Blog | The Carnegie Shul

The Carnegie Shul Prepares for the High Holidays and Celebrates More Than a Century of Tradition

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:01:47 GMT

Carnegie, PA – September 11, 2025—The Carnegie Shul , founded in 1896 and incorporated in 1903, remains a cornerstone of Jewish life in the South Hills. As the oldest congregation in the region , it reflects more than 125 years of history, resilience, and community spirit.

High Holy Days Services: A.J. Edelman Returns

High Holy Days services at the Carnegie Shul will be held on September 22–24 for Rosh Hashanah and October 1–2 for Yom Kippur . The complete schedule is available at www.thecarnegieshul.org/high-holy-days .

This year, services will once again be led by A.J. Edelman, a figure beloved by the congregation. "A.J. has been with us for about 8 years. He is a treasure that we have now," said Rick D'Loss, President of the Carnegie Shul. Edelman is renowned for his historic achievement as the first Orthodox Jewish athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics, inspiring many through his dedication to balancing athletic excellence with religious faith.

His leadership and spirituality continue to enrich the community, making his annual return as shaliach tzibur a highlight of the Shul's holiday observances.

A History of Faith and Community

The Shul's roots stretch back to its founding families, including the Shermans, Millers, Wilks, Klees, and many others. "Starting in the late 1800s, Markus Sherman held services in his home," explained D'Loss. He led the formation of the congregation and organized the first high holidays services in 1896. We didn't even have a building; the first holiday services were conducted in the Husler building, the present home of the Carnegie Historical Society."

The congregation was incorporated in 1903 and built a shul on Broadway St. "When a fire destroyed that shul in 1934, it was decided not to rebuild on that small lot because the congregation was still growing," recalled D'Loss. A new and much larger synagogue opened on Lydia Street in 1937.

Leadership Across Generations

Over the years, leadership has passed through many dedicated families and has been sustained by many other families and members. "In addition to the Sherman family, the Wilk family provided three generations of shul presidents. D'Loss recalled, "Ike Peresman and Jean Perlman served as Treasurers for more than 70 years between them. Stanley Roth served as Secretary from around 1947 up until 2005 and passed in 2009. He was a huge figure in the congregation and we referred to him as Nusi , the Hebrew word for "prince"."

D'Loss said Dr. Larry Block, a retired professor from Duquesne University, continues to play a vital role. "He is an incredible, knowledgeable guy who has dedicated so much of his time and effort to this congregation over the past 40 years," said D'Loss. He was and still is a scholar. We rely on him for his knowledge of Torah and tradition. He's in his 80s and leads Torah study for us every week."

A Unique Congregational Identity

The Carnegie Shul is known for its strong traditions, welcoming nature, and independence. "We have not had a rabbi here since 1978, when Stanley Savage moved on to another shul. The congregation is unaffiliated. The term indie minyan is in vogue these days, but we've been an indie minyan for 50 years."

The Shul has an open-door policy for High Holidays. Most congregations limit High Holiday services to just their members, but in the history of the Carnegie Shul, we've never restricted admission.

"It's a pretty amazing testament to our place that people come, donate, and join because they appreciate what we offer and they want us to stay open. But their attendance and participation are their most important gift— a gift to both themselves and the community. The congregation is certainly smaller than it was in previous generations, but the ner tamid is still burning in Carnegie," D'Loss said.

October Newsletter

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 16:39:53 GMT

We made it through the holidays - We have a new website - Donate online

The holidays conclude

With the holiday of Simchas Torah, our fall holidays are complete. The season started 7 weeks ago on the 1st of Elul, the last month of the year. During Elul we are supposed to clean up the messes we have made, repaire damage that we've done, and commit to being a better Jew in the coming year. As the month concludes and the new year begins, God writes us into his ledger book for a good new year or a bad one. Then, starting on the first day of the new year, we have 10 days to appeal the verdict (even though we don't know what the verdict is). Yom Kippur is the last of those 10 days, and our last chance to change God's mind before the book is closed and sealed. We hope that all you and your families have been written in the book for a healthy and joyous year.

But as the tv commercial says, "wait, there's more"! Four days after Yom Kippur we launched into the joyous fall festival of Simchas Torah. And the day after the festival concluded we celebrate completing the annual reading cycle of the Torah on Simchas Torah. Sadly, Simchas Torah now has added significance because of the terrorist attacks that were committed on Simchas Torah last year. Such a joyous day celebrating the ending and the beginning of the Torah reading cycle, now represents both the happiest and saddest of occasions. It is just one more reminder that this never ends. We must look after one another and keep each other safe, as best we can. Am Yisroel Chai .

If this Rosh Hashanah was your first time coming to the Carnegie Shul, we hope that the experience was meaningful to you. We have added your name to our email list so that you can stay informed as to what is happening at shul. We hope that part of your Yom Kippur repentance was a resolution to come to shul more than 1, 2, or 3 days a year. We hope that you will join us for minyan on Shabbos morning, even if only once a month. It helps us make minyan so that others can say kaddish for their loved ones. And we will feed you after services! Since Tree of Life and increased security, we ask that you drop us an email letting us know that you are planning to come on Shabbos at info@thecarnegieshul.org.

We have a new website

Our online promotion of the holidays required that we do a major overhaul of our website. While the website is mostly complete, there is still a lot of work to do. Our initial efforts were concentrated on the underlying structure that connects Facebook, Google, and our website in order to ensure that things on our site are crossposted to social media. That structure is in place, internet traffic is being monitored, and we can now focus on refining the website appearance and usability. Your advice, comments, and help are always appreciated.

Donate online

Being "old school", or in this case "old shul", has its plusses and minuses. We have only taken paper checks until now. Yes, we know; that's so 1900s! So, we have finally done something about it. Under the "News & Dues" tab there is a place to make donations to the shul. You can pay dues or make donations using credit cards, Venmo, ApplePay, or PayPal. This should make things much simpler for those who no longer use paper checks.

We appreciate your financial support in whatever form you choose. If you have already sent a check in the mail, thank you. If you choose to make a donation online, thank you. If you appreciate what we do, help us keep the doors open, the lights on, and bring AJ back again next year.

Zay gesundt,

Rick D'Loss, President

On this date in 1969

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:44:21 GMT

On this date in 1969

Here is an interesting newspaper clipping from Dec 18, 1969. In the mid 1960s the Catholic Church tried to patch up its relations with world Jewry. Vatican II denounced antisemitism and proclaimed that modern day Jews couldn't possibly be held responsible for anything that happened 2000 years ago. The official document states "the Church gives glory to God for his enduring faithfulness towards his chosen people, the Jews". In practical application, Catholic school students would visit synagogues to learn about Judaism. This article in the Signal Item reflects one of those visits.

Shul Fire- 1934

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 12:41:49 GMT

Shul Fire- 1934

According to the oral history that was passed to me from our Nusi, Stanley Roth, may he rest in peace, our first shul burned in 1934 and our new shul opened in 1937. During the interim years the congregation held services at the Elks Club. But of the fire itself I knew nothing. Recently, at a community event in Carnegie I had opportunity to chat with Carol Dlugos of the Carnegie Historical Society. She told me of the slow but steady renovations to the Husler Bldg on Main St., home to the Historical Society. I mentioned that Carnegie's first High Holiday services were conducted in the ballroom of the Husler Bldg., which she knew. And she told me that Dr. Husler was Jewish, which I did not know. That means that it wasn't just a coincidence that the Husler Building opened in February of 1896 and our first holiday services were conducted there that same September. Also, it's probably not a coincidence that Lincoln Savings Bank would be the ground floor tenant of the Husler Bldg. The president of Lincoln Savings was Saul Lipman, an active member of our shul. But I digress. I asked Carol if she knew anything of our first shul on Broadway St. and the fire that destroyed it in 1934. She promised to look into it.

Today I received an email from Carol with a photocopy of an article from the Bridgeville Signal. Before today, I never heard of this paper. It was a sister newspaper to the Carnegie Signal Item. Both were printed by the Knepper family. The papers shared reporters and many identical articles could be found in each paper. The pages that Carol sent me were from the Thursday, December 20, 1934 edition. The print is not very legible. I have transcribed the article to make it easier to read.

Fire Last Saturday Destroys Carnegie Jewish Synagogue

Firemen Fight Blaze for Three Hours—Holy Scrolls Saved by Members of Congregation—Damage Estimated at $6,500.

Flames last Saturday destroyed the Carnegie Jewish Synagogue of Congregation Ahavath Achim on Broadway near Jane Street. The fire broke out about 12:15 p.m., just 15 minutes after Rabbi Samuel Mallinger had concluded the morning services. An overheated furnace was given as the cause of the fire by fire chief Orian Baux who estimated the damage at $6,500.

The fire was discovered by a little negro lad, who was walking past the building. He hurried in to tell Harry Zemon who owns the building next-door and is a member of the congregation. Mr. Zemon and his brother-in-law Sam Klee of Plum Street, hurried to the fire and made an effort to enter the building through the front door. Smoke and flames made entrance impossible, and they ran to the rear of the building and Sam Klee forced his way into the building by breaking a window. He and Mr. Zemon, with the aid of Sam Bales and Charles Perilman, both members of the congregation, succeeded in saving five holy scrolls. The scrolls were the only contents of the building that were saved.

Fire Chief Baux with the aid of both night and day forces, fought the fire for three hours. The building was of frame construction, and they worked tirelessly to keep the fire from spreading, as there were frame structures on either side of the burning building. Three lines of hose were run into the building in an effort to save the synagogue from complete destruction, but a total loss resulted. Books and other valuables which fed the hungry flames, as well as the lumber of the building, which was erected about 30 years ago. Fire Captain George Ebner was cut on the chin by a piece of falling slate and firemen Milton Shulte was hurt in the foot when he stepped on a nail while entering the building with a line of hose. Both of the injured firemen were treated by Dr. Edward Klee.

-------------

Wow, there are certainly a lot of familiar names in this article. I thought perhaps the name Charles Perilman was misspelled because we have a Charles Perlman on our yahrzeit list. However, I noticed in this very same newspaper that the sports writer for the Signal Item was listed as Abe Perilman. So, either there was a Perilman family who are not in our records or this is simply a variation in name spelling which occurred so frequently.

The article says the shul was about 30 years old. That makes sense considering the charter of the congregation was signed in 1903. Although the first board meeting of the congregation was in 1898, a legal charter would have been necessary for the congregation to buy property and build a shul. In 2015 I wrote an article about the drafting and signing of the shul charter and you can read it HERE . I will try to get some additional information from our local newspapers about the construction of the first shul, which was located at 204 Broadway St.

On a different note, I am planning to do a story on the Beaver Falls shul which has connections with our shul, from it's very beginning until even today. If you have knowledge of the Beaver Falls shul and you would like to be a resource, you can reach me at info@thecarnegieshul.org.

Dorothy and Kurlie Miller

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:36:22 GMT

Dorothy and Kurlie Miller

Over the past few months I have been troubleshooting a shul email problem, so if you've gotten a lot of "test" emails from me I apologize. Or maybe you didn't get any! Gmail was blocking our email. They aren't blocking us now, but check your spam folder. I am making progress, and I hope that most of our 150 subscribers receive email notification of new blog postings. While I was working on this email problem I had back-burnered a story about Dorothy and Alfred "Kurlie" Miller. Maybe now is a good time to share it.

In a small town like Carnegie there are paths that cross, and we are treated to the occasional unexpected surprise. This is one of those surprises. My dear friend and fellow councilman Phil Boyd handed me an envelope one day and said, "here, this is for you". Inside the envelope was a mezuzah. For our non-Jewish readers, a mezuzah is a small decorative container that is affixed to a doorpost in a Jewish home. Inside the case is a lambskin parchment with hand written paragraphs of Hebrew scripture. The writing of mezuzah scrolls is an amazing skill and the scribes go through rigorous training. The scroll at the right is only 2 inches wide. So, imagine writing these scrolls for a living. (you can click on any of these photos to see more detail) I asked Phil where he got this artifact. He said he found it in a box of things that he brought over from his old house. Phil and his wife Cheryl had recently sold their home on Center Ave after having lived there for almost 35 years. As it turns out, they bought the house from Dorothy Miller in 1987. Phil had grown up next door to Kurlie and Dorothy Miller and from his youth was very fond of Kurlie. When Dorothy decided to sell the house, Phil bought it. It is customary to take your mezuzahs with you when you move, unless a Jewish family is moving in behind you. Dorothy took all her mezuzahs, but one got left behind on a basement doorframe.

Kurlie and Dorothy were part of the large Miller family in Carnegie, which included Izzy and Morry of Izzy Miller Furniture fame. Phil credits Kurlie for teaching him how to do math. Kurlie would take the young Phil to the grocery store and they would have a contest. They had to keep track of the total cost of all the goods in the shopping cart, subtracting the value of coupons. And they did this in their heads! When they got to the cashier they would see who was correct. More often than not they would catch an error that the cashier made. I could tell how much the story meant to Phil because he had a smile that covered his whole face while he was telling me.

I never had an opportunity to meet the Millers. Kurlie passed away in 1982 and Dorothy retired out of state after she sold the house in '87. Here's a picture of Dorothy, Phil's Aunt Margaret, and Kurlie. I don't know where this photo was taken, but it kinda looks like the shul social hall back in the '70s.

At shul we have some Torah covers that were donated to the shul in Kurlie's memory. Here is one of them. Above his embroidered English name is his Hebrew name, Abraham Sender Miller. The Yiddish name Sender has a great history and includes the similar names Sander, Sanford, etc. Well known are Michigan Congressman Sander Levin and baseball great Sanford "Sandy" Koufax. These names are derived from the name Alexander, which can be split phoenetically in two: Alek Sander. Jews named their sons Alexander, Sender, or Sander in tribute to Alexander the Great, who treated the Jews in his empire justly and preserved the Temple in Jerusalem when he conquered the Middle East. Two of our shul's Alexes include Dr. Alexander "Alex" Sax, son of Ike Sax of blessed memory, and Aleksandr Shenderovich, father of the twins.

So, back to the beginning of the story. The mezuzah is not in very good shape. The case could be cleaned up, but the parchment is in poor condition. The case is not waterproof and the parchment has some water damage. It's probably not kosher. I don't know if buying a new parchment is an option because it is unusually small. And without a parchment, the case is just a decoration. I suggest that it would make a nice keepsake if someone in the Miller family wants to claim it. Just drop me a line. It's sitting on my office desk.

Feel free to share some memories of Dorothy and Kurlie, and did I forget any Sandies?

Be well everyone. Rick

Artifacts from the Shul Library

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 12:31:28 GMT

Artifacts from the Shul Library

From time to time I come across some hidden treasures in the shul library. Typically, they are things long forgotten. But they offer a glimpse into the past, not just of the individuals involved, but of shul life and Carnegie life.

I am sharing two items that you will appreciate. First is a Hebrew bible issued to Bernie Roth during WWII. Long timers at the shul remember Bernie as a good man who was dedicated to his family and the shul. The house at 416 Anthony still stands, and can be easily seen when standing in front of the shul.

The second item is a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird". You may know one or more of the names on the library loan card. And as a bonus, there was an Easter egg (can I say that on a Jewish blog?) inside the book. Buried in the middle pages was a little gift left by a budding artist for us to find decades later; a small scrap of paper that looks like it was torn from the bottom of a newspaper. It's a little over 2 inches long and features a mockingbird being pierced by daggers. It would be easy to dismiss this but I as I looked closer I was immediately impressed by the artwork. No simple stick figure, the bird is shaded to provide contour. And I was especially struck by the stylizing of the word "kill". It plays with the shape of the letters and at the same time invokes the chaos of daggers coming from all directions. Some of the letters in "mockingbird" are triangular in shape and out of alignment to continue the theme. My goodness, quite impressive for a doodle on a piece of scrap paper! I hope this young person, who appears to be "DB" or "LB", went on to develop their natural gift for art.

Susan Stein and Joe Klee pay a visit

Sun, 17 Feb 2019 12:25:06 GMT

Susan Stein and Joe Klee pay a visit

On Shabbos, Feb 9, we had two special visitors at the shul.

Susan Stein lives on the upper West Side of Manhattan, but she's not home often. She travels the country and the world performing her play "Etty" about the life of Etty Hillesom. Etty was a Dutch Jew who was murdered at Auschwitz when she was 29. She left behind diaries that give a glimpse of the last few years of her life. Susan gave 4 performances of her play at Carnegie Stage, one of two live theaters we have in Carnegie. And while in town she also managed to conduct the play for over 300 school students. And come to shul on Saturday morning! We were delighted to have her. She participated in services and stayed afterward for Kiddush. If you missed her performance, you can take 30 minutes and watch this interview she gave to Lynn Cullen .

