Adas Israel Congregation (Duluth, Minnesota)
| Adas Israel Congregation | |
|---|---|
 Members of the Adas Israel Synagogue, in 1914 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Modern Orthodox Judaism (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue (former) |
| Status | Destroyed by arson |
| Location | |
| Location | 3rd Street, Duluth, Minnesota |
| Country | United States |
| Architecture | |
| Date established | c. 1890s (as a congregation) |
| Destroyed | September 9, 2019 by arson |
Adas Israel Congregation (or Adath Israel Congregation, but known locally as the 3rd Street Shul) was a
It could also be described as a Jewish "traditionalist" congregation because in official communal guidelines it is officially described as "an
On September 9, 2019, the 3rd Street synagogue was destroyed by a fire, caused by arson.[4][5][6][7]
Geography and membership
Duluth is a
The Duluth area Jewish community is a mix of families that have been here for five generations, persons who have come to work in the three universities or the medical services industry, and [those] who followed other types of jobs or their hearts to this beautiful area. It is a diverse community...[The] community also includes families across the state line in Superior and other Jewish families within a hundred mile radius of Duluth in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. The Jewish Community consisted of two synagogues. Adas Israel Congregation was an Orthodox congregation with a membership of 75. Services were lay-led with daily minyans, Saturday morning and holiday services. Temple Israel was a Reform / Conservative congregation. This building was the hub of the Jewish community, with religious, educational and cultural events taking place in the facility.[8]
Community and synagogue history
The origins of this synagogue are tied in with the earliest settlement of Minnesota by Jews fleeing persecutions in
in the 19th century. In one published family history, the synagogue's establishment is described as part of the development of Jewish, indeed European, communal life:- In 1871, my father's grandparents, Nettie and Bernard Silberstein from Hungary, were the first Jewish newlyweds to make their home in Duluth, Minn., when it was a western frontier town with mostly Native Americans in the region. He established the first synagogue and the dry goods store that set the standard of quality for merchants who followed...In the beginning, in the Canadian-Pacific Railway...In Spring, 1884 they arrived by boat in Duluth Harbor, among the first eastern Europeans there...All this time, cousin Yosef Mendel Oreckovsky, well-trained in Russia, was assistant rabbi at Orthodox Temple Tifereth Israel and later helped found Congregation Adas Israel, the "Fourth Street shul".[9]
Other histories record that Adas Israel was formed in the 1890s by members of the Moses Montefiore congregation, an earlier Orthodox congregation composed of
Female members of the congregation were active with social, humanitarian and charitable causes. "The Adas Israel Ladies' Aid of Duluth are ... examples of Orthodox synagogue' women's groups that helped the poor, the sick and the needy as well as their own synagogues."[12][page needed]
In 1930, Adas Israel absorbed the B'nai Israel Synagogue of Duluth.[13]
Adas Israel was the oldest surviving original synagogue, being a continuation of earlier synagogues and a living symbol of a surviving active Jewish community in northeast Minnesota. It was the only surviving Orthodox synagogue, until the establishment of a Chabad Hasidic synagogue in 2001.[3]
Destruction
A fire which began just before 2.30 am on September 9, 2019, totally destroyed the building.[14] It was thought that eight of the 14 Torah scrolls were able to be saved from the debris. A suspect, Matthew Amiot, was arrested on September 13 and was to be charged with first-degree arson.[7] No one was in the building at the time of the fire. Amiot had no permanent address and was reported to suffer from multiple mental health issues. He was later sentenced to a year in jail.[15]
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-87351-155-1.
- ^ See Union for Traditional Judaism (UTJ) a movement of Modern Orthodox congregations that have joined with traditionalist Conservative ones.
- ^ a b "Adas Israel of Duluth (Orthodox)]". Community Directory; Community Calendar.
- ^ Slater, Brady (September 9, 2019). "Torah scrolls saved in Duluth synagogue fire". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ "Fire destroys synagogue in downtown Duluth". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ "UPDATE: Firefighter rescued from synagogue balcony after hit by falling debris". KBJR 6. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ a b Vera, Amir (September 14, 2019). "Minnesota police charge man with arson in connection with fire that destroyed a 119-year-old synagogue". CNN. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ "Jewish Community". Temple Israel Duluth. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007.
- ^ Traubman, Lionel, ed. (December 1994). "My Jews of Duluth". The Oreckovsky Family: From Russia to America. San Francisco: Oreck Foundation.
- ^ "Members of the Adas Israel Synagogue". Duluth Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. 1914. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011.
- ^ "Members of Adas Israel, Duluth". Duluth Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. 1919. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011.
- ISBN 0-87351-337-1.
- ^ "Hebrew class of West Side B'nai Israel Synagogue in Duluth". Duluth Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest. 1915. Archived from the original (Photo taken at a class outing in Lincoln Park in Duluth. B'nai Israel consolidated with congregation Adas Israel in 1930.) on July 21, 2011.
- ^ "Firefighters rescue Torah scrolls from historic Duluth synagogue, now fallen". Jewish News Syndicate. September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
Duluth Assistant Fire Chief Brent Consie said the synagogue's structure was "pretty much a total loss" following the fire.
- ^ Lapin, Tamar (September 16, 2019). "Minnesota man arrested for allegedly torching 117-year-old synagogue". New York Post. Retrieved October 10, 2019.