People

The Buffalo region has been home to a wide range of individuals associated with local Jewish communities and Jewish networks from the 1820s through to the contemporary period as immigrants, citizens, residents and locals.

Institutions

Buffalo Jews have a rich history of forming both formal and informal institutions for religious, educational, political and social needs. From synagogues to organizations, and from coordinating agencies to groups and clubs, Jewish Buffalonians have seen a changing range of institutions supported by group endeavors and community philanthropy.

Neighborhoods

In living memory, the East Side and North Buffalo stand out as physically connected and interwoven religious and commercial centers of Jewish living. In contrast to these specific areas are the mini hubs identified with Jewish living and connected to a more dispersed idea of neighborhood. Separately, suburbia with its significant geographic spread, has redefined how a series of Jewish spaces come together with a mix of hubs, focal points and networks.

Themes

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Exhibitions

Special exhibitions, through a focus on particular individuals and subjects, delves into the personal stories that have animated Jewish lives. Each digital exploration reflects on the interplay between place, identities and changing times and the way in which American, Jewish and Buffalo historical experiences are deeply interwoven.

Resources

Materials that document Jewish Buffalo in all its diversity are found in books, articles, archives and museums, many of which are available locally or online. This section highlights some of these sources and will be updated regularly.

Chapel of Holy Order of the Living.

Chapel of Holy Order of the Living. Image by Chana Revell Kotzin, 2022.

Organizations  /  Holy Order of the Living Cemetery

Holy Order of the Living was founded in 1909 and is located in Cheektowaga on Pine Ridge Road.

Overview

Holy Order of the Living was founded in 1909 to provide burial rights according to Orthodox ritual. The cemetery is located in Cheektowaga on Pine Ridge Road and remains closely associated with descendants of the Sokolivka community in Buffalo. The organization remains an independent organization. 

In 1964, its members erected a monument to commemorate one of the pogroms that happened in Sokolivka in 1918. The line by line Hebrew text on the monument (whose image is included in the photograph gallery below) is translated from the Hebrew and recalls the deaths of many as well as that of Rabbi Pinchas Rabinowitz who was murdered during the pogrom. His brother, Rabbi Eliyahu Yosef Rabinowitz, a revered Chasidic rabbi served briefly in Buffalo, and is buried in an Ohel on Pine Ridge on the opposite side of Holy Order of the Living.

Remember
For these we are crying
And our eyes drop tears
For our brothers and sisters
the people of Sokolivka
the town of our birth
and for
our Rabbi, our Master, our Teacher
Reb Pinchas son of Rabbi Gedaliah Aharon
Rabinowitz
Martyred in the Sanctification of His Name.

Location

Genealogy

Find A Grave

To find graves with name and images, consult Find-a-Grave

Articles

This constitution and by-laws of Holy Order of the Living is a significant multi-page document that tackles rules and regulations for members on issues of rights, duties and responsibilities. While the organization dates its formation from 1909, this version of the bylaws included sections that were revised after that date as late as the 1930s. They cover a range of topics including the membership of women, remarriage, and assignment of graves and shed light on the inner workings of a group addressing end of life questions.

 

View the Book

Gallery

Discover More

University at Buffalo, University Archives

Collection at the Benjamin and Dr. Edgar R. Cofeld Judaic Museum

  • Ferne Mittleman Research Papers

Acknowledgements and Thanks

Our thanks to Steve Lippa of Holy Order for his permission to image framed and other materials at Holy Order of the Living.