the former

Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation

Edward Place and Windsor Place

Cardiff, Wales

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Congregation Data

Name:

Cardiff New Hebrew Congregation

(Note: not to be confused with the Cardiff New Synagogue, which later became the Cardiff Reform Synagogue.)

Formation:

Formed in 1889, when a group of "seceders" from the Cardiff Hebrew Congregation broke away to established their own chevra. Initially the Chief Rabbinate (delegate Chief Rabbi Hermann Adler) refused to recognise the congregation and endorse its shochet and reader, but he soon relented and in 1897 it had also received permission to appoint its own marriage secretary.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾

The congregation consisting primarily of recent immigrants from Eastern Europe and acquired the name "the Foreigners' Shul" (or "Furriners' Shul"), to distinguish it from "the Englisher Shul".^(iv)

The founding of the new congregation created a schism in the Orthodox community in Cardiff that would not be fully healed for half a century.

Last Address:

Windsor Place, Cardiff from 1918 (which continued in use until 1955).^(v)

Previous Address:

5 Edward Place, Cardiff, from 1889 until 1918.^(vi)

Final Status:

In 1942, the congregation became part of Cardiff United Synagogue. The Synagogue in Windsor Place continued to be used as one of the synagogues of the Cardiff United Synagogue until its closure and sale in 1955.^(vii)

Ritual:

Ashkenazi Orthodox

Affiliation:

The congregation was an unaffiliated congregation under the aegis of the Chief Rabbi.

Ministers and Readers:^(xi) (To view a short profile of a minister whose name appears in blue - hold the cursor over the name.)

Rev. Joseph Barnet Rittenberg - reader and shochet from about 1889 until early 1890s and again from 1898.^(xii)

Rev. Elias Plaskowsky - minister fron 1890 to early 1890s.^(xiii)

Rev. J. Schulsinger - reader from 1893 until 1894.^(xiv)

Rev. L. Hirschovitch - reader from about 1905 until about 1913.^(xv)

Rev. Mendel Sheinfield - reader from about 1913 until about 1929.^(xviii)

Rev. Dr. Joshua Abelson - minister in 1920.^(xix)

Rev. Marcus S. Simmons - minister from about 1924 until 1929.^(xx)

Rabbi Asher Grunis - communal minister from early 1920s until 1937.^(xxi)

Rev. Gershon Gray (formerly Grayewsky) - reader from about 1936 until at least 1937.^(xxii)

Rev. Abraham Pryszucker - reader from about 1938 until the 1941 merger and continued to serve as reader of the Windsor Place synagogue of the Cardiff United Synagogue until 1958.^(xxv)

Rev. Maurice Unterman - minister from about 1937 until the 1941 merger and continued to serve as minister of the Windsor Place synagogue of the Cardiff United Synagogue until 1946.^(xxvi)

Rabbi Moshe Eliahu Rogosnitzky - believed to have been rav of the congregation from 1939 before becoming communal rav of Cardiff on the 1941 merger, serving until 1944.^(xxvii)

Lay Officers of the Congregation:

The following data on lay officers of the congregation has been extracted from Jewish Year Books.^(xxx)

Presidents

1900-1901 - Abraham Melcher

1901-1903 - Israel Cohen

1903-1904 - T.S. Romash

1904-1905 - Israel Cohen

1905-1906 - Abraham Melcher

1906-1907 - Israel Cohen

1907-1908 - Leo Joseph

1908-1909 - N. Orman

1909-1912 - F.B. Rittenberg

1912-1924 - Israel Cohen

1924-1927 - L.L. Fine

1927-1928 - Sol Joseph

1929-1931 - H.H. Roskin

1931-1932 - P.J. Cohen

1932-1934 - M.J. Cohen

1934-1936 - Alter Rivlin

1936-1937 - Emanuel Roskin

1937-1939 - Max Shepherd

1939-1940 - Abraham Hauser

Hon. Presidents

1925-1926 - Sir Samuel Cohen

1925-1929 - Israel Cohen

1927-1929 - L.L. Fine, JP

1928-1929 - Mr. Rittenberg

Life President

1932-1940 - Israel Cohen

Secretaries (or Registrars) for Marriages

1929-1930 - M.J. Cohen

1931-1940 - Harry Kaye

Treasurers

1902-1905 - S.W. Joseph

1905-1906 - Israel Cohen

1906-1907 - Abraham Melcher

1907-1908 - N. Orman

1908-1911 - B. Shalson

1911-1912 - Abraham Melcher

1912-1914 - S.W. Joseph

1914-1919 - N.A. Orman

1919-1924 - Leo Joseph

1925-1927 - Sol Joseph

1927-1928 - M. Rapport

1929-1931 - P.J. Cohen

1931-1936 - Alter Rivlin

1936-1937 - Max Shepherd

1937-1940 - A. Gordon

Secretaries & Hon Secretaries

1900-1904 - Leo Joseph

1904-1905 - T.S. Romash

1905-1907 - Leo Joseph

1907-1908 - Alfred J. Joseph

1908-1909 - Leo Joseph

1909-1910 - T.S. Romash

1910-1924 - Leo Joseph

1925-1926 - I. Melcher

1926-1927 - L. Blush

1927-1929 - R. Robinson

1929-1932 - Gershon Cohen

1932-1936 - Emanuel Roskin

1936-1938 - Joel Cohen

1938-1940 - Sol Cohen

Membership Data:

Number of Seatholders (from 1938 membership) - as reported by Jewish Year Books

1899

1903

1905

1906

1918

1938

1939

31

26

25

35

60

220

230

Cemetery
Information:

The congregation's cemetery was at Highfield Road, Roath Park, Cardiff CF14 3RE. For details, see Cardiff Cemetery Information, which includes a link to the JCR-UK Hosted Database for the cemetery.

