Congregation Beth-El

Serving Southeast Nassau and Southwest Suffolk Counties

A minyan had been meeting regularly, and now it was time to formalize the establishment of the Jewish Congregation Neta Tzarschea. Herman Rosenstein was elected president. Simon Spitz became Secretary. Louis Perlman was elected Treasurer. These gentlemen appeared before W. Gauckler, Justice of the Peace and registered their congregation with the County of Suffolk and the State of New York on January 19, 1875. From that day forward, this congregation (later to become the Lindenhurst Hebrew Congregation when the name of the village was changed from Breslau to Lindenhurst) has served the Jewish community.

By 1876 the congregation had purchased cemetery property from the Breslau Cemetery. The cemetery still is in active use. The oldest readable stone is that of Sarah Begga Shaenfield and her child, died March 8, 1883. She was 38 years old.

At first, the congregation met in private homes. By 1913, the congregation finally was ready to construct its own building. The synagogue was erected on West Broadway (now North fourth Street). Built of brick and stone, the building had steps leading up to the entrance on the main floor. The lower floor had a social hall and a small apartment for the janitor.

The congregation owned three Torahs, which were carried from Rabbi Diamond’s home on North 8th Street to the new synagogue. By 1932 a new building was erected, and it included a portable classroom purchased from the Lindenhurst School District for $1. Around 1948, a home for the rabbi was erected. By 1957, plans were underway for a new building to be erected closer to the corner of North Fourth and West John Streets. The originally Orthodox congregation joined the Conservative movement in 1956. The new building was opened in December 1959. Renovations including a second story began in 1996.

Through the years, the Jewish community of what is now Lindenhurst, became a vital part of our lives. The Religious School has always been a major concern of the congregation. Today we have a Senior Citizens Group that meets regularly in the social hall. Services, of course, are held regularly.
More than 125 years ago a small group of men could not have dreamed that eventually women too would be called to the Torah. The synagogue has remained small enough to keep the feeling of a family, and large enough to allow our members and children to realize that they are a vital part of a large and historically important community.

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Congregation Beth-El is a member of the  United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism