OUR HISTORY
Early Years of the Jewish Community in Manchester
On Sunday evening, March 19, 1893, Rebecca Pines and Samuel Rosenblum were married at Knights of Piths Hall on Hanover Street. This event, likely the first Jewish wedding in Manchester, drew notable attention, as reflected in The Manchester Union's coverage the following day. The article noted the strong representation of the Jewish community, with friends of the couple arriving well before the ceremony. At 5:30 PM, four men erected a canopy in the center of the room, followed by Acting Rabbi Axel, who began the traditional chant.
Peter Axel, listed as Rabbi in the 1892 and 1893 Manchester City Directory, officiated at the local Jewish Synagogue, which was then located at 895 Elm Street and later moved to Central Avenue between Pine and Union. Rebecca and Samuel, immigrants from Eastern Europe, established a family that exemplified the American Jewish experience. Their four children achieved considerable success: their daughter Lillian attended Radcliffe College, and their sons became dentists and physicians.
Formation and Growth of Temple Adath Yeshurun
At the time of the Rosenblum wedding, the Jewish community in Manchester was just over a decade old. The first recorded Jewish resident was A. Wolf, who arrived on July 14, 1880. While there may have been earlier arrivals, the permanent community began around 1880. Recognizing the need for a place of worship, the first synagogue, B’nai Jeshurun, was established in 1889 at 1058 Elm Street with regular Saturday services. Key figures such as Solomon Sullivan (born “Soloveitchik,” later adapting his name to “Sullivan” and, in some branches, “Nightingale”) and Morris Cohen served as leaders and continued their involvement well into the years after Adath Yeshurun was incorporated.
By 1891, records counted 21 adult Jewish men in Manchester, nine of whom were heads of families. The congregation consisted mainly of Lithuanian immigrants (“Litvacks”) with some from Ukraine (“Russische”). As the community expanded, differences in liturgical practice led to division. In 1897, the Russische members formed Congregation Anshe Sephard, marking the first major schism.
While the congregation was officially incorporated on January 4, 1900, the group was active throughout the preceding decade. New Hampshire only passed legislation for formal incorporation of religious organizations in 1899, so earlier formal records are absent. The congregation purchased cemetery land on South Beech Street in 1896, further demonstrating its active presence. There is also mention of an earlier, abandoned cemetery site in Bedford.
Establishing a Permanent Home
The early congregation moved frequently, gathering in neighborhoods where Jewish residents settled—Central Street, Pine Street, and others. A 1912 program marking the congregation’s progress recalled that, after incorporating with 17 members in 1900, the group purchased and remodeled a cottage at 94 Laurel Street in 1902. As membership grew, the need for suitable space for High Holy Day services became pressing. For years, services were held in rented halls, sometimes requiring the congregation to vacate during major holidays. This situation prompted a fundraising campaign in 1910. Two members each pledged $1,000, a ball and bazaar raised another $1,500, and additional pledges were collected. Construction of a new building began in April 1911.
The new synagogue on Central Street included a sanctuary, a small religious school, kitchen, and a social hall (vestry) that doubled as worship space. The building also featured a permanent sukkah for the Sukkot festival and a shed where the rabbi performed kosher slaughtering for community members. The upstairs sanctuary could seat about 600, often full for high holidays and bar mitzvahs. Men sat on the main floor, facing the bimah (reading platform and Torah ark), while women and girls sat in the balcony surrounding three sides of the hall.
The first services in this purpose-built synagogue were held on September 23, 1911. In March 1912, a four-day open house celebrated the new building. The event highlighted the involvement of families and acknowledged the role of members like Morris Rosenblum, who had helped secure the original cemetery land and whose daughters were among the first Manchester Jewish women to attend Radcliffe College.
Community Life and Challenges
The Central Street synagogue served the community for nearly fifty years. Bar mitzvah celebrations became central community events, with the boy participating in services and family and friends gathering afterward for a meal in the vestry, prepared in the adjacent kosher kitchen. These events had a homemade, family atmosphere, with many members contributing.
Women played a crucial role early on, founding the Ladies’ Aid and Benevolent Association in 1910 (later becoming the Temple Sisterhood). They organized fundraising, social, and cultural events, and provided leadership. Notable among them was Sadie Flaxman Stahl, who, after moving to Manchester in 1925, became a key figure in both Jewish and broader community organizations. Leaders like Ethel Greenspan, inspired by Stahl, continued the tradition of female leadership and community involvement.
Financial challenges were constant. The building’s mortgage was a heavy burden during the 1920s and 1930s, reflecting the economic difficulties faced by the Jewish community and the city at large. After the mortgage was finally paid off in 1937, the congregation resolved never to borrow for a building again.
Leadership and Social Responsibility
During these challenging years, Edward M. Chase and Abraham Machinist emerged as pillars of the congregation. Both were downtown merchants who became financially successful and were known for their spirited fundraising contests, particularly during Kol Nidrei services. Arthur Davis, a non-Jewish caretaker, would record pledges as Chase and Machinist encouraged greater contributions.
Chase, who arrived in the 1880s, opened a furniture store and developed real estate holdings. He demonstrated social responsibility through innovative housing projects: after World War I, he built and sold bungalows on South Maple Street with minimal down payments and favorable terms. By the mid-1930s, he repeated the experiment on Mammoth Road, building brick houses under similar arrangements. These developments, still standing in 1991, are a testament to his vision and commitment to community welfare.
Machinist, too, had a keen sense of community. From his dry goods store on Hanover Street, he reached out to the Jewish and non-Jewish community. In the late 1930’s he endeavored to unify the divided Jewish cemetery and negotiated an agreement with Congregation Anshe Sephard to establish a single cemetery. Abe Machinist emphasized the permanence of the cemetery merger by purchasing burial plots on both sides of the erstwhile dividing line.
A New Home
TAY's current home was constructed in 1959. In the 1970s, Rabbi Starr arrived in Manchester and reintroduced many traditional elements to congregational life, including increased use of Hebrew, the engagement of a cantor, and greater congregant participation in rituals. He was also deeply committed to community outreach. As president of the local clergy association, he encouraged interfaith involvement, promoted robust programming for Jewish youth, and accompanied teens to URJ Camp Eisner. In the 1980s, he hosted a weekly cable television program exploring issues of local concern and providing insight into Jewish life in Manchester. He retired in 2002 and continues to serve as Rabbi Emeritus.
A Strong Future
Rabbi Beth Davidson began leading the congregation in 2004, the first woman to serve as a full-time congregational rabbi in New Hampshire. Rabbi Davidson has helped TAY navigate the major challenges facing congregations nationwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she provided steady leadership and championed the use of technology to ensure that members could continue to pray, learn, and participate socially even when in-person gatherings were not possible.
During the pandemic, Torah Study shifted from a small in-person gathering to a large weekly Zoom session, expanding participation significantly. Today, all services and most educational programs and social events are offered in a hybrid format, supported by a multi-camera livestream system. A trained, volunteer tech team ensures that members can participate whether they are in the building or joining virtually due to distance, illness, weather, or simple preference.
After more than 20 years of leading the community, Rabbi Beth will retire in June 2026. A search committee is hard at work to find a new spiritual leader for the community.
Despite national trends of declining membership across all faiths, TAY has maintained a dedicated and engaged community, supported by a rich array of worship, educational, and social opportunities.