Stanton Street Shul 1/07 inventory, CONGREGATION BNAI JACOB ANSCHEI BRZEZAN, by Shauna Wescher
While much changed after R. Singer left, the pictures of the shul's furnishings reflect when he served there. He passed away the evening of Kol Nidre, an honor accorded to tzaddikim. Approximately ninety years old, he was born in Pilzno, then in Czechloslovakia. In 1938 he came to the Lower East Side, and became the rabbi of a small congregation on E. Third Street, between Avenue C/D. Like many other rabbis in the neighborhood, he made his living doing a number of other things. In 1962 he became the Rabbi of the Stanton Street Shul. Regular worshippers in those years included people from the small Galitizaner shetlech (Brzezany, Lancut, Bluzow and Rymynow) that were associated with the shul. In the 1980's/90's, Yiddish was the shul's common language, though English, Spanish, Polish and Russian were often heard as well. The shul was known as a place where the poor of the Lower East Side could be welcomed without any questions other than were they coming back the next day.
Mar 2, 2008
Photos: 81
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