Happy Chanukah - The Jewish Georgian

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Page 16 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN November-December 2011 The Jews of Augusta, Part II BY Stuart Rockoff The late 19th century saw the arrival in Augusta of growing numbers of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. A handful came from the town of Kobren, located in the Russian Pale. In 1889, five of these immigrant families in Augusta formed a small minyan in 1889 that met in Morris Steinberg’s apartment, located above his store. Steinberg had come to Augusta from Russia in 1886, when he was 23 years old. He became the leader of this small minyan, which adhered to Orthodox Judaism, in contrast to the Reform practices of Children of Israel. Soon, the group brought in a shochet, Abram Poliakoff, to supply them with kosher meat. The minyan grew quickly, reaching 100 Jews, many of whom were single men. As the minyan grew, divisions developed over Jewish practices. Some of the members did not keep their stores closed on Saturdays, which upset other members of the minyan. In 1890, a disgruntled faction broke away to form a new minyan, which they called the “Keep Saturday Society.” Soon after, Jake Edelstein, who had been one of the original founders of the Orthodox minyan, broke away to form yet another group. In 1891, these three competing groups merged to form Congregation Adas Yeshurun. Jacob Tanenbaum was the first president of the congregation, which initially met in a building on Market Street. The Orthodox congregation grew quickly, and, in 1895, it purchased land for a synagogue. Each of the sixty members pledged money to the building fund, and Adas Yeshurun soon built a modest synagogue for $1,800, which included classrooms and a mikvah in the basement. Despite having a new home, Augusta’s Orthodox Jews had not quelled all of their divisions. In 1902, Adas Yeshurun split over a dispute regarding the shochet. When the congregation hired a new kosher butcher, the old shochet, Abram Poliakoff, led a breakaway group that prayed together on Reynolds Street. After three years, the two groups reunited as Adas Yeshurun, employing both shochets. Both butchers were kept busy as Augusta’s population of Orthodox Jewish immigrants continued to grow. By 1907, about 500 Jews lived in the city. The Orthodox Adas Yeshurun had 65 member households, while the Reform Children of Israel had only 42. In 1909, the women of Adas Yeshurun founded the Daughters of Israel, to raise funds for needy Jews. Later, the group focused its charitable efforts on the synagogue and Hebrew school. By 1915, Adas Yeshurun had outgrown its synagogue and purchased a former church on Ellis Street to use as its new home. True to its Orthodox practices, the congregation outfitted the old church with a balcony for female worshippers and a mikvah. The interior of Adas Yeshurun Over the years, the members of Adas Yeshurun made some cultural accommodations and religious innovations, while remaining true to Orthodox Judaism. In 1930, the board, most of whom had been raised in the United States, voted to change the language of the annual meetings and minutes from Yiddish to English. Also, members were no longer satisfied with a hazzan/shochet as service leader and hired their first ordained rabbi, Henry Goldberger, in 1944. Rabbi Goldberger introduced some changes, including a Friday night service, a mixed-gender confirmation class, and a Sunday morning minyan club for post-bar mitzvah boys. Despite these innovations, the congregation remained committed to Orthodox Judaism, which was explicitly written into its 1949 constitution. According to this constitution, “The Rabbi must be an ordained Orthodox Rabbi.” The congregation continued to hold minyans twice daily and still employed a shochet. Among the Orthodox shul’s leaders was Aaron Tanenbaum, who became one of the foremost Zionists in the South. Sixteenyear-old Tanenbaum left Poland for the United States in 1889 to join his father, Jacob, who had settled Aaron Tanenbaum, ardent Zionist and longtime leader of Adas Yeshurun in Augusta after peddling for two years in Georgia. Aaron peddled, as well, during his first two years in Georgia, after which he and his father had enough money to bring over the rest of the family from Poland. In Poland, Aaron had been a Yeshiva student. While studying Talmud was a far cry from peddling in rural Georgia, Aaron continued his studies informally. Tanenbaum was an early, ardent Zionist, forming Augusta’s Lovers of Zion, the first Zionist organization in the Southeast, around the turn of the century. In 1901, Tanenbaum traveled as a delegate to the World Zionist Congress in London. Over the years, he attended several other Zionist conventions. Tanenbaum was unwilling to compromise his religious practices and decided to buy a dairy farm so he could more easily observe the Jewish Sabbath and other rituals. By 1907, Augusta had two Zionist societies: the Lovers of Zion and the Daughters of Zion. There was also a chapter of the Jewish Socialist-Territorialist Labor Party in Augusta, one of only two in the entire South at the time. While Tanenbaum worked as a dairy farmer, most other Augusta Jews remained concentrated in commercial trade. Jewishowned stores lined Broad Street in downtown Augusta. Brothers Jake and Charles Schneider owned a large department store in the first half of the 20th century. In 1894, Henry Simowitz and his large family left Hungary for the United States. After spending several years in Cincinnati, the family moved to Augusta, where Henry opened a clothing store. Henry and his wife, Annie, had eleven children; of their six sons, five Broad Street, where many of Augustaʼs Jews owned stores in the early 20th century remained in Augusta and owned a variety of businesses. Sam and Joe Simowitz opened the S&J Shoe Store; their younger brother, Bernard, later became a partner in the business. Harry Simowitz owned the Augusta Trading Company, while Louis owned a store that sold electric Victrolas. Although Augusta’s Jewish community remained divided into two different congregations, they came together in 1935 to create the Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA). The founding meeting was held at Adas Yeshurun, though members of Children of Israel played a crucial role in its founding and success. One of these leaders was Nathan Jolles, a local attorney who had served as president of Adas Yeshurun and vice-president of Children of Israel. In 1935, the YMHA dedicated its first building on Greene Street, which became a social center and meeting place for the entire Augusta Jewish community, in addition to offering athletic and theatrical programs. Augusta Mayor Richard Allen took part in the building dedication. During World War II, the YMHA building was used as a USO club for Jewish soldiers stationed at nearby Camp