At the end of services a young man came into the shul just looking around (he didn't appear dangerous). I introduced myself and he said he was Joe Klee. He was in town on business and his father had advised him to visit the Carnegie Shul while in Pittsburgh. Well, as Dr. Block would say, "there are no coincidences". Just 10 minutes earlier, while announcing yahrzeits, I mentioned that on Tuesday we would remember Dr. Harry A. Klee who was the main benefactor for the construction of our shul. His name appears on the cornerstone of our building. Joe stayed for Kiddush and afterwards I showed him the plaques for the Klee family on our yahrzeit tablets. The Klee family was numerous and one of Joe's forefathers, Selig Klee, was a charter member of the congregation 120 years ago. The following day, I spoke with Joe's father on the phone, Harvey Klee. Harvey explained that his parents were Joseph Klee and Rose Nadel. His grandparents were Hyman Klee and Lena Wilk. I was not aware of the Wilk connection, and will be looking forward to comments from the Wilk family.

As a complete aside, I saw Ethel Sherman McCarthy at the Pour House on Saturday night. She was there celebrating the birthday and retirement of her best friend, Cheryl Riley. As some of you know, Jim and Cheryl have sold the Pour House and are retiring to Florida. Of course I told Ethel that we would like to see her more frequently at shul. Her grandfather Markus Sherman was the founder of our congregation. The minyan met in his house from 1896 until 1903 when they built the first shul on Broadway St.

The great Klan rally in Carnegie

Fri, 25 Aug 2017 12:22:42 GMT

The great Klan rally in Carnegie

Today is the anniversary of the great Ku Klux Klan rally in Carnegie in 1923.

We have to give the Klan credit for one thing— their message is consistent. Their grievances today are exactly the same as they were 94 years ago. In the attached August 29, 1923 edition of the Imperial Night-Hawk, the Grand Dragon of South Carolina says the mission of the Klan is "to prevent America from becoming the melting pot or dumping ground of the world for the heterogeneous element seeking admission to our shores". Further, he states, "Paupers, diseased and criminals predominate among those who land upon American soil!" Does that sound familiar? It's paradoxical that these diseased and criminal immigrants of the early 1900s would survive the Great Depression of the 30s, save the world from Nazis in the 40s, and build the world's most powerful industrial economy in the 50s. They and their children became what Tom Brokaw described as the Greatest Generation.

While the Klan likes to describe how immigrants are a social and economic burden to America, their real concern is that most of the immigrants aren't white. The influx of non-whites represents a danger to "white supremacy", a term which appears in this 1923 issue and is not a recent invention. To have even a basic understanding of white supremacy it is critical that you understand their definition of "white". It's one of the things that is today forgotten, and in fact many young people never knew in the first place. The Klan definition of "white" doesn't just refer to skin color— it includes religion and national origin. We used to use the term WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) to describe who was white. That term has gone somewhat out of vogue, but is still very much relevant. We must be reminded that if you are a Jew, you are not white. If you are a Catholic, you are not white. If you are Italian, Hungarian, Greek, or Japanese, you are not white. Etc, etc, etc. Some will say that things have changed over the years and that "white" and WASP are no longer synonymous. But in Charlottesville we watched white supremacists marching alongside neo-Nazis. Don't be fooled into thinking there is a new kinder, more inclusive, less dangerous white supremacy out there. There isn't. Here in western Pennsylvania, white supremacists represent the biggest threat of terrorism. Don't take my word for it; ask the FBI.

You should take 15 minutes to read the entire issue of The Imperial Night-Hawk that I've attached. It has extensive coverage of the Carnegie rally that it claims drew 25,000 marchers and ended with one Klansman being shot to death. It's enlightening. Click on the photo.

The Advance of Art in Carnegie

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 12:20:07 GMT

The Advance of Art in Carnegie

My friend Phil Salvato is fond of pointing out that a community that has art is a community that thrives in all other aspects— shops, restaurants, business, housing. When we look at the revival of Carnegie over the past few years, it is obvious that the arts are certainly a factor. Although we do have the 3rd Street Gallery and The Clay Place , I would point to music and live theater as major developments. Phil himself, while being mostly known for his painting, has been a tireless promoter of jazz in Carnegie for the past 20 years. The Pour House brings live music to Carnegie every Tues-Sat evenings. But what actually sets the Pour House apart from other taverns is that they also have live music during lunchtime and happy hour. Our Carnegie Library Music Hall (which also is known by its awkward but appropriate nickname, the Carnegie Carnegie) rounds out the musical offerings in the borough with performances ranging from opera to chamber music to choral works appropriate for that grand venue.

Just as significant as the growth of music is the growth of live theater in Carnegie. Our Music Hall hosts two resident theater companies— Pittsburgh Savoyards and Stage 62. These two very different theater companies have loyal followers in the Pittsburgh area and draw a lot of people into town from other communities. More recently, Hans and Virginia Gruenert moved Off the Wall Theater from Washington, PA to Main Street. Newly reorganized as The Carnegie Stage, it hosts the Off The Wall Theater company and the Firewall Dance company. This month The Carnegie Stage is hosting New Works Festival, a month long program of brand new one-act plays. This long running annual festival moved to Carnegie three years ago in another sign of Carnegie's burgeoning theater scene.

The growth of the music and theater scene has caused a boom in new restaurants and shops in Carnegie. This in turn has caused other businesses, like engineering and software companies to want to locate in Carnegie. This Main Street 'vibe' helps them attract and retain employees. The spin off effects are real and observable. How many of you can say that you can walk from your office to have lunch at one of 10 unique non-chain restaurants? And that's not counting the ice cream shop at Flying Squirrel. Critics of course will say that they can go to many other venues to hear live music and see live theater. That's true. And they will say that they can drive to any restaurant they want. And that's true, too. But what they can not say is that all of those things are in walking distance from their home and office. Yes, it's great that we are bringing guests into town from neighboring communities. But while many communities claim that they are "great places to live, work, and play", Carnegie is actually doing it.

OK, the original intent of this story was to tell you about two special guests we had at shul for Yom Kippur. But I migrated into talking about how great Carnegie is, and I can't ever turn that spigot off!

I made several new acquaintances during the Holidays, including Harry Scheyer, Philip Green, and Ed Elikan. But of special interest were two women who are visiting Carnegie on arts related projects. They were surprised to learn that there was a shul in Carnegie, and that they could attend Yom Kippur services here, and it was close enough to walk!

Andrea Lepcio is a playwright who has lived most of her life in Boston. Her play Searching for the Pony debuted here in Carnegie last year, and I know some of you saw it. It is the story of a family dealing with breast cancer. Well, Andrea is back. Her newest play Tunnel Vision will have its world premiere here in Carnegie on October 16. It will run for two weeks at The Carnegie Stage on Main Street before heading to lesser known theater towns like NYC. Andrea will be here in Carnegie for the next month or so, as she helps the cast prepare. She told me that we should expect to see her at the shul during that time. Click HERE for more information about her upcoming production.

As Carnegie continues to renew itself, we should expect that events such as the visit of Andrea Lepcio and France Hilbert will become more typical and less rare.

Note: it's important to clarify that the above photo of Andrea and France in the sanctuary was not taken during the Yomtov; I took it after the Wednesday Maariv service following the conclusion of Yom Kippur. —Rick

Founders Day

Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:16:57 GMT

Founders Day

Each year on Shabbos Zachor we take a moment to remember Markus Sherman, the man who founded our congregation. His yahrzeit is just two days before Purim. The Sherman family was one of the first Jewish families to move to Carnegie and by the Spring of 1896 there were enough families to form a small congregation. Initially they met in the Sherman home. But Carnegie was in a dramatic growth mode and soon the congregation outgrew the Sherman house. The congregation had its first board meeting in May of 1898 and just a few more years after that board decided that the congregation had grown big enough to require its own building. In 1903 the board filed incorporation papers with the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. The charter stated, "The purpose of this corporation shall be the worshiping of the Almighty God according to the faith, doctrines, discipline and usages of the Orthodox Jewish Church". If you find the term Jewish Church odd, I will tell you that in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania all religious institutions are referred to as churches. This terminology has an interesting history, on which I will elaborate at another time.

There were 15 signers on the original charter. Some were names that are well known to us even today: Sherman, Klee, York, Miller, Speizer. Others we have lost track of. One of those names was Falk Kanterowitz; he is listed as one of the first officers of the congregation. To me, he was just a name on a piece of paper until in 2009 a man named Abraham Goldberg contacted me from Jerusalem. He asked if we had information on Falk Kantor, the first president of the Carnegie shul. Wow! Who would expect such an email? He was doing research on the Silverstone family, a well known rabbinic family in Liverpool, England. Well, I dug up for him what I could, which wasn't much. Together, Abraham and I pieced together information by combining what he had from family records and what we could find in the Criterion, the old Pittsburgh Jewish paper.

Hungarians

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:14:47 GMT

Hungarians

Last month I told you about a controversial Holocaust memorial in Budapest. Today, on this last day before Hanukkah, let me share a photo I received this week from Budapest. It requires no explanation.

This past Shabbos we had a very nice Kiddush in honor of two members of the Sherman family: Connie and Dr. Sam Sherman. It was hosted by their daughter Patty Barnet and her husband Alan. Sam was the youngest child of Markus Sherman, our shul's founder. I told Patty that each year on the Shabbos before Markus' yahrzeit we have what amounts to an informal "founders day" simply by remembering Markus and his contribution to us. This year that will fall on Feb 28, and Patty said she would like to be present. Many of you know that the Carnegie Shul was founded primarily by Hungarians, and that includes the Sherman family. Most of the Hungarian immigrants came to Carnegie well over 100 years ago, but the path to Carnegie was not always direct. There were many Hungarian Jews in the Homestead-Braddock area and some of those families came to Carnegie. Others took a different path. Ike and Miriam Sax left Hungary in 1952 (not a simple feat to accomplish during the early Cold War years) and after some intermediate transit stops, came to settle directly in Carnegie. Aside from Patty, we have contact with the descendants of other original charter signers Benjamin Turk and Falk Kantor. Perhaps this year we can embellish our "founders day" remembrance by inviting them. Mark your calendar: February 28.

I hope you have a festive Hanukkah, and I welcome your comments about the Hungarian families in our shul.

GetGo Project Underway

Tue, 18 Nov 2014 12:13:27 GMT

The Giant Eagle GetGo in Gibsonia

For many months we have been reporting that Giant Eagle was in the process of purchasing property across the street from the shul. Well, things are finally happening. On Friday, October 31, they completed the property closings. Last Monday, Borough Council approved the "vacation" of a portion of Williams Street that runs through the middle of the property. And yesterday, the demolition crew started razing buildings.

What does this mean for us? Firstly, it means some parking concerns that we will need to address. The parking lot directly across from the shul had belonged to the Fulton family. About 40 years Al Fulton, who owned the Buick dealership on Main St., had given us permission to use his lot on Saturday mornings indefinitely. Fulton Buick is now long closed. Al's son Pete owned the property in recent years. Now it belongs to Giant Eagle. In that parking lot there will soon be a convenience store. Certainly, when they open we will approach the manager about using some spaces on Saturday mornings. But in the meantime we will need to use what we can. There are generally about 6 spaces on the street near the shul. And I have spoken with the manager of CVS. She has given us permission to use available spaces in the farthest row from the store (the row next to Lydia Street). That should take care of our normal Saturday morning minyan. But we will also be talking with the new owners of the Xytec building (the glass and aluminum office building on Lydia Street just past the shul). That company is called Heyl & Patterson. They purchased the building earlier this year.

The good news is that this vacant property will now be renovated and be an asset to our community. The long term viability of our congregation depends on us being in a healthy neighborhood. Having a new GetGo across the street will bring some new life to the area, just as the CVS did.

Special Program - Sunday Nov. 16 at 7 pm.

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 12:10:09 GMT

Special Program - Sunday Nov. 16 at 7 pm.

New Paragraph

Budapest Holocaust Memorial

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:08:28 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

On Monday I returned from a two week trip to Europe that included business, politics, and visiting with a lot of old friends. The first leg of that trip was Budapest. I was there to support my friend Andor Schmuck, President of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party. I attended a number of events during my 4 days there including this press conference leading up to municipal elections on Oct 12.

But that's not what I want to tell you about. This press conference took place at in a small coffee shop in the center of Freedom Square, a park in the middle of Budapest that contains various political statues and memorials. On the edge of the square the government has erected a memorial to the 600,000 Hungarian Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust. This project was completed without consulting the remnant Jewish population (about 40,000). When you understand the purpose of the memorial you will understand why the Jewish community was not consulted and why they have, and continue to, protest loudly.

The purpose of the memorial is to lay the blame entirely on the Germans. The inscription on the memorial disavows any cooperation by the Hungarian government or the Hungarian people. This is a total fabrication and everyone in Hungary knows it. Goebbels himself stated that within weeks of his arrival in Budapest he received thousands of letters from Hungarians giving the names and addresses of their Jewish neighbors. And the Hungarian police volunteered to round up Hungarian Jews. In this letter , Goebbels commented on how cooperative the Hungarians were. It should therefore be expected that Hungarian Jews would protest this memorial. In the pictures below you will see the nature of the protest. People place photos of dead family members, personal memorabilia, written stories, and candles. They also place stones— I think all of us recognize the significance of the stones. They have in fact created their own Holocaust memorial in front of the government version. It's a powerful statement. Frankly, I am quite amazed that the government permits this protest. It has been going on for many months now, with no sign of abatement. In the following pictures you will see Andor explaining the memorial and the protest to me. Then we head off to the press conference.

Birthday and Anniversary

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:30:08 GMT

Birthday and Anniversary

[caption id="attachment_1488" align="alignright" width="224"] Carl Schiffman - Bob Adler[/caption]

Last month, Bob Adler celebrated his 94th birthday by leading almost the entire Shabbos morning service, including the Preliminary, Shachris, and Mussaf services. May we all be so fortunate to live to such an age and be so capable. Bob also volunteers one day a week at St. Clair Hospital and another day each week at a nursing home near the Galleria.

Bob is a long time fixture at the Carnegie Shul. Although he's been to a lot of shuls in the Pittsburgh area, he likes Carnegie the best. Bob first came to America in the 1930s; his parents sent him to live with relatives in NYC because things were getting worse in his native Germany. He would never see his parents again. He spent most of his adult years in NYC with his dear wife Ethel; may her memory be for a blessing. There, he became a big NY Rangers hockey fan. Eventually, he and Ethel retired to Pittsburgh to be closer to his daughter Ronni, her husband Carl, and their kids. We are very fortunate to have him.

This coming Saturday, Carl Schiffman will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his bar mitzvah. Carl will lead most of the morning services just as his father-in-law did last month. And he will hope to do as well as his mentor. For those who don't know Carl, he and Ronni are attorneys and have a practice in Pittsburgh near Mercy Hospital. Carl's peers have voted him one of Pittsburgh's "super lawyers". But sometimes I think he finds his antique cars more interesting. We're all looking forward to a joyous Shabbos morning.

Last week I sent out an email message informing everyone about some problems that we are having with this blog. It appears that not everyone is receiving the notices; and at this point we haven't solved it. About 30 people out of 78 subscribers responded that they received that recent message. The messages may be going into be people's junk mail folders or there may be a problem with the mail server. We will continue to investigate.

be well.

50th Anniversary Program

Wed, 30 Apr 2014 10:28:27 GMT

50th Anniversary Program

Friends, most of you know the basic story of our congregation's founding. You know that services were first held in the Sherman home in 1896 and the first High Holidays that same year were held in the Husler Building, now owned by the Historical Society of Carnegie. You may not know that our congregation was officially chartered in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1903. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of that charter, the congregation held a celebratory dinner. I have attached the program booklet from that affair. It is quite a fascinating look at our past. Click HERE .

Not only can we reminisce about the businesses on Main St. where we used to shop or eat lunch, we get to see a lot of names and faces of past friends and family. One of the things that caught my attention was that women didn't appear to have first names back then. They were Mrs. Irving Bendis or Mrs. Bernie Roth. Times have changed and that's part of the joy of looking at historical documents.

Thanks to my daughter Melissa for scanning this document into the computer. Feel free to share with others in the community who may be interested in Carnegie history. PS. The shul president at the time of the original charter in 1903 was Falk Kantor. There's a lot of history to be told about Mr. Kantor. Last year I met with his great granddaughter, Florence Bebo. I will be posting a lengthy story about the Kantors this summer. It's going to take me a while to assemble all the story which has connections to Liverpool, England, Washington DC, Beaver Falls, PA and our home town of Carnegie.

The Zero Hour

Sun, 27 Oct 2013 10:25:53 GMT

The Zero Hour

Many of you are aware that there is a new theater in Carnegie named Off The Wall. It is located on Main Street across from Citizens Bank and opened about a year ago. Formerly this company was located in Washington, PA but moved to Carnegie because of our superior location near Pittsburgh and the western suburbs (shameless plug for Carnegie by local borough councilman). OTW presents unusual and uncommon plays. This isn't the typical fare that you would see in large productions in the city. But that's fine with us. We have two live theaters in Carnegie and they each have their niche.

