Bridge Lane Beth Hamedrash

(formerly Adath Yeshurun Synagogue)

Golders Green, London NW11

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Congregation Data
Name:	Bridge Lane Beth Hamedrash⁽ⁱⁱ⁾
Former Names:	Adath Yeshurun Synagogue⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ Adath Yeshurun Congregation^(iv) Temple Fortune Congregation^(v)
Address:	44 Bridge Lane, Temple Fortune, Golders Green, London NW11 0EG, from 1976^(vi)
Previous Address:	85 Bridge Lane, Temple Fortune, Golders Green, London NW11^(vii) This was the home of Rabbi J.E. Ehrentreu, who had put it at the disposal of the congregation from 1947. In about 1970, he sold the building to the Yeshiva Etz Chaim, which had recently moved from the East End of London and had already purchased 83 Bridge Lane. The congregation continued to hold services in the Yeshiva-owned premises for several years until it acquired its own premises in 1976.^(viii)
Current Status:	Active
Date Formed:	Formed as a small minyan by Rabbi Ehrentreu in 1947^(x)
Ritual:	Strictly Orthodox
Affiliation:	The congregation was initially independent but became a constituent congregation of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (UOHC) in about 1952. However, it would appear that, from about 2010, the congregation again became independent but remained affiliated to the Adath Yisrael Burial Society of the UOHC.^(xi)
Spin-Off Congregation:	Following Rabbi Ehrenstreu's sale of 85 Bridge Lane in about 1970, he moved to 23 Grosvenor Gardens, NW11 premises, where he established a small independent congregation - Kehal Adath Yeshurun.
Website:	https://blbh.shulcloud.com/
Senior Rabbis: (To view a short profile of a rabbi whose name appears in blue - hold the cursor over his name.)	Rabbi Dr. (Jona) Ernst Ehrentreu - from 1947 until about 1970.^(xv) Rabbi Yechiel Gallas - hon. rabbi from about 1971 until 1979.^(xvi) Rabbi Shimon Winegarten - from about 1980 until 2019.^(xvii) Rabbi Yaakov Hamer (& Rebbetzen Yael Hamer) - from 2019 until present (May 2021).^(xviii)
Minister and Secretary:	Rev. S. Ehrentreu - from late 1940s until about 1956^(xix)
Membership Data:	National Reports & Surveys^(xxiii) 1977 - 79 male (or household) members and 4 female members 1983 - 178 male (or household) members and 12 female members 1990 - 150 members (households) 1996 - 145 members (comprising 120 households, 10 individual male and 15 individual female members) 2010 - listed as having 100 to 199 members (by household). 2016 - listed as having 200 to 299 members (by household).
Legal & Charitable Status:	The congregation is a registered (non-profit) company, The Bridge Lane Beth Hamedrash (company no. 06927223), a private company limited by guarantee without share capital, incorporated on 8 June 2009.^(xxiv) It is also a registered charity (no. 1130334).^(xxv) The governing documents are the company's Memorandum & Articles of Association dated 8 June 2009.
Local Government District:	Golders Green, a residential suburb in Northwest London with a substantial Jewish minority, is in the London Borough of Barnet^(xxvi) and was (until 1965) in the former Municipal Borough of Hendon (incorporated as a borough in 1932).
Registration District (BMD):	Barnet^(xxvii) - Link to Register Office website
Cemetery Information:	For Adath Yisroel Burial Society cemeteries, see Cemeteries of the UOHC
Notes & Sources (↵ returns to text above) (i) Reserved. (ii) The congregation was listed under this name in Jewish Year Books from 1971. The congregation was not listed in the 1970 edition. ↵ (iii) The congregation was listed under this name in Jewish Year Books 1956 through 1969. "Adath" is Hebrew for Assembly or Gathering and "Yeshurun" is a poetic name for Israel and is found in the Hebrew Bible, appearing most frequently (three times) in the book of Deuteronomy. It is generally considered to be derived from a root word meaning straight, upright or just. Adath Yeshurun (also spelled Adass Jeshurun) was originally the breakaway minority of Orthodox congregations in mid-19th century Germany. These congregations dissociated themselves on religious grounds from the unitary congregations established by state law in which many tended toward Reform Judaism. ↵ (iv) The congregation was listed under this name in Jewish Year Books 1949 and 1950 and from 1952 through 1955. ↵ (v) The congregation was listed as "Temple Fortune Adath Yeshurun Synagogue" in Jewish Year Book 1951 and was elsewhere frequently referred to at the time simply as the Temple Fortune Congregation. ↵ (vi) This was the address listed for the congregation in Jewish Year Books from 1977, It was purchased for £17,000 and the site was previously the Ebenezer Baptist Chapel. For the story regarding its purchase, see "The History of the Shul" on the congregation's website, link below. ↵ (vii) This was the address listed for the congregation from its first appearance in Jewish Year Books in 1949. ↵ (viii) "The History of the Shul" on the congregation's website, link below. ↵ (ix) Reserved. ↵ (x) Although the congregation was first listed in Jewish Year Book 1949, in the Jewish Year Book Who's Who entry for Rabbi Ehrentreu, it refers to him becoming rav of this congregation in 1947. ↵ (xi) The congregation was first listed under the UOHC in Jewish Year Book from 1953 through 2010. From 2011, it was listed as solely affiliated to the burial society. ↵ (xii) to (xiv) Reserved. (xv) According to the Jewish Year Book Who's Who entries for Rabbi Ehrentreu, he became rav of this congregation in 1947 and he is listed as rav of the congregation until Jewish Year Book 1969, and thereafter he is listed as rav of Kahal Adath Yeshurun until his death. ↵ (xvi) "The History of the Shul" on the congregation's website, link below. ↵ (xvii) The congregation's website, last accessed 1 July 2020. Rabbi Weingarten (b. London,1949) was listed as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books from 1981 until publication ceased in 2015. He and his wife, Chava, retired to Israel. ↵ (xviii) The congregation's website, last accessed 25 May 2021. ↵ (xix) Based upon Rev. S. Ehrentreu's listing in Jewish Year Books 1949 through 1956 (apart from 1951). ↵ (xx) to (xxii) Reserved. (xxiii) Reports on synagogue membership in the United Kingdom, published by or on behalf of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and which can be viewed on the website of the Institute of Jewish Policy Research. Click HERE for links to the various reports. ↵ (xxiv) Companies House website (in beta trial stage), accessed 1 July 2020. ↵ (xxv) Charities Commissioners website (in beta trial stage), accessed 1 July 2020. ↵ (xxvi) The London Borough of Barnet, an Outer London Borough within the Greater London administrative area, was created on 1 April 1965 upon the merger of the the Municipal Boroughs of Hendon and Finchley and Urban District of Friern Barnet (all of which had been in the former county of Middlesex) with the Urban Districts of Barnet and East Barnet (both of which had been part of the county of Hertfordshire). ↵ (xxvii) The former Registration District was Hendon, from the formation of the congregation until 1 April 1999. All registers would now be held by current register office. ↵

On-line Articles and Other Material
relating to this Congregation

The History of the Shul on the congregation's website.
Annual Trustees Reports and Accounts (pdf) filed with the Charities Commission and Companies House:
- For period ended 30 November 2010;
- For period or years ended 31 March 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Bibliography - London Borough of Barnet.

List of UOHC Congregations

Jewish Congregations in Golders Green (London Borough of Barnet)

Jewish Congregations in Greater London

Greater London home page

Page created: 14 February 2007
Data significantly expanded and notes first added: 30 June 2020
Latest revision or update: 21 May 2021

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