Gordon. In the 1950s, the YMHA moved to a new property on Sibley Road and became known as the Jewish Community Center. Later, the JCC built a new facility on Weinberger Way. Originally known as the Young Menʼs Hebrew Association, the Jewish Community Center continues to serve the Augusta Jewish community today. This article is excerpted from the ISJL Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Readers are invited to learn more about the history of Jewish communities by visiting www.isjl.org and looking under the History tab. The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) considers the encyclopedia to be a work in progress; it encourages the public to contact Dr. Stuart Rockoff at Rockoff@isjl.org with additional information related to the history of Jewish communities in Georgia or other communities of the South. Throughout the thirteen-state Southern region of the United States, ISJL, an eleven-year-old grassroots organization, is dedicated to providing educational and rabbinic services, promoting a Jewish cultural presence, and documenting and preserving the rich history of the Southern Jewish experience. Next issue: The Jews of Augusta, Part III—The evolution of the Jewish Community: building, growing, and changing
November-December 2011 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 17 Empty house...empty heart BY Leon Socol The white California brick bungalow in the Morningside section of Atlanta is still intact, with the same furnishings and décor it had when its mistress, Frieda Socol, passed away last month. Nothing has been changed in the hopes that my living in the midst of the home we shared for over 48 y e a r s would ease t h e heartache of her not being here to continue our life together. Frieda wondered what people would say about her after she was gone. I think she knew they would expend all the superlatives in the dictionary and a few more never used. She definitely liked people and abounded in the joy of doing for others by using the many talents she possessed. As our own family grew and we had five grandchildren scattered from Canada to across the eastern United States, she wanted not only to keep in touch with them, but she didn’t want them to be strangers among themselves. So Frieda hit on an idea. She started a Monday blog from Bubbie, telling each of our grandchildren of the events that happened in Atlanta that week. The blog was only for the grandchildren, and they were encouraged to join in by updating their cousins about the events in their lives. It was so successful that the kids’ parents used to contact Frieda to find out what was going on with their offspring. Family was of the utmost importance to Frieda, and she did many things to keep our large extended brood together. One of the first things she did was start and maintain a cousin’s list that had addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails. It was a continual job keeping the list updated as it grew to over 90 names. The list encouraged communication among cousins. Our house has a large finished basement room that has hosted annual familyand-friend Seders for over 50 people. At Hanukkah, it was the site of our annual party, complete with barbecue and tons of the most wonderful latkes you ever tasted. Naturally, there was a mountain of toys and gifts for all. Frieda’s endeavors didn’t stop with our family. She was dedicated to serving Congregation Shearith Israel in many, many ways. Her most notable contribution was her open and inviting welcome to every stranger who entered our synagogue. She put the likes of famous Washington hostess Perle Mesta to shame. Many of the sympathy cards we received mentioned that Frieda was the first warm welcoming person they met at the shul. She activated a “Golden Oldies” program at the synagogue for the seniors, which had such diversified events as tours of the e n t i r e Atlanta Beltline and a day tour of the Tellus Museum in Cartersville. At the end of these trips, enthu- Frieda and Leon with great granddaughter, Abbygale Groves siasticseniors would ask her about the next trip she would plan. Frieda and I used to walk daily in our neighborhood. She would use these walks to spot furniture and household discards that could be used in our annual synagogue yard sale. A worthy item seldom escaped her eye. She was active in neighborhood block parties and knew most everyone who lived in our area. With the onset of her illness, Frieda set survival goals for herself. She was an extraordinarily gifted seamstress and could sew or repair almost anything. When our older grandson got married last May at Camp Ramah in North Georgia, she decided to make a lasting contribution to the event by crafting a gorgeous chuppah that highlighted both the bride and groom. It was to become a lasting wedding gift to the newlyweds, one that hopefully will be used by generations to come. By the time our granddaughter in Canada gave birth to our two great granddaughters, Frieda was not allowed to fly. She hit on the idea of bringing the Canadians to Atlanta and have the babies receive their Hebrew names in our synagogue at a Shabbat ceremony, followed by a kiddush luncheon. The crowd was as large as many bar mitzvahs held there. In our 62 years of married life, Frieda and I traveled far and wide. We visited family on both sides in Israel. Frieda brought families in Israel together, just as she had done in the states. Travel wasn’t easy for Frieda, but she always soldiered through, as she did in all of her endeavors. She was a striking and beautiful woman, with genuine warmth and sincerity. In her early years, she worked as a showroom manager in both the Atlanta Gift and Apparel markets and cultivated many longterm friendships with her customers throughout the South. Her striking figure led to modeling swimsuits for a national line (Roxanne), and she put on fashion shows in many Southern cities. Always the planner, she would arrive at a show the day before, so she would be at her best the next day. The impact that Frieda Socol made on so many people was evident by the large crowd at her funeral, which was held at Congregation Shearith Israel. The main sanctuary wouldn’t hold the crowd, so the partition to the adjoining social hall was opened up. This normally occurs only during the High Holidays. She, of all people, would have kvelled over the size of this gathering. My family and I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection and love we have received from hundreds of people throughout the world and their wishes for the family’s healing. I want to express to each and every one of you who knew my Georgia Peach how your cards, letters, and phone calls have sustained us. Our wish for each of you and your loved ones is that you be inscribed in the Book of Life for 5772 and blessed with a healthy and happy year ahead.
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