Recent offerings include a play about a woman with dementia and her estrangement from her husband. Another dealt with a strained mother-daughter relationship and breast cancer. Today I'm writing to tell you about a play currently being performed at OTW called The Zero Hour. It stars Erika Cuenca and Daina Michelle Griffith, and was written by Brooklyn playwright Madeleine George. It's directed by Robyne Parrish. The lead character, Rebecca, writes textbooks for a New York publishing house and has been tasked with writing a chapter on the Holocaust for 7th graders. Because the textbook has to be marketable throughout the U.S., including the Bible Belt, she has to be careful about what she says. As a Jew, and a homosexual, there's much she would like to say but isn't allowed. She finds the task stressful, to say the least. And of course, any good story has complications that add to the tension. There's her roommate/lover who won't get a job. And, there's the guilt/stress of hiding her roommate from her mother. As Rebecca's stress mounts she starts hallucinating— Nazis appear on the train when she comes home from work at night, and they engage her in lengthy conversations. The whole script is excellent. I especially liked the intertwining of the "living a lie" theme as Rebecca describes a "closet" Jew living with false papers in Berlin, while Rebecca herself is hiding her true life from her mother. I also liked how Rebecca struggles with how to make the Holocaust relevant to 7th graders. She can't describe the enormity of it all— how many Shea Stadiums full of people are we talking about? Her descriptions of the text book modules are priceless.

The acting is very good all around, with Erika giving an especially strong performance as Rebecca. Each of the two leads play 4 or more characters each, which means that they had extensive lines to memorize and have to change costume, accent, and personality repeatedly throughout the play. The numerous costume changes are done on-stage which adds a physicality to the play and an extra challenge to the actors. The set design is excellent, including subway cars, with lighting and sound effects that mimic being in the underground. I give the cast and crew high marks for an emotionally moving and intellectually stimulating performance.

It's not often that we get a Holocaust themed play in Carnegie. I am probably understating the obvious; we probably have never had a Holocaust themed play in Carnegie! That said, this play is not for everyone. There is overt lesbian sexuality portrayed in some scenes. If you are offended by two women kissing and fondling, you may wish to stay home. The play is running for two more weekends. Members of the Carnegie Shul get a substantial discount on ticket sales; you can call me if you want more info. The OTW website is here .

Old Shul Board Photo

Wed, 14 Aug 2013 10:24:37 GMT

Old Shul Board Photo

Occasionally, while rummaging through files at the shul, I come across an item of general interest— in this case a water-damaged photo of what appears to be the Board of Directors and Officers of the shul. I believe that the officers are sitting in the front and board members in the back. But since all of these men are before my time, I don't know their names. This information is important for our archives, so I am asking for your help. I also would like your opinion on the possible year (plus or minus) that this may have been taken. If you know the names of these folks, please respond below where it indicates to Leave a Comment. Please don't send your comments by email.

I have a clue that may be helpful. In very faded handwriting at the bottom of the original photo are the names of the men. They are barely visible. But I scanned it, and manipulated the contrast and density the best I could in order to make them even somewhat readable. Some of the names appear to be Herbert Isaacs, Miller, Ziontz, Moskovitz, George Raskin, and Edward Klee. You can CLICK on either of these to get the enlarged versions, which also may be helpful.

Happy sleuthing!

From Israel to Carnegie to Washington

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:23:10 GMT

From Israel to Carnegie to Washington

Al Brunwasser sent me an interesting story to share with the congregation. It appeared in the bulletin of Adas Israel congregation in Washington DC. The story is about Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen. Please see the article at the right. Who knew that the guy who started Giant groceries was from Carnegie? Coincidently, Al tells me that his great uncle Joe Cohen had a fruit market just up the street in Glendale way back in the day.

Izzy

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 10:21:51 GMT

IZZY

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Pesach. This is a great time of the year. Spring weather making its first appearances. Family gatherings. Kids and grandkids. Digging the golf clubs out of the garage.

But part of our tradition is to always balance our simchas with reminders that not everyone is sharing a joyous Springtime. As most of you know, Izzy Horowitz had a heart attack and is recuperating at the Jewish Home in Homestead (Charles Morris Rehab). Izzy has been a valued member of our congregation for over 40 years. Each Shabbos morning he would set out Kiddush for us. He took special delight in making sure we had the various cakes, bagels, and cheeses necessary for a delightful lunch. Now he's at Charles Morris and we are missing him every Shabbos.

The doctors say that he is not eating as well as he should be. Perhaps if we take the time to pay him a visit, as Joey did just before Peaach, he will find renewed spirit and interest in returning to his apartment in Carnegie. And this might spur him to a stronger appetite and regaining his strength. It would be a big mitzvah.

I hope all of you continue to be blessed during this Pesach season. Be reminded that we will have morning services for the last two days of Pesach, this Friday and Saturday, with Yizkor service on Saturday. As weekday holiday services are difficult for some, we would especially appreciate it if you are available to help make minyan on Friday morning.

Be well,
Rick

Rabbi Brotsky to visit Carnegie

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:21:09 GMT

Rabbi Brotsky to visit Carnegie

Just a quick note to everyone that Rabbi Harvey Brotsky will be visiting the Carnegie Shul this coming Shabbos, January 28, for morning services. In 2009, Rabbi Brotsky retired from New Light Congregation after 25 years of service. He and his wife continue to live in Squirrel Hill but have taken time to travel. This weekend he will be traveling all the way to Carnegie to spend a Shabbos morning with us!

I am fairly certain we will be able to impose upon the rabbi to daven part of the service. As a reminder, preliminary services start at 9:20 and Shachris starts at 9:40. I hope that many of you will be able to join us and welcome Rabbi Brotsky to Carnegie. Following services, we will have our usual Kiddush— bagels, cheese, and fish. This week's Kiddush is sponsored by Burt Dodick.

Carnegie Rabbis

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:18:48 GMT

Carnegie Rabbis

When this conversation started, I thought it would a simple one. But it has yielded some very interesting comments and I realized I should have posted it here on the blog so that everyone could see and comment.

This dialogue started with a request from Lynn Donovan asking who were the rabbis when she was a member here between 1958 to 1965. Since my source of historical data, Stan Roth, is no longer with us I sent out an email asking for information. Let me post the responses here and you all can continue the conversation directly.

From Brenda Miller I received the following:
"my husband Larry (Izzy Miller Furniture) and I were married in 1960. Rabbi Rudolph Weiss was the Rabbi who officiated and was the rabbi until 1965. He may have been here longer than that but I do know after he went elsewhere we interviewed a number of rabbi's, but I don't remember any being hired. I started teaching Sunday School around 1966 and the only person I recall taking charge was Stan Roth.Hope this helps. I was the one who went to the rabbi's from Beth El and Temple Emanuel to see if we could start sending our children to one of their Religious school's. We were taken in by Temple Emanuel, they gave membership to the families who had children in religious school. Some of the families joined on their own after their children were Confirmed. During the High Holidays we hired student rabbi's to conduct services."

From Roger Wilk,
"I believe the Rabbi at the time you refer to was Rabbi Rudolph Weiss. I will try and find a document that states that, but since I lived there at that time and Morris was President until 1963 I believe I am correct."

From Morry Miller,
"Rabbi Rudolph Weiss was a holocost survivor and bore a numbered arm tatoo. Prior to Rabbi Weiss was Rabbi Helfgot. My brother Larry and I had our Bar Mitzvah in the Shule in December of 1949. The Party was held in the downstairs social hall."

Lynn adds a follow-up question,
"Do you know why Rabbi Weiss left and where he went?

The photo of Rabbi Weiss is from the Shul's 1953 Jubilee book. At some point I will scan in the entire book and post a link.

In the meantime, please feel free to add your answers/questions/comments below.

Penny Postcard

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:17:21 GMT

Penny Postcard

Thanks to Harris Tisherman for sending the link to this old postcard of Carnegie. I studied the picture but still haven't identified exactly what intersection I'm looking at. The hill in the far distance should be a clue, as should some of the taller brick buildings. Any help?

