the 1980s, membership to the congregation declined due to its aging membership and the neighborhood's dwindling Jewish population. In the final years of Torath Chaim, boys from the Yeshiva School of Pittsburgh were asked to join older members of the congregation to form a minyan (quorum of ten) needed to hold the weekly Shabbat (Sabbath) services. In 2004, Torath Chaim, the last synagogue in Pittsburgh's East End neighborhood, closed.
Scope and Content Notes
The Torath Chaim Congregation Records consists of cemetery ledgers, congregation minutes, the congregation constitution and by-laws, and the property deed for 728 North Negley Avenue. The two cemetery ledgers document burials at the Torath Chaim Cemetery in Hampton Township, Pa. from c.1928 to 1993. The meeting minutes are dated from 1945 to 1965 and are written in Yiddish. Typewritten copies, and a handwritten Yiddish copy, of the constitution and by-laws are undated. The one photograph in the collection shows a stained glass window in the synagogue surrounded by a mural painted by Samuel Savage.
Arrangement
- The folders are arranged alphabetically by topic.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Betty Barger in 2001,
Accession #2001.0036.
Gift of Judy F. Gunnet in 2004,
Accession #2004.0075.
Preferred Citation
Torath Chaim Congregation Records, 1928-1993, MSS#914, Rauh Jewish Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kelly J. Smith in February 2013.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Subjects
- Torath Chaim Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Torath Chaim Cemetery Association
- Savage, Samuel
- Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh