Synagogue Building Association record book, Portland, ca. 1902
Contributed by Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh
Description
The title page of the record book of the Hebrew Synagogue Building Association is written in Yiddish.
The group built Shaarey Tphiloh Synagogue on Newbury Street in Portland in 1904. The early records of the congregation of Orthodox Jews were written in Yiddish.
By 1900 there were 80 Jewish families and three religious congregations. According to author Benjamin Band, the large number of congregations raised concerns about the waste of resources, leading to the formation of the Building Association.
Shaarith Israel and Beth Hamidrash Hagadol merged in 1904 to form Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh.
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