Mosque Mishegas

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:16:04 GMT

Mosque Mishegas

It's been quite a while since I've written anything— I've been busy! Debbie made an unexpected visit to the hospital for most of a week. That, plus her recovery, set us back a bit. But, the folks at St. Clair were very good to her and she has fully recovered. Thanks to all of you who sent well wishes. And my business has picked up after a couple pitiful years. I'm actually making a living now; hope it lasts! And finally, I've been immersed in all this furor over the fact that Muslims are going to be praying in Carnegie, heaven forbid. I've seen my name in the paper more times in the past two weeks than in the past 20 years. Today, I got a phone call from New York City. Yeh, the story is getting around.

[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignright" width="300"] former church; future mosque[/caption]

So, what's all the fuss about? Well, last year the Muslim congregation called Attawheed Islamic Center contacted our borough manager and said they were looking to buy a building in Carnegie. For 10 years they've been renting a space on Banksville Road, and now they've outgrown it. As it turned out, the building they had originally picked in Carnegie was not really appropriate for a worship site. Consequently, they decided that it wouldn't be worth the trouble and expense of trying to make it fit. But they really liked Carnegie. They like Carnegie for the same reasons we all like Carnegie. It's easy to get to (their congregation is spread all over the place, just like ours), convenient to the city, and has a nice Main Street business district. So, they kept looking in Carnegie for the right building. And they found it— the former First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Washington and Main.

As a member of Borough Council and president of the Carnegie Shul, I was placed square in the middle of this. What position would I take? But as controversial as it may sound, there wasn't any conflict for me and there wasn't any controversy within Council. Rightly so. The Muslim congregation submitted an application for use of the building, which is required for anyone who buys a building in the commercial district. The application was reviewed by the Planning Commission and they found no fault with the proposal. Our Code Enforcement Officer reviewed the application and found no fault with it. I'm sorry, but it's a "no brainer". A religious group buys an old church and wants to use it for worship services and Sunday school. We could have scrubbed through that application for the the rest of our lives and not found fault with it. But perhaps more to the point, Council wasn't looking to invent a reason to shoot it down. We view this development in a positive light. For decades people have been bailing out on Carnegie, and now there's a congregation that wants to come to Carnegie because they think Carnegie is a nice town. Council welcomes them and I welcome them. Carnegie is undergoing a bit of a resurgence right now and this development is part of that renewal. It's all good.

During this whole controversy, I must say that Police Chief Harbin has been on the right side. As a fellow Marine, he is not only my colleague in the borough building, but a good friend. His support of the Carnegie Shul has been steadfast for as long as I've known him, and I trust him completely. His number one mission is the safety of our citizens. He was on the scene when Baumhammers went on his shooting spree and he is well aware of what dangers lie in our community. He knows that during the past 15 years the FBI has doubled its presence in Western PA. Because of Muslims? No, because of the significant increase in Neo-Nazi and Klan activities in our region. With his hyper-vigilant demeanor, I am quite certain that he would have alerted me if he was concerned about Muslims moving into a church near the shul. On the contrary, he has always assured me that this new mosque is no security threat. So to the resident who spoke at the last council meeting and questioned the patriotism of council members and the Chief, I say, "go crawl back under the rock from whence you came." There is no one in Carnegie who is more concerned about our wellbeing than the Chief.

Last week an acquaintance suggested that I should vote for what's best for my congregation, not what's best for Carnegie. I could write an encyclopedia on what's wrong with that suggestion, but the short answer is that I have never observed a conflict between being a good Jew and being an good American. Jews have been abused in just about every country in the world, but in America we've had a pretty good life. It's not an accident or fate; it's not just a coincidence. It's America's liberal attitude about religion that is enshrined in the Constitution. The strength of that document, and the conviction of those who would die to defend it, is what has made America a good place for all of us to live. Two times in my life I have formally sworn a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution. I will not waiver from that pledge, and I won't apologize to bigots and racists.

I'll leave you with the words of President George Washington. During the early years of our republic, President Washington wanted to reassure the minority Jewish communities that they were safe in America— that our rights to worship as we please would be safeguarded in our Constitution. He wrote the following to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, RI. "The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for giving to Mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens".

God bless America.

Trib Story- June 11
Trib Story- June 14
Trib Story- June 25
PG Story- June 14
PG Story- June 16
Signal Item- June 23

(note particularly the bigoted and moronic comments by readers of the Signal Item)

Postscript on the Main Hotel

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:15:04 GMT

Postscript on the Main Hotel

[caption id="attachment_307" align="alignright" width="300"] The first bites are taken out of The Main as Sgt. Kennedy monitors the situation from Chestnut St.[/caption]

Last month, with some melancholy, I reported on the imminent demise of The Main Hotel. Like a neighbor who has been sitting next to a death bed, I can say now that The Main is gone. It is no more. And like the amputee who still feels those missing toes, I will still look over to that empty space and see The Main sitting there as it did for 107 years. Carol Brown at the PG caught notice of my blog and included it in her story about The Main .

I view the destruction of The Main as a collective community failure. Many old buildings, if structurally sound, are renovated and repurposed. Certainly it was feasible to save The Main. But the community will was absent. The community didn't view it as something to be saved. We have a strong sense of private property in America, and that leads us to believe that people can do with their property whatever they please. Sometimes those private property rights will conflict with the community interests and this is always controversial subject. Certainly this was the case when the UP church on Washington Ave was purchased and converted into a nightclub. Likewise, the purchaser of The Main had the right to renovate the building, sell it, raze it, or do nothing at all with it. And he exercised that right. And now a community landmark is gone.

My concern over the loss of The Main isn't just foolish sentimentality. Our local leaders (including myself) are marketing our borough to potential businesses and residents all over the county. And a main feature of that marketing effort is emphasizing our "small town" atmosphere and our quaint, old-time feel. In an article about our Thomas Espy Civil War Veterans Post, the Washington Post said of our town, "Its picture-perfect Main Street looks as though it has been lifted from a model railroad".

We think they are right and we think that people will come to Carnegie for that. However, my point is that last week we lost a building from the model railroad set. What will be next? The old Post Office, maybe? If I'm not mistaken, every building on Main Street is privately owned except for Husler Hall, the home of the Carnegie Historical Society. So, really, what is the future of our model railroad set? I'd be interested in your thoughts.

More pictures can be found here; click

Say Goodbye to The Main

Fri, 06 May 2011 10:13:51 GMT

Say Goodbye to The Main

A cultural institution in Carnegie will soon disappear. The Main Hotel is about 110 years old. It wasn't the only boarding house in Carnegie, but it is the best known and most remembered. It really represents another era— one that is foreign to us today. When you rented a room at The Main, you rented a room, literally. A bed, dresser, and nightstand. The bathroom was at the end of the hall and shared by everyone on the floor. You could rent a room by day, week, or month. There was a restaurant on the first floor.

We think back to traveling salesman, temp workers, and the occasional relative visiting from out of town— all within walking distance of their business here in Carnegie. And if the walk was a little too far, the streetcar conveniently stopped right in front of the hotel. We even utilized it here at the shul. When guest cantors would come in for High Holidays, they would stay at The Main. What could be more convenient than a hotel across the street from the shul.

But those days are passed. In its last decades, The Main was turned into low rent apartments. But the restaurant continued to flourish and was still a favorite of ours up until about 10 years ago. It was around that time that new owners came in, and representing the worst trait in business people, sucked the value out of the restaurant and declared bankruptcy. Then in September of 2004, Hurricane Ivan sealed the fate of The Main. It would now cost too much to restore the facility.

A couple days ago, CVS Pharmacy signed the real estate agreements and as you can see, fences have been put up around the block to prepare for demolition. I took this picture from the roof of the shul this morning as the sun was coming up. Just about everything in view will be torn down. The store will be located in the background, at the current location of the hotel and the house next to it. The houses in the foreground will be razed to make the parking lot. Yes, it will be a large store.

As Carnegie struggles to define its future, we make earnest efforts to save the parts of history that we can, and modernize where we have to. This will always be a balancing act.

Hoops for a Cure

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:10:56 GMT

Hoops for a Cure

Each year for the past 16 years we have looked forward to the Annual Hoops for a Cure basketball game. This project is the work of Adrienne Arenson, a long time member of the Carnegie Shul. Adrienne started this charity event when she lost her husband to pancreatic cancer. During these 16 years her charity has raised over $1 million for cancer research.

So, mark your calendars for Friday, April 15. As always the big match is between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chartiers Valley Faculty. Tickets are $7. Raffle tickets are an additional $10, and like last year, the grand prize is 2 tickets to the next Super Bowl.

