Synagogues of Long Island

By Ira Poliakoff

Long Island has one of the most vibrant and largest Jewish communities in the nation.

After World War II, hundreds of thousands of Jewish soldiers returned from war looking for a life in the suburbs and synagogues to join, but the demand exceeded the supply. In 1946, Rabbi Elias Solomon called a meeting of Conservative rabbis from Manhattan to map out a plan to build a synagogue at ever South Shore Long Island Railroad stop, from Valley Stream to Patchogue. Central Synagogue of Nassau County and Beth El in Great Neck both grew to more than 1000 families as Reform Judaism took hold, and the growth of the Chabad movement in recent decades as spurred an increase of Orthodox Judaism. Author Ira Poliakoff catalogues the history of synagogues and congregations that have shaped Long Island's past and present.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Dec 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781439663493

Ira Poliakoff

Ira Poliakoff is a retired small business owner who grew up in Rockville Centre, Long Island. He served as a youth director at the Oceanside Jewish Center and Queensboro Hill Jewish Center. He has researched and traveled extensively throughout Long Island in order to catalogue the history of its many synagogues and congregations, past and present. Ira lives in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, with his wife and remains an active member of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El.

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THE SYNAGOGUES OF LONG ISLAND

AMITYVILLE

AMITYVILLE JEWISH CENTER (FORMERLY BETH SHOLOM CONGREGATION), 79 County Line Road, Amityville, New York, 11701 C (Closed)

The early Jewish community of Amityville has its beginnings near the turn of the century. Being few, the earliest families were not able to provide a central place for services. It became customary for the families to gather in private homes for religious observances.

One of the earliest families in Amityville, the Edelmans, frequently hosted these gatherings in their home on Broadway where the sacred Torah Scroll was kept. In these early days, it was not unusual for Amityville’s Jewish families to walk to neighboring Lindenhurst to observe rituals at the Lindenhurst Hebrew Congregation. Two Lindenhurst families, the Diamonds and the Friedmans, often hosted services.

As the number of Jewish families grew in Amityville, it became possible to rent a room in the old Telephone Company Building on Greene Avenue, just west of Phannemiller’s Drug Store. That room afforded a central meeting space and the beginnings of what would become the Amityville Jewish Center. In later years, the Odd Fellows Hall, also on Greene Street, was purchased as a more permanent home. A part-time rabbi was engaged to instruct the young people.

Following World War II, the Jewish population of the Amityville area expanded, and the need for a full-time rabbi became apparent. The Odd Fellows Hall took on a new appearance with a new stone front and arched stained-glass windows. On the lower floor, a place was provided for meetings and social gatherings. The second floor was refurbished to become the sanctuary. The synagogue became formally known as the Amityville Jewish Center. In the summer of 1967, Jerry Seinfeld had his Bar Mitzvah here. His father, Kal, was a vice-president of the synagogue and always blew the shofar on the High Holy Days.

By 1976, the congregation had outgrown the old building. A larger building opened on County Line Road in 1957. The new building included classrooms, offices, a library, a kitchen and a large room for both services and social occasions. Ten years later, the building was expanded to include a permanent sanctuary. The name Beth Sholom was adopted officially when the group moved to County Line Road.

As the 1980s arrived, the membership was shrinking dramatically due to demographic changes. This was in the middle of the fifty-three-year tenure of Rabbi Leon Spielman, one of Suffolk County’s longest-tenured and most admired rabbis. Rabbi Spielman is the father of Eli Spielman, the famous author and sports producer for radio and television. Eli told me, Amityville was a wonderful, caring place to grow up as a Jew. In 2002, the center was forced to close. The building was sold to the Center for Science and Spirituality, and the proceeds were used to settle the congregation’s debts. The Torahs went to several different synagogues. Most of the memorial plaques went to Bethpage Jewish Center. Later, when Bethpage Jewish Center also closed, according to Brad Cohen, most of the plaques were transferred to Midway Jewish Center in Syosset.

BABYLON

CONGREGATION BETH SHOLOM, 441 Deer Park Avenue, Babylon, New York, 11702 (631-587-5650) C

This independent Conservative congregation is led by Rabbi Abraham Axelrud. It was established in 1924 at a meeting held at Hebrew Association Hall. The first building was completed in 1930 at 54 George Street; it was later a church and now is home to an environmental services company. The current building opened in 1963.

The congregation holds Erev Shabbat services every Friday night except during July and August. Shabbat morning services are held every Saturday morning. The congregation has an adult education program, a Hebrew school and special programs for seniors. The synagogue also has a modern ballroom for social events.

BALDWIN

BALDWIN JEWISH CENTER, 885 Seaman Avenue, Baldwin, New York, 11510 C (Closed)

The Baldwin Jewish Center was the first synagogue in Baldwin, predating World War II. It was founded by a group of sewing circle members that changed its name to the Baldwin Jewish Center Sisterhood in the fall of 1927. One year later, nine men formed the actual Baldwin Jewish Center. The early meetings and services were held in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall on Seaman Avenue. The actual synagogue was built in 1948.

In 2010, declining membership forced the congregation to sell the building to the Christian Family Worship Center and, under an agreement with the new owner of the building, continued to hold services in the lower level. In 2014, the congregation merged with South Baldwin Jewish Center, where its Torah Scrolls and memorial plaques were transferred. Oddly enough, the South Baldwin Jewish Center was started by families who broke away from the original Baldwin Jewish Center.

