From the New Brunswick Daily Times, September 27, 1897
“Members of the Congregation Anshe Emeth, the only fully organized Hebrew congregation in the city, had two reasons for being truly happy yesterday, for they not only celebrated Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, in their new synagogue, but they also held services dedicating their new place of worship.
“The services were by no means ostentatious, but were most appropriate to the day and event they commemorated. The edifice occupies a lot on the north side of Albany Street, numbers 49 and 51, between Neilson and Peace streets. It is a frame building, two stories in height. Its exterior presents a very neat and attractive appearance, being finished in subdued colors, while stained glass windows on either side of the main doors give it a pleasing adornment. …
“The floor is covered with red carpet and three handsome brass chandeliers hang from the ceiling, while other gas fixtures are on the sides. There are numerous windows so that the place is well-lighted and well-ventilated. …
“Hanging from the ceiling just before the shrine is the eternal lamp which is kept burning at all times. Its globe is of red glass.* The auditorium will accommodate about 200 persons. There were almost that number in the synagogue ( … when dedication services commenced).”
A congregant’s remembrance of the Albany St. Temple: Rosella G. Hanauer, Centennial Year Address, October 25, 1959.
“… The Temple proper was on the first floor, the vestry room on the second. The plumbing was very modern – it was inside. The heating -- well, I suppose you could call it central – one pot-bellied stove stood in the exact center of the vestry room, the other slightly off center in the Temple proper.
“… Our neighbor to the left was the Salvation Army. … Our volunteer choir and organist, with only a wheezy little organ to help, striv(ed) valiantly to make the strains of ‘Come O Sabbath Day,’ rise above the din of the Salvation Army drums thumping out ‘Bringing in the Sheaves.’”
It took only six months to find the land and complete the building. And how was this new building financed?
In 1897, a 5-year mortgage for $1,000, at an interest rate of 5%, was issued by Mr. Israel Marx to the Trustees of Anshe Emeth to assist … in building its first Temple on Albany Street. In order to pay off this mortgage, The Board of Trustees issued 200 zero-interest bonds at $5 each. These bonds were then to be redeemed by the Congregation at the rate of ten bonds per year. Fourteen members of the congregation purchased bonds, as did the Boaz Lodge No. 191 of the Independent Order of B’nai Brith. The mortgage was paid back to Mr. Marx in full on Sept. 9, 1902.
*This same ner tamid hangs over our bima today.
Anshe Emeth Service Sheet October 30, 2009 / 12 Cheshvan 5770
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