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) and (ii) Reserved.
(iii) History on Cardiff United Synagogue's website and Into the Vortex: South Wales Jewry Before 1914, paper by Geoffrey Alderman ("the Vortex"), p.4. ↵
(iv) The Jews of South Wales, Chapter 1 (The Jewish Community of Cardiff) by Ursula R.Q. Henriques, ("Henriques") p.27. ↵
(v) History on Cardiff United Synagogue's website and Henriques p.32. This is the address listed in Jewish Year Books from 1919 ↵
(vi) This is the address listed in Jewish Year Books from 1900/1 through 1918 and is also referred to on the congregation's website and in the Vortex. However, Henriques. pp.26 and 32, refers to it as Edwards Place. ↵
(vii) Henriques pp.208-210. Windsor PLace remained listed as the address of one of the synagogues of the Cardiff United Synagogues until the Jewish Year Book from 1955. ↵
(viii) to (x) Reserved.
(xi) The list is almost certainly not inclusive. Furthermore a single list of ministers and readers is provided since, at least until the 1920s, the line between ministers and readers was far from distinct. ↵
(xii) The Vortex and Henriques p,26 refer to his initial appointment, but only Michael Jolles's "Encyclopaedia of British Jewish Cantors, etc.", 2024 edition, ("Jolles"), p. 823, refers to his second term of service. Rev. Rittenberg was not listed in the Jewish Year Book with respect to Cardiff congregations. ↵
(xiii) Henriques p,26 and Jolles p. 803. Rev. Plaskowsky was not listed in the Jewish Year Book with respect to Cardiff congregations. ↵
(xiv) Jolles p. 867. Rev. Schulsinger was not listed in the Jewish Year Book with respect to Cardiff congregations. ↵
(xv) Based upon Rev. Hirschovitch's listing as reader of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1905/6 through 1913. ↵
(xvi) and (xvii) Reserved.
(xviii) Based upon Rev. Sheinfield's listing as reader of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1914 through 1929. ↵
(xix) Based upon Rev. Dr. Abelson's listing as minister of the congregation in the Jewish Year Book 1920. ↵
(xx) Based upon Rev. Simmons's listing as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1925 through 1929. ↵
(xxi) Jewish Chronicle obituary 23 July 1937. However, Rev. Grunis's only listing in Jewish Year Books was as minister of this congregation in the editions 1935 through 1937. ↵
(xxii) Rev. Gray is listed as reader of the congregation in the Jewish Year Book 1937. ↵
(xxiii) and (xxiv) Reserved.
(xxv) Rev. Pryszucker was listed as reader of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1939 and 1940 followed by cessation of publication until 1945. From 1945/6 he was listed (under the name Rev. A. Zucker from 1949) as reader at the Windsor Place synagogue until 1959. ↵
(xxvi) Rev. Unterman was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1938 through 1940 and (after the cessation of publishing during the war years) of the Windsor Place Synagogue in the 1945/6 edition. ↵
(xxvii) Jewish Chronicle reports. ↵
(xxviii) and (xxix) Reserved.
(xxx) Where a person is first listed in a year book as holding a particular office, it has been assumed that his term of office commenced in the year of publication of the relevant year book and that he continued in office until the commencement of office of his successor, unless the office was vacant. Initially year books corresponded to the Hebrew year, and thus ran roughly from autumn of one year - the year of publication - until autumn of the next year. From 1909, year books were published according to the Gregorian year, being published generally towards the end of the year prior to the year appearing in the title of the year book. For example, if an officer is listed in Jewish Year Books 1919 through 1924, it is assumed that he commenced office in 1918 and continued in office until 1924. However, it should be noted that this is only an assumption and, accordingly, his actual years of office may differ somewhat from those shown here. Jewish Year Books were not published during World War II subsequent to 1940. ↵

Cardiff Jewish Community home page

Jewish Congregations in the historic county of Glamorganshire

Jewish Congregations in the former county of South Glamorgan

Jewish Congregations in Wales, listed according to current unitary authorities

Jewish Communities & Congregations in Wales home page

Page created: 2 May 2005
Notes first added: 6 April 2016
Page significantly expanded: 30 August 2024
Page most recently amended: 15 September 2024

Research by David Shulman (rabbinic profiles assisted by Steven Jaffe)
Formatting by David Shulman

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