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Flashbacks by Patrick M. Reynolds
The Oldest Shul in the Capital
Shul in Yiddish for synagogue.
The Washington Hebrew Congregation, the oldest Jewish worship group in DC, was founded in 1852 by Ashkenazie (Germanic) Jews. Initially they held services in members' homes or in rented facilities.
They purchased an old church on 8th Street between H and I Streets NW and converted it into a synagogue in 1859. Men and women sat separately.
A rift occurred in 1869 when Reformed members installed an organ in the synagogue. A group of 38 Orthodox families broke away. The Washington Hebrew Congregation built their own synagogue on 8th St in the 1890s.
The Orthodox Jews formed the Adas Israel congregation and started to constrct a synagogue at 6th and G Streets NW in 1873. It was finished three years later.
The Adas Israel Synagogue was dedicated on June 9, 1876 with a three-hour Orthodox service. In attendence was President Ulysses S. Grant. The Adas Israel Shul still stands. |