If you have ever known someone with pancreatic cancer, you know that the survivability is low. This particular form of cancer is often found too late for effective treatment. I personally lost a close friend to pancreatic cancer. He was only 52. And I have two acquaintances in Minnesota who, right now, are suffering with this cancer. The prognosis for both of them, I'm sorry to say, is not very good. So, I will be at the game. And I will be hoping that someday the team at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center will find a cure.

See the flyer by clicking here, Hoops for a Cure . Pass this on to your friends.

be well, and good Shabbos,
Rick

Charles Kaufman

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 10:08:54 GMT

Charles Kaufman

The story of Charles Kaufman is an interesting one. I did not know him, nor did anyone at the shul ever mention his name to me. Stan knew every Jew in Carnegie, but I don't believe he knew of Mr. Kaufman. I'm sure he would have told me if he did.

It's fascinating to me to compare the difference between old and new lifestyles. Mr. Kaufman was a multi-millionaire, yet lived in a simple apartment. When he died, he left all his money ($50M) to foundations dedicated to the community good and the advancement of science. I am not surprised that he was living in Carnegie. It was not unusual to find hidden millionaires in our town. At one time there were many wealthy people in Carnegie, but you wouldn't have known it from looking at their homes. They lived in modest little brick homes; their kids grew up sharing cramped bedrooms. I suppose their lifestyle was a result of growing up during the Depression. They knew what it was like to have little or nothing, and therefore, even when the economy was booming they were frugal— always anticipating that another Depression was right around the bend. Younger people today (including myself) are numbered among those who "knew not the Great Depression". Those who have wealth are spending it on ostentatious homes, fancy cars, and lavish vacations. They will not have $50 million of spare change laying around to donate to a foundation, and if they did, they would leave it to their kids so that they too can have expensive homes and lavish vacations.

This is the nature of modern society. Success is measured by the amount of stuff you have, not the quality of the life you lived. We see it all around us. Even today for example: taxes on the wealthy are the lowest they've been in 50 years, falling from 91% during the Eisenhower administration to the current 35%. Yet the number one priority for our federal government is to reduce taxes for the richest Americans. I suppose it wouldn't be such a big deal if all wealthy people were like Mr. Kaufman, giving back their wealth to the community when they died. But the fact is that people like Mr. Kaufman are becoming more rare each passing day, and our country will be poorer for it.

See the full story in the Post Gazette .

Anne Zemon

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:05:04 GMT

Anne Zemon

This month we lost a longtime member of the Carnegie Shul— Anne Zemon. Although I didn't know Anne, her son Alan has been a regular attendee of our High Holiday services and her son Harry always stops into the shul when he is back in Pittsburgh. The following obit appeared in the Carnegie Signal Item this week.

Anne (Horovitz) Zemon, of Carnegie, died on Oct. 4, 2010.

She was the wife of the late Leonard Zemon; mother of Harry (Sharon) Zemon of St. Augustine, Fla., and Alan K. Zemon of Carnegie; sister of the late Saul Horovitz, Jane Cohen and Betty Psigoda; grandmother of Roslyn and Marci Zemon; she was also survived by nieces and nephews.

Arrangements were entrusted to Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., Shadyside. Burial was in New Light Cemetery.

Contributions can be made to Alzheimer's Association (Greater Pittsburgh Chapter), 1100 Liberty Ave Ste. E-201, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Tashlich

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:04:23 GMT

Tashlich

The first day of Rosh Hashanah also happened to be the first day of the Carnegie Borough Festival. While we were in shul, our Public Works department was setting up the bandstands and vendors were setting up their booths. Local Carnegie artist Bernadette Kazmarski was setting up her own booth where she sells her artwork. Normally, Bernadette and I are both volunteering at the festival, although my assistance was limited by our holidays. When Bernadette learned of the coincidence she asked if it was ok for her to photograph our Tashlich service at Chartiers Creek. The creek is one of her favorite art subjects and this would add another piece to the history of the creek. See her blog posting at this link:

Bernadette's Blog

Jewish War Veterans

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:03:28 GMT

Jewish War Veterans

On Sunday, a small group of Jewish military veterans gathered in our Social Hall for meeting and eating. They are members of Post #785, The Sandford Baer Post of the South Hills. The guest speaker was Clarence "Code" Gomberg of Post #499. Code (pronounced Cody) is active in state and national JWV affairs and gave an update.

"As with all veterans groups, our numbers get smaller each year because most of the members are WWII vets. In recent years, the American Legion closed 12 posts in Allegheny County. While the JWV is obviously much smaller than the Legion and VFW, it is important that we maintain the 5 posts we have in Allegheny County without further closures and mergers. We must find a way to connect with Jewish veterans when they separate from the service. When I came out of the service after WWII, I was directed to a JWV officer to find out what help or services I could receive. That doesn't happen now and we need to change that. Also, we need to find a way to bring in our Vietnam era and Gulf War era veterans, although there simply aren't that many of them".

The group posed for a picture and then shared in a meal of salmon cakes and vegetables. A shul member donated a cake for the luncheon and in the icing it read "Thank You JWV #785". There were many compliments on the Social Hall renovations. And I suggested to Code that we could offer the Post a permanent home here in Carnegie. By having a resident location we would be able to recruit more successfully and find those Jewish veterans in the South Hills and West Hills areas. There are certainly more veterans in our local South Hills congregations, even some in our own congregation, who don't know about the JWV. His response was, "it certainly would be helpful. Let's consider that option."

Pictured left to right seated: Geri Gomberg, Roseann Tisherman, Isadore Horowitz, Leslie Clifford. Standing: Richard D'Loss, Albert Brunwasser, Martin Shor, Morton Lowe, Clarence Gomberg, Harris Tisherman. click on photo for enlargement

Social Hall renovations near conclusion

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:01:16 GMT

Social Hall renovations near conclusion

Although taking a little longer than anticipated, the renovations to the social hall are nearing conclusion. All that remains is trimming around doors and windows. Should be all done in another week or so. We are anticipating that the first formal user of the new social hall will be the Jewish War Veterans. Our shul is hosting their annual luncheon in July. If you are a member of the Baer Post of the JWV, I hope to see you then. Contact Izzy Horowitz for details.

Machsikei Hadas Cemetery

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:59:42 GMT

Machsikei Hadas Cemetery

Some of you know Dave Bertenthal. He's a Carnegie boy. Last week he was researching his family cemetery information and he found that some of his family are buried in Machsikei Hadas Cemetery. I'm not familiar with it, but I expect many of you are. Dave made a visit, and filed this report.

"This cemetery was a Galician cemetery affiliated with an unknown synagogue until 1987. I did notice some new burials as I went around the grounds. No gate as it is wide open. The old caretaker's son is the new caretaker. He helped me find my great grandparents grave site. Attached shows the look down from top and my great grandparents stones. The cemetery needs cleaned up. I asked if they had a "roster" of people but he did not know. His father may have one. He did tell me that many of the people buried there are from Carnegie.

The address is 904 Geyer Road. You take I279 North and get off at McKnight/Evergreen exit. Turn right on Evergreen. At top of hill there is a stop sign, Turn right and follow road past cemeteries and make a left at first street which is Geyer. The cemetery is about mile on the right on a hillside. About 15-20 minutes from here.

I did recognize names as I traveled through the brush as it is over grown. Grave sites need cleaned up. The caretaker does cut grass between rows when he can."

click on pictures for larger version.

Social Hall Renovations

Thu, 27 May 2010 09:57:43 GMT

Social Hall Renovations

About 5 years ago (maybe it was longer?) we made some cosmetic improvements to the social hall: new flooring, drywall, paint, etc. But we didn't finish it. This meant that while the social hall was brighter and much more inviting, it still wasn't in a condition that we could rent it out for social events. An attractive and functional social hall would not only be a valuable benefit to our members, but also be a source of revenue for the shul. Last week at the Annual Meeting, the Board approved the expenditure to finish the job, which includes a new ceiling and lighting, removal of the steam radiators, and trim for the doors and windows. The work began on Tuesday and is well underway. We expect to be done in a couple of weeks. All of this costs money of course, and you expect that I will be asking you to replenish the shul treasury. So be prepared. I have no embarrassment about asking you for money for the shul. Be generous. This is your shul and it shouldn't be shabby.

Annual Members Meeting

Thu, 27 May 2010 09:54:32 GMT

President's Annual Remarks to the Congregation- 17MAY2010

We had a good meeting at the shul on May 17. Aside from typical annual reports on finances, membership, etc., the Board approved funding the completion of the social hall renovations. More about that in a separate post. More significantly perhaps, the Board approved a motion to invite women to receive aliyahs. I know that a number of you didn't understand why there was such a lengthy debate over this issue, but it's now decided and we can move on to other matters. The following is the text of my formal remarks at the meeting.