SOUTH BALDWIN JEWISH CENTER, 2959 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, 11510 C

South Baldwin Jewish Center, also known as Congregation Shaarei Shalom, was formed in 1955, holding services in the Baldwin American Legion Hall on Grand Avenue. In 1957, the congregation rented a storefront at 908 Atlantic Avenue and held its first service there that March. High Holy Day services were held on Merrick Road in the First Methodist Church. By the end of 1957, the congregation had purchased land at 2959 Grand Avenue. High Holy Day services were held on this property under a tent during 1959 and 1960. Groundbreaking for the current building took place on November 6, 1960, and the building was formally dedicated in September 1962. South Baldwin Jewish Center absorbed Baldwin Jewish Center through a merger in 2014.

The congregation is an affiliate of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and has been since its inception. There is a Hebrew school, an adult education program, Sisterhood and a Men’s Club.

TEMPLE EMANU EL, Grand Avenue, Baldwin, 11510 R (Closed)

Temple Emanu El Reform Congregation was started by a small group of former members of Central Synagogue of Rockville Centre, wanting a Reform congregation closer to their Baldwin homes. They rented a storefront on Grand Avenue in early 1962. The group never really got off the ground and merged with Union Reform Temple in Freeport on February 25, 1966.

BAY SHORE

BAY SHORE JEWISH CENTER, 34 North Clinton Avenue, Bay Shore, 11706 C

Bay Shore Jewish Center is an independent, egalitarian Conservative synagogue. At one time, the group was affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. A group of fourteen men organized the Bay Shore United Hebrew Benevolent Association in 1897. High Holy Day services were held in a school building rented by the group. The United Hebrew Congregation was incorporated in 1919 and purchased the former firehouse on 2nd Avenue, converting it to a synagogue by March 1920. In September 1933, four groups came together—including the United Hebrew Congregation, Bay Shore Jewish Alliance, Ladies Aid Society and the Junior League—to create the Bay Shore Jewish Center. The merger was commemorated with a social gathering at the Bay Shore Community Memorial Building. The synagogue was located at 4 4th Avenue. In 1942, the group purchased property at 34 North Clinton Avenue and used the existing wood-frame building as a synagogue.

On July 23, 1950, the congregation broke ground on its current building, which was formally dedicated on September 23, 1951. The Hebrew school was added in 1956 at 26 North Clinton Avenue. Services are led by Rabbi Marvin Dement, Gabbi Al Beja, Ritual Director Solomon Pardes and Cantor Arlene Zucker. To this day, a free religious school is available.

CHABAD OF ISLIP TOWNSHIP, 14 Doral Lane, Bay Shore, 11706 O

This is an outreach center of Chabad of Long Island. Rabbi Shimon Stillerman and Mrs. Stillerman lead this congregation. In addition to services, this Chabad center offers educational opportunities for both children and adults and some social activities.

SINAI REFORM TEMPLE, 39 Brentwood Road, Bay Shore, 11706 R (Closed)

Sinai Reform Temple was founded in 1948 by a group of thirty-five Jewish families living in Western Suffolk County wishing to affiliate with a liberal Jewish congregation. They called themselves the South Shore Discussion Group and later the South Shore Reform Temple; finally, Sinai Reform Temple was adopted as the name in 1960. Early meetings were held in the Bay Shore Community Building.

During the early years, Sabbath services were held each Friday evening in the Community Building, with members bringing chairs, prayer books, the Holy Ark and a Torah to and from services each week. A religious school was added, and the membership had grown to more than fifty families by 1952. In late 1948, the group purchased its first home, a building at the corner of Brentwood Road and Union Boulevard in Bay Shore.

The synagogue broke ground for its first built from scratch temple on January 6, 1963, and opened it on January 24, 1964. In November 1990, an arsonist’s fire destroyed the building. With the help of the Bay Shore community, services continued at the Spirit Alive Center, St. Patrick’s Church, Bay Shore Jewish Center and at the Interfaith Chapel of the New York Institute of Technology in Central Islip.

A replacement building was started in May 1992 and dedicated in December 1993. The architect was Dennis Noskin. The temple was affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism for more than sixty years. In 2014, facing a large decline in membership to only forty families, the group sold the building and rented space from the Bay Shore Jewish Center on North Clinton Avenue. In October 2015, the group merged with Bnai Israel Reform Congregation in Oakdale. The proceeds of the sale of the building are being used to pay the dues of former Temple Sinai members to Bnai Israel. The memorial plaques and Torah Scrolls also were removed to Bnai Israel. The building at 39 Brentwood Road was deconsecrated and torn down, and construction began on a new medical office building.

BELLMORE

CONGREGATION BETH OHR, 2550 Centre Avenue, Bellmore, 11710 C

Congregation Beth Ohr represents the merger of Bellmore Jewish Center and Congregation Beth El of Massapequa. Bellmore Jewish Center was founded in 1958 as the Jewish population of Bellmore started to grow with the construction of many new homes south of Merrick Road. In January 1959, the congregation was formally incorporated, and it purchased a private home at 2538 South Centre Avenue and converted it to a synagogue. As more families joined, it quickly outgrew the building, lovingly referred to as the Little House of Worship.

On November 20, 1961, a momentous meeting was held at the Winthrop Avenue School. The congregation expressed its faith in the future by voting to construct a new building on its recently purchased adjacent property at 2550 Centre Avenue. The new building was occupied for Rosh Hashanah services in September 1962. The group went by the name South Shore Jewish Center (a name later adopted by the Island Park Jewish Center) until changing its name to Bellmore Jewish Center in the mid-1960s. It is a Conservative congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and led by Rabbi Dahlia Bernstein and Cantor Elliot Yavneh. The name was changed to Congregation Beth Ohr on July 1, 2016, when Beth El of Massapequa was merged with the former Bellmore Jewish Center. (See the Massapequa section for history of Beth El of Massapequa.)

EAST BAY REFORM TEMPLE, 2442 Merrick Road, Bellmore, 11710 R