Sinai Synagogue was formally incorporated as Beth Hamedrosh Anshe Galicia (House of Learning of the People of Galicia) on May 4, 1924. Originally established in 1899 as the Erster Galizianer Unterstutzungs Verein (First Galician Aid Society), the organization provided both religious services and financial aid to emigrants from Galicia, Poland. By 1924, immigration was sharply curtailed and the sole function of the Society became a religious one.
Originally based in a rented hall on Mayflower Street (E. 31st) in Cleveland, the congregation relocated five times by 1940. Following the traditional west to east settlement pattern of Cleveland Jewry, the Galician Jews and their synagogue moved from E. 31st Street to E. 29th Street, later to E. 40th Street and then to Hawthorne Avenue, and more recently to Bryant Avenue. The synagogue is presently located on DeSota Avenue in Cleveland Heights.
Shortly after the Congregation was formally organized, a Sisterhood was formed which now has an active membership of 25 women. On January 12, 1938, members of this Sisterhood organized the Gmiles Chesed (Free Loan Society) for the purpose of extending interest free loans to members of the Congregation. Two years later, various Board and Congregation members formed the Distressed Organization, for the purpose of aiding members who were unable to pay dues to the Congregation, or who required other financial assistance.
In 1956, the Congregation of Beth Hamedrosh Anshe Galicia Americanized its name to Sinai Synagogue. In 1976 the Congregation numbered 220 families.
The Beth Hamedrosh Anshe Galicia Congregation Records, 1918-1961, consists primarily of bound volumes, including the following: minute books of regular, quarterly, annual and special meetings; minute books of the Galician Sisterhood, minute book of the Gmiles Chese; notebook of the Society of Prayer; memorial record book; financial and dues record books; cemetery record book; and membership lists.
The records, written primarily in Yiddish, will be useful to the scholar interested in Jewish Orthodox life in Cleveland, Ohio and the impact of the Synagogue on the Jewish Community.
The collection is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
The researcher should also consult MS 5006 Sinai Synagogue Records.
Processed by Sandra Berman in 1976.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3652 Beth Hamedrosh Anshe Galicia Congregation Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift from the Sinai Synagogue in 1976.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.