Vayikra (Zachor): Remembering Ohev's Claims to Fame!

In 1965, Ohev Shalom moved from the city of Chester to Wallingford, PA. Many congregants today only know our Wallingford home, so I find it important to remind us of our history from time to time. There is evidence of that history all around, but you kind of have to look for it.

For instance, we have memorial plaques in our Main Sanctuary dating back to the 1880s! Back in Chester, Ohev Shalom inhabited a building at 8th and Welsh from 1927 until 1965. But even before that, there was an even older building at 3rd and Lloyd, and before 1904 yet ANOTHER small location had housed the Jewish community of Chester! So yeah, we've been around a while... On this special weekend, called Shabbat Zachor - meaning "the Shabbat of Remembrance" - I would like to share some important (and ground breaking) Ohev Shalom history. Shabbat Zachor, incidentally, is always the Shabbat before Purim; a holiday of merriment, silliness, and satire. But that has absolutely NOTHING to do with these monumental accomplishments that I am about to share with you. I promise...

I have pored over the history books and dug out some amazing unsung heroes of our proud history; read on and be dazzled...

- One of the first Jews to settle in Chester was Isaac Steinziger, who arrived in the 1890s. His son, Joshua, was the first person to tell his out-of-town friends that he "basically" lived in Philly.

- In 1891, the Jews of Chester organized and formed their very first congregation, "B'nai Israel." Their president at the time, Simon Berg, was the first person to be outraged that the Jewish Exponent wouldn't cover news of anything happening in Delaware County.

- In 1905, the Ladies' Sheltering and Aid Society was formed. They mainly focused on giving food, lodging, and money to Jews in need. One week later, their president, Sadie Rosenberger, was the first person to complain that the men of the congregation mainly just played poker, stickball, and "claimed to help members of the community resell old, useless rubbish."

 - When the new synagogue building was opened in 1927, on the morning of the grand dedication, morning minyan attendee, Moshe Mosesson, was the first person, in the country, to walk into a Kiddush luncheon and say, "Again with the tuna and egg salad? This is the best they could do?"

- Perpetual board member, Geraldine Silverberg, was the first person to coin the term "Ohev time," in reference to people showing up 15-20 minutes late for everything. She was also the first to think it was "definitely a Jewish thing," and "definitely doesn't happen elsewhere..."

- By the end of the 1920s, Ohev Shalom was one of the first congregations to have its rabbi preach in English instead of Yiddish. In a passionate letter to Ohev members, president Aaron Aronovitch wrote: "If he's going to chastise us for not coming to shul more often, at least we should understand what he's saying." Later that same year, on Yom Kippur afternoon, shortly after the rabbi had delivered a 74-minute sermon, Aronovitch was impeached and asked to leave the congregation before the break fast was over.

We are so proud of all the contributions that Ohev members have gifted to the Jewish world over the course of our storied history. Perhaps next year, again on Shabbat Zachor (leading up to Purim...), we will dust off the ol' history books and discover together many more wonderful memories. For now, I hope this has been enlightening and entertaining. Happy Purim, everyone!!

Photos in this blog post (all from the Ohev Shalom dedication book of 1965):
1. Photograph of our Wallingford building in the early 1960s.
2. A drawing of immigrants coming to the US.
3. Ohev Shalom's Sisterhood, ca. 1965.
4. Ohev Shalom board members and Rabbi Louis Kaplan, ca. 1965.
5. Chester Hebrew School, 1927.