Early History
Adath Jeshurun was founded in 1884 by two small groups of Romanian and Russian Jews. In its early years, the synagogue faced three major disasters: In 1888, while in rented premises, a fire destroyed all of its property, and in 1902 a windstorm completely destroyed the congregation's synagogue on Second Street South. The congregation subsequently purchased a church on Seventh Street South in 1903, but it too was destroyed in a windstorm in 1904.
In 1912 Adath Jeshurun hired C. David Matt, its first American trained rabbi, and the first to give sermons in English. In 1913 Adath Jeshurun was one of the founding members of the United Synagogue of America, and in 1918 its sisterhood helped found the Women's League for Conservative Judaism.
Read more about this topic: Adath Jeshurun Congregation
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