Congregation Mishkan Tefila [Brookline, MA.] Records 1858-2016, 1925 - 2006
Abstract/Description: | This collection comprehensively documents the history of Congregation Mishkan Tefila, the oldest Conservative synagogue in New England, representing the congregation's administrative, religious, educational, and social activities from the late nineteenth through the early twenty-first centuries. Records include correspondence, music manuscripts, cemetery records, sermons, event programs and tickets, photographs, scrapbooks, budgets, meeting minutes, flyers, clippings, event invitations and programs, prayer books, wedding invitations, newsletters, audio recordings, museum exhibition materials, building records, education materials, and artifacts. The collection is rich and varied in its depiction and documentation of Conservative Judaism in the Boston area and contains the personal material of Israel Kazis, Solomon Braslavsky, Gregor Shelkan, and Herman and Mignon Rubenovitz. |
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Subject(s): | Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990 Braslavsky, Solomon G, 1887-1975 Cushing, Richard, 1895-1970 Glickstein, I.G, 1890-1947 Kaitz, Louis, d. 2009 Kazis, Israel J, 1911-2001 Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009 Menitoff , Michael, 1942- Rubenovitz, Herman H, 1883-1966 Rubenovitz, Mignon L Shelkan, Gregor, 1915-1999 Yamins, Nathan, 1888-1968 Yellin, Richard Boston Jewish Choral Society (Boston, Mass.) Boston Pops Orchestra Cantors Assembly of America Federal Music Project (U.S.) Temple Israel (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) This is your life (Television program) Art, Jewish Cantors (Judaism) Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism--Israel Conservative Judaism--United States Jewish composers Jewish museums--Boston Jews--Massachusetts--Boston Judaism -- Chaplains National Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs Rabbis -- United States Synagogue Music Synagogue music--United States Synagogues Synagogues--United States World War, 1939-1945 Rabbis |
Date Issued: | 1858 |
Title: | Congregation Mishkan Tefila [Brookline, MA.] Records 1858-2016, 1925 - 2006. | |
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Name(s): | Congregation Mishkan Tefila (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), creator | |
Type of Resource: | mixed material | |
Genre: |
Archives Cantorial music Correspondence Photographs. |
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Issuance: | monographic | |
Date Issued: | 1858 | |
Extent: | 52.67 Linear feet | |
Physical description: | The collection is arranged into nineteen series. I. Artifacts, Media, and Scrapbooks. II. Board and Committees. A. Annual Meetings and Reports. B. Board of Directors and Executive Committee. C. Constitution and By-Laws. D. Committees and Councils. III. Braslavsky, Solomon, Musical Director. A. Correspondence. B. Music. C. Music Director. D. Personal. IV. Brotherhood. A. Special Events. B. General. V. Buildings. A. Correspondence. B. General. VI. Cemeteries and Funerals. VII. Education. VIII. General Files. A. Correspondence. B. Financial Materials. C. Holocaust-related Materials. D. Music and Prayer Materials. E. Other. IX. Kazis, Rabbi Israel. A. Correspondence. B. General. C. Speeches, Talks, and Lectures. D. Student Materials. E. Temple Israel [Wilkes-Barre PA.]. X. Museum. XI. Other Clergy and Figures of Note. XII. Autograph Collection. XIII. Photographs. A. Board and Committee. B. Braslavsky, Solomon, Musical Director. C. Brotherhood. D. Buildings. E. Cemetery. F. Education. G. Forum. H. General. I. Kazis, Rabbi Israel. J. Museum. K. Other Figures of Note. L. Rubenovitz, Rabbi Herman, and Rubenovitz, Mignon. M. Shelkan, Cantor Gregor. N. Sisterhood. O. Special Events. P. Oversize. XIV. Rubenovitz, Rabbi Herman, and Rubenovitz, Mignon. XV. Shelkan, Cantor Gregor. A. General. B. Music. XVI. Sisterhood. A. General. B. Special Events. XVII. Special Events. A. General. B. Holidays. XVIII. Synagogue Publications. A. Bound Volumes. B. Newsletters and Shabbat Announcements. XIX. Temple Forum. | |
Abstract/Description: | This collection comprehensively documents the history of Congregation Mishkan Tefila, the oldest Conservative synagogue in New England, representing the congregation's administrative, religious, educational, and social activities from the late nineteenth through the early twenty-first centuries. Records include correspondence, music manuscripts, cemetery records, sermons, event programs and tickets, photographs, scrapbooks, budgets, meeting minutes, flyers, clippings, event invitations and programs, prayer books, wedding invitations, newsletters, audio recordings, museum exhibition materials, building records, education materials, and artifacts. The collection is rich and varied in its depiction and documentation of Conservative Judaism in the Boston area and contains the personal material of Israel Kazis, Solomon Braslavsky, Gregor Shelkan, and Herman and Mignon Rubenovitz. | |
