White Shul

Congregation Knesseth Israel, commonly referred to as The White Shul, is a synagogue located in Far Rockaway, Queens.[1] The congregation was established in 1922, and was nicknamed "The White Shul" after its white marble building. The original building located at Nameoke Street and Dinsmore Avenue was destroyed."[2]

Rabbis

The longest-serving rabbi at White Shul was Raphael Pelcovitz. One of his two predecessors was Shimshon Zelig Fortman, a Lithuanian rabbi and father-in-law of Rabbi David B. Hollander.

Pelcovitz was the shul's third rabbi, but the first to publicly speak in English. The two previous rabbis delivered their sermons in Yiddish.[3]

Rabbi Tzvi Flaum served for 13 years,[4] starting when Pelcovitz became rabbi emeritus.[3] Rabbi Eytan Feiner, his successor, is the present rabbi.

History

Knesseth Israel, a 1922-founded Orthodox congregation, initially prayed in the Far Rockaway Chamber of Commerce building on Mott Avenue.[5] When the members of the 1911-built Temple Israel synagogue,[6] located at Roanoke Avenue and State Street (the names were later changed to Nameoke Street and Dinsmore Avenue) moved in 1930 to their new quarters on Central Avenue in Lawrence, they sold their old building to Congregation Kneseth Israel.

Due to this building's appearance (a "white colonial structure") the shul began to be called The White Shul.[2]

In 1964, Congregation Knesseth Israel moved into its present quarters at Empire Avenue and Sage Street, but the name "White Shul" is still in use, including as the name of their website (whiteshul.org).

The synagogue was affected by and recovered from Hurricane Sandy.[7]

Wisconsin

A now-defunct 1910-built former Orthodox synagogue in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was formally Congregation Adas Israel, had been informally referred tp as "The White Shul."[8][9]

References
  1. Rabbi Shay Schachter (May 27, 2018). "Rabbi Raphael Pelcovitz, zt'l: In Appreciation". Five Towns Jewish Times.
  2. "Congregation Kneseth Israel – The White Shul". JCCrp.org (Jewish Community Council of the Rockaway Peninsula).
  3. "Tribute to Rav Pelcovitz on his first Yahrzeit". The Jewish Star. March 6, 2019.
  4. "Rabbi Tzvi Flaum". OU.org (Orthodox Union).
  5. "Synagogues of The Rockaways".
  6. (Reform)
  7. "White Shul, Power of Community 5 Years After Sandy". October 28, 2017.
  8. "The Second Sheboygan Jewish Community Reunion".
  9. Sherry Zander (August 15, 2002). "Bratwurst meets Borscht: The synagogues of Sheboygan, Wis". Dallas Jewish Week.

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