Yesterday, Debbie and I, and Jack and Gerrie Ketler attended the unveiling of the grave markers for Lynn and Stan Roth. And we are reminded that Stan lived almost his entire 90 years here and that Lynn was active here since her and Stan were married during WWII and she moved to Carnegie. Last week we celebrated the 90 ^th birthday of one of our very active members, Mr. Bob Adler, who continues to amaze me with his energy and vitality. He called me today and said he was feeling a little under the weather; he apologized for not being here this evening, but that he expects to be here for services on Wednesday and Thursday for Shavuos. These occasions can’t help but to remind us that our congregation is aging. Our “younger” members are in their 40s and 50s. Our average member is around 70 years of age. It should go without saying that this can’t continue indefinitely.

The congregation passed a policy change tonight that may cause us to attract some younger members, although it must be pointed out that we did not make this change simply as an advertising gimmick. None the less, with each generation there are changes in attitudes, and it is not something that can be ignored. Recently, former first lady Laura Bush made some poignant remarks regarding a controversial subject, gay marriage. She said she does not object to it, and that this was a matter that her and President Bush argued and disagreed over. But she added that in the big picture it really doesn’t matter what George and she thought, because most younger people are ok with it, and therefore it’s just a matter of time until it becomes the law of the land. She’s seems to me a very insightful woman and although it appears that she didn’t consider it appropriate to voice her opinions while her husband was president, perhaps now we will get to hear more from her.

So here in the shul we have recognized that most younger people (and many older people as well) are ok with women getting aliyahs. We should not be embarrassed or distressed over this. We just need to recognize that it is what it is. The key is not what decisions we make, it’s how we make them. Here in this shul, we make our decisions in thoughtful and respectful ways. We respect our elders, but we also invite our youngsters to speak their minds. We listen to everyone; really listen. We are empathetic; we feel what others are feeling and earnestly attempt to understand what they understand because that’s how a congregation should behave. There are some congregations that don’t behave that way. But they aren’t Carnegie. Many of our members are related, but even those who aren’t literally family members, you are part of our havurah, our congregation, and you will be treated like family. This is ultimately what our shul has to offer to prospective members, love and respect, like family. If it seems that we are stuck in the past, maybe it’s because we respect our elders. But at the same time our elders listen to the youngsters too. And so we are capable of changing and moving forward. We will just do so in a respectful and thoughtful manner.

And may we continue on for another hundred and twenty years.

Roth Matzeivos

Sun, 16 May 2010 09:52:30 GMT

On this beautiful Spring Sunday morning, I was honored to attend the unveiling of the matzeivos (gravestones) for Stan and Lynn Roth. It was nice to see Terry and Richard, Stan's sister Roselle, and the rest of the family who gathered at Beth Shalom Cemetery. Afterwards, there was a good opportunity for catching up on family news and other events of the day. The opportunity was not lost and I enjoyed conversation with Barry Roth about shul business and with Jim Gormley (Terry's husband) about work and politics. But the moment was quickly passed and by 1:30 Debbie and I were back home looking at unfinished yardwork.

First post

Thu, 13 May 2010 09:47:15 GMT

New Title

Yesterday I did a total makeover of the shul website. It is now based on blogging software rather than webpage software. What's the difference? Blogging is more dynamic; for example, I'm sitting right now on my front porch typing this message into my phone. This means I can provide you more real-time news about what's going on at shul. Of course, the new site isn't complete yet. I have to put all the yahrzeit information back on the site. And once I have this fully operational, you will be able to subscribe to it so that shul news automatically arrives in your email inbox. More to come!

Shul blog hacked!

Sun, 04 Jan 2004 10:19:44 GMT

Shul Blog Hacked!

The term "hacking" may be new to you unless you're a computer geek. Hacking is the name to given to breaking into someone's website by using malicious software. The hacker may just be trying to show how skilled he is at breaking through someone's passwords or firewalls. But sometimes he means to do real harm to the website owner. We can't be sure what motivated the hacker who trashed the shul website, this blog, on December 26. It is a lesson for all of us that computers are not completely fool proof and whenever you put something "out there" in cyberspace, it is vulnerable to attack.

My first hint that something was wrong actually came on December 26 when I started to get junk mail from our blog. Since I have software on the blog that filters filters out junk, I knew that something had stopped working. But it didn't seem serious. I had family matters to attend to last week and decided I would look at it on the weekend. However, on Shabbos morning at shul, Joel informed me that the shul blog was "down". This elevated my concern, and I began an investigation right after we finished Kiddush. Little did I know that I would be spending the rest of the day, New Year's Eve, performing website maintenance.

I would compare this malicious mischief to having graffiti spray painted on your garage. The damage was not severe. The security provisions on our site held up pretty well. My guess is that it could have been much worse. By the time Saturday was over and 2012 had arrived, I had erased any evidence of the hacker's graffiti. Then I started a series of security improvements in hopes of preventing it from happening again in the future. So, who are the hackers and what did they actually do? Based on the calling card they left behind, they are from Kosovo, Albania. Was the attack anti-Semitic? Apparently, yes. But not definitely. They didn't post any anti-Semitic statements or racist remarks, but a link from their logo led to the graphic below. One could conclude that they surf the net looking for Jewish websites to disrupt. But maybe they also do this to Christian sites as well. I took a quick glance through the web in an attempt to find out who they are, and I saw an item indicating that they hacked a bank website somewhere in Eastern Europe. That's as much as I know of them.

During the course of making the repairs, I learned that the best security against internet piracy is a strong password. So, as much as we like easy passwords like "carnegie123", you need to abandon them and replace them with something longer and much more complicated. Yes, it's a pain to have to keep track of them. OK, maybe it's not a big deal if you're just doing Facebook. But if you have your banking online and if you keep personal files online, having a strong password is important to protect your ass-ets.

Blog | The Carnegie Shul

The Carnegie Shul Prepares for the High Holidays and Celebrates More Than a Century of Tradition

High Holy Days Services: A.J. Edelman Returns

A History of Faith and Community

Leadership Across Generations

A Unique Congregational Identity ﻿

October Newsletter

We made it through the holidays - We have a new website - Donate online

The holidays conclude

We have a new website

Donate online

On this date in 1969

On this date in 1969

Shul Fire- 1934

Shul Fire- 1934

Fire Last Saturday Destroys Carnegie Jewish Synagogue

Firemen Fight Blaze for Three Hours—Holy Scrolls Saved by Members of Congregation—Damage Estimated at $6,500.

Dorothy and Kurlie Miller

Dorothy and Kurlie Miller

Artifacts from the Shul Library

Artifacts from the Shul Library

Susan Stein and Joe Klee pay a visit

Susan Stein and Joe Klee pay a visit

The great Klan rally in Carnegie

The great Klan rally in Carnegie

The Advance of Art in Carnegie

The Advance of Art in Carnegie

Founders Day

Founders Day

Hungarians

Hungarians

GetGo Project Underway

The Giant Eagle GetGo in Gibsonia

Special Program - Sunday Nov. 16 at 7 pm.

Special Program - Sunday Nov. 16 at 7 pm.

Budapest Holocaust Memorial

This is a subtitle for your new post

Birthday and Anniversary

Birthday and Anniversary

50th Anniversary Program

50th Anniversary Program

The Zero Hour

The Zero Hour

Old Shul Board Photo

Old Shul Board Photo

From Israel to Carnegie to Washington

From Israel to Carnegie to Washington

Izzy

IZZY

Rabbi Brotsky to visit Carnegie

Rabbi Brotsky to visit Carnegie

Carnegie Rabbis

Carnegie Rabbis

Penny Postcard

Penny Postcard

Mosque Mishegas

Mosque Mishegas

Postscript on the Main Hotel

Postscript on the Main Hotel

Say Goodbye to The Main

Say Goodbye to The Main

Hoops for a Cure

Hoops for a Cure

Charles Kaufman

Charles Kaufman

Anne Zemon

Anne Zemon

Tashlich

Tashlich

Jewish War Veterans

Jewish War Veterans

Social Hall renovations near conclusion

Social Hall renovations near conclusion

Machsikei Hadas Cemetery

Machsikei Hadas Cemetery

Social Hall Renovations

Social Hall Renovations

Annual Members Meeting

President's Annual Remarks to the Congregation- 17MAY2010

Roth Matzeivos

A Unique Congregational Identity