Note(s): |
Processing Information: Newspaper clippings and duplicates were removed from the collection, except in cases where they cannot be accessed elsewhere. Empty binders, folders, and covers were deaccessioned, as were lists of phone numbers and addresses (repeating lists) and other duplicative material. Because of the large number of photographs in the collection, photographs are not listed by item or specific date. The Photographs series is organized by name of the series from which the photographs were removed, and then by decade. Due to time constraints, oversized items and scrapbooks remain unprocessed (excepting photographs in the Autograph Collection series). Location of resource: Materials are available (by appointment only) at The Special Collections Reading Room, The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, New York, NY 10027. Phone 212.678.8973 or via E-mail: archives@jtsa.edu for arrangements. Congregation Mishkan Tefila [Brookline, MA.] Records, The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y., ARC.2016.04, (Box #, Folder#). Congregation Mishkan Tefila is the oldest Conservative synagogue in New England. Therefore, the history of Mishkan Tefila is intertwined with the history of the Boston Jewish community. On August 18, 1858, twelve families, recent arrivals to Boston from the town of Pozen in East Prussia, came together in a room in Boston’s South End district with the goal of establishing a congregation and building a synagogue. The group called itself the Die Israelitiche Gemeinde Mishkan Israel (“The Israelite Community of Mishkan Israel”) and chose Reverend Alexis Alexander as its first cantor-teacher. In 1863, the community relocated to a hall on Harrison Avenue, also in the South End, where a school was opened with classes for children. As the congregation grew, a larger hall on Orange Street was used, and in 1875, the congregation planned construction of a new building on Ash Street. The Ash Street building was the first structure in Boston built specifically as a synagogue; until then, all Jewish services had been conducted in either converted churches or renovated halls. Reverend L. M. Lilienthal was the congregation’s cantor-rabbi at the time, and Dr. Sabato Morais of Philadelphia, who later founded the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, attended the Ash Street building dedication services. Boston’s Jewish community continued to grow, and in 1895 Congregation Mishkan Israel consolidated with another Conservative synagogue, Congregation Shaarei Tefila, to form Congregation Mishkan Tefila. In 1898, the combined congregation moved to a new building on Shawmut Avenue and Madison Street in the Roxbury area of Boston. In 1908, the synagogue moved once again to the corner of Moreland and Copeland Streets. At this time, the congregation decided to replace separate seating for men and women with mixed seating. From 1905 to 1910 the synagogue functioned without a permanent rabbi. Additional changes were introduced: In 1906, younger members of the congregation recognized the rapidly changing cultural environment of early twentieth-century America and expressed a desire for an English-speaking rabbi with an appreciation for both tradition and modernization. A confirmation ceremony for boys and girls was initiated and family pews were constructed. In 1910, Mishkan Tefila selected and installed Rabbi Herman Rubenovitz, a recent graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1915, Rabbi Rubenovitz, who had been impressed by the choir and music of European synagogues, consulted Solomon Schechter, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary, regarding the introduction of an organ and a mixed choir to services. Schechter responded that if he felt that these additions would add prestige and beauty, he should feel free to go ahead with the innovation. This modernization also incorporated the reading of certain prayers in English. At the end of World War I, the congregation moved again, constructing a million-dollar, 1,200-seat synagogue on Seaver Street in the Roxbury neighborhood. It was dedicated in 1925. In 1928, with the goal of creating a more dramatic worship experience, Rabbi Rubenovitz engaged