Synagogues  /  Congregation Ohel Jacob

Overview

Congregation Ohel Jacob was founded as an orthodox synagogue in the mid 1920s and opened its dedicated building at  493-495 East Ferry St in 1929. It formerly incorporated with the name Ohel Jacob in 1930, yet like so many other synagogues, its location gave the congregation their alternative name—the Ferry Street Shul. During the 1920s, Cantor M. Weinstein led the temple services, while Rabbi Reuben Weinberg served the congregation through some of the 1930s. Many of the members were landsmann from Galicia some of whom came from Berditchev (current day Ukraine). Benjamin Meshorer led the congregation as president for decades until his death. Previously he held other leadership positions at Brith Israel and B’nai Israel Cemetery Association.

The congregation opened its own cemetery in 1937 within Elmlawn Cemetery in Tonawanda. A mortgage burning ceremony held in 1949, attracted more than one hundred individuals to the celebratory events, giving a sense of the size of the congregation in the late 1940s. However, like many synagogues in mid-town (as well as those on the East Side), movement to the suburbs meant that many members gravitated to other congregations. In the case of Ohel Jacob, this trend was also accelerated by the death of the Congregation’s lay leader.