History of the Shul

Our Shul is a conglomerate of what was originally three separate congregations:

• • Congregation Shaare Hatikvah

• Congregation Ahavath Torah

• Congregation Tikvoh Chadoshoh

The history of Shaare Hatikvah will be discussed below. For a treatment of the other Shuls until their mergers, please click on the above names.

Shaare Hatikvah bears the distinction of being the first German-Jewish congregation in Washington Heights and one of the two last surviving congregations, the other one being Cong. K'hal Adath Jeshurun, founded in 1938.

The Shul follows the minhagim of the former Jewish community of Wurzburg, Germany, and our first rabbi was Rabbi Dr. Siegmund Hanover, the last rabbi of Wurzburg, Germany before the war, who assumed his post here in 1940. He was succeeded by Rabbi Dr. Abraham D. Krauss in 1956. Rabbi Avrohom Gross then joined the Shul during Rabbi Krauss' tenure in 1972. Our current rabbi is Rabbi Avrohom Hoffman, who joined Rabbi Gross in the rabbinate in the year 1996.

Our present building, designed by Maurice Courland, is located at 711 West 179th Street. The facility includes a large sanctuary with three separate ladies galleries (the third was built later as a balcony when the need arose), multiple classrooms, a fully equipped social hall and performance venue, a kitchen, an administrative office and rabbi's study. Plans for the building were filed in November of 1954, and it was completed in 1957.

Shaare Hatikvah has since been serving the greater community in this facility, and looks forward to continuing for many years to come.

To be continued...