Professor Solomon Braslavsky to serve as choir director and liturgical composer. Braslavsky, a professionally trained music director, composer, pianist, and organist who had conducted the Jewish Choral Society and Vienna Symphony Orchestra, injected vibrancy and life into the musical traditions at Mishkan Tefila. Together, Rabbi Rubenovitz and Braslavsky began establishing Mishkan Tefila as a musical force in Conservative Judaism. In the mid-1940s, the Jewish population began to shift geographically. Mishkan Tefila members began settling in the nearby suburbs of Brookline and Newton. Fewer members lived in the immediate Roxbury and Mattapan neighborhoods, and suburban members found it difficult to attend services, the religious school, and social events. By the end of the 1940s, 60% of Mishkan Tefila’s members lived outside of Roxbury, and the congregation began to think about relocating once again. Groundbreaking for a new suburban synagogue building in Chestnut Hill, on Hammond Pond Parkway, took place on November 13, 1955, and the cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1957. A dedication service was held on May 9, 1958, the congregation’s centennial year. In this new spiritual home, there was a resurgence of Sisterhood and Brotherhood organizations, the religious school, and youth and family activities. The mid-century also saw shifts in clergy at Mishkan Tefila. In 1946, Dr. Israel Kazis was appointed as rabbi. Shortly thereafter, in 1947, Cantor Izso G. Glickstein, a former chief cantor of Budapest who had served the congregation for 23 years, died, and in 1948, Gregor Shelkan, a native of Latvia who had spent five years in concentration camps, was hired to fill Glickstein’s vacancy. Shelkan was recommended for the cantorial position by the first chief executive of the Cantors Assembly, Cantor David Putterman, and won the audition over 36 other applicants. He began his tenure at Mishkan Tefila on March 1, 1948. In 1976, Richard Yellin, a politically active Jewish Theological Seminary graduate, was appointed rabbi, and Rabbi Kazis became Rabbi Emeritus. Among other accomplishments, Rabbi Yellin oversaw the creation of the yearly “Black Seder,” a Christian-Jewish Passover initiative co-sponsored by the ADL and the Black Caucus. In 1986, Cantor Shelkan retired and Cantor Aryeh Finkelstein was appointed cantor. In 1992, when Rabbi Yellin made aliyah, Rabbi Michael Menitoff was appointed, serving until 2006. Rabbi Menitoff was responsible for initiating the First Fridays lecture series program in 1992. In 2007, Rabbi Geoffrey Haber was installed, and in 2013 Rabbi Marcia Plumb was chosen as senior rabbi. In 2016, after 58 years in Chestnut Hill, Congregation Mishkan Tefila relocated to 384 Harvard Street in Brookline, joining forces with Congregation Kehillath Israel and other partners to create a “campus model” for American Judaism. English, Yiddish, Hebrew and German. Related Collections ARC.99 Herman H. and Mignon L. Rubenovitz Papers. ARC.1000.112 Richard Yellin Papers. ARC.2001.08 Gregor Shelkan Collection. ARC.1000.067 Temple Israel [Wilkes, Barre PA.] Records. |
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Subject(s): |
Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990 Braslavsky, Solomon G, 1887-1975 Cushing, Richard, 1895-1970 Glickstein, I.G, 1890-1947 Kaitz, Louis, d. 2009 Kazis, Israel J, 1911-2001 Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009 Menitoff , Michael, 1942- Rubenovitz, Herman H, 1883-1966 Rubenovitz, Mignon L Shelkan, Gregor, 1915-1999 Yamins, Nathan, 1888-1968 Yellin, Richard Boston Jewish Choral Society (Boston, Mass.) Boston Pops Orchestra Cantors Assembly of America Federal Music Project (U.S.) Temple Israel (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) This is your life (Television program) Art, Jewish Cantors (Judaism) Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism--Israel Conservative Judaism--United States Jewish composers Jewish museums--Boston Jews--Massachusetts--Boston Judaism -- Chaplains National Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs Rabbis -- United States Synagogue Music Synagogue music--United States Synagogues Synagogues--United States World War, 1939-1945 Rabbis |
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Held by: | Special Collections, The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary | |
Restrictions on Access: | Materials are available by appointment only at The Special Collections Reading Room, The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NY, NY 10027. Phone: 212.678.8973 or via E-mail: archives@jtsa.edu. | |
In Collections: |