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The Brooklyn Jewish Center: From a Conservative Temple to Oholei Torah

Crown Heights History: The Brooklyn Jewish Center (BJC) was founded by some of the most prominent and wealthiest Jews in America at the time. BJC was initiated by the passion and authenticity and Jewish pride and spared no expense to make it a most impressive institution • Full Article

This series on the History of Crown heights is compiled by the Instagram account @crownheightshistory, a born and raised in Crown Heights, and shows some of the ongoing research taking place.

This segment has been released for the Anniversary of the establishment of Oholei Torah on the 19 Teves 5716.

The Brooklyn Jewish Center (BJC) was founded by some of the most prominent and wealthiest Jews in America at the time. BJC was initiated by the passion and authenticity and Jewish pride and spared no expense to make it a most impressive institution.

Much is known about the formation of the Brooklyn Jewish Center but some people miss the mark on how significant it was. When reading about the creation of Jewish center you’re not reading about a start-up shul.

Crown Heights (often referred to as Bedford or the Eastern Parkway District at the time) was a thriving Jewish neighborhood at the time and the founders believed that the Jewish community would grow and would stay there for centuries. Another note is in all the readings about BJC and talking to some of the older members who are still around you can understand that they built The Jewish Center really thinking that they would stay. Their dedication to Jewish causes also helped in the decision not to sell it to a church. When you start with authenticity things last forever.

The plot for the BJC was purchased in 1918 by a group of wealthy and prominent Brooklyn Jews in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Crown Heights. Initially, the cost of the building was estimated to be about $250,000. The BJC was to serve the growing Jewish population in Brooklyn.

The Jewish community in Brooklyn felt the need for a state-of-the-art Jewish center that the Jewish community could be proud of and to serve the needs of the community at large. The Center spared no expense to make it one of the most impressive institutions of its kind.

Albert Einstein (Center) at the BJC

The Center included an auditorium that could seat 800, a dining room with capacity for 250, and the main synagogue had large stained-glass windows and could accommodate more than 1400, a large ballroom, 14 classrooms, offices as well as recreational facilities including a bowling alley, a swimming pool and a gymnasium.

The cornerstone was laid on June 13, 1920. The first services were held on Rosh Hashana in October 1921, and was attended by a crowd of more than 1800, and was finally dedicated on January 1, 1923, 100 years ago. The final cost, when it was completed was more than $1,000,000 (about $17,000,000 today when adjusted for inflation). It was considered the largest institution of its kind at the time.

Rumor has it that the Jewish Center could have sold the building to a church for over a million dollars. However, the BJC Board instead chose to sell to its current occupant, Oholei Torah, for less than $600,000 in order to preserve its Jewish identity.

Rabbi Nosson Blumes did extensive work in documenting the old pictures and artifacts from the Brooklyn Jewish Center. He also bridged the gap between the members of The Brooklyn Jewish Center and Oholei Torah who purchased the building of the Brooklyn Jewish Center in the early 1970s. brooklynjewishcenter.org/

Find more Crown heights history on the Instagram account @crownheightshistory

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