Goldfoot Genealogy

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

In 1911 a group of Sephardi Jews from the Island of Rhodes founded Congregation Ahavat Achim.  The Jewish community of Rhodes goes back to the first century AD. Kahal Shalom Synagogue, established in 1557, during the Ottoman era, is the oldest synagogue in Greece and still stands in the Jewish quarter (La Juderia) of the old town of Rhodes. At its peak in the 1920s, the Jewish community was one-third of the town's total population. 

By the 1960s, much of the largely immigrant South Portland neighborhood was slated for demolition under urban renewal. Congregation Ahavath Achim tried to move its synagogue from Southwest Third Avenue and Sherman Street to a new location in 1962. But only 100 feet down the road, a wall cracked and the building had to be demolished on the spot.

PORTLAND, Oregon's largest city with a population of approximately 1.5 million, situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers on the west coast of the United States; Jewish population (2005) approximately 25,000. 

How Portland looked to our Jewish immigrants at Front Street in the horse and buggy days of 1897-. 1901. 

The earliest Jewish settlers arrived from Central Europe in the early 1850s. The first Jewish woman, Mrs. Weinshank, opened a boarding house in 1854. Early occupations included peddling and storekeeping.  Caroline Weinshank married in 1858 to Elias Mill. David Weinshenk, born in Bavaria, Germany,  may be her husband, buried in Temple Beth Israel's cemetery at Block B Section Plot 33 at 426 