Congregation Shearith Israel, Dallas, TX

• Dates: 1925-1989
• Size: 0.8 linear ft.
• Number of Boxes: 2
• Languages:
  • English
  • Yiddish
• Location: Special Collections Reading Room, Jewish Theological Seminary Library.
• Restrictions: Reproduction of fragile items is not permitted; consult the archivist about literary rights.
• Gift Of: Congregation Shearith Israel
• Date: 1988 and 1989

JJB 7/3/91

Table of Contents:

• A Note on Folder Headings
• Historical Note
• Collection Description
• Box List

A Note on Folder Headings

Individual folders are identified in the following way on the left side of each folder: Name of Collection, box #/folder#, as in Ben Zion Bokser Papers, 4/22. Please use this format in citations and when referring to files for any other reason.

Historical Note

Congregation Shearith Israel, Dallas, Texas, was founded in 1884 as an Orthodox synagogue. The congregation met in a grocery store on Elm Street and in public halls until it moved into its own building on Jackson Street in 1892. The congregation moved to a new, larger building on Park Avenue in 1920.

In the 1910s the synagogue was led by Louis Epstein, a 1913 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Under his leadership Shearith Israel began to lean toward the Conservative movement. The congregation was subsequently led by Rabbi Hillel E. Silverman, a 1949 JTS graduate. In 1956 the congregation moved into another new building.

Collection Description

The records of Congregation Shearith Israel consist almost entirely of photocopies. Included are: minutes, 1926-1928, 1937-1949; copies of The Shearith Israel Newsletter, 1925, 1971-1989; anniversary journals, 1934, 1959, 1984; and a small group of miscellaneous letters, legal and financial documents, clippings, photographs, and other items, 1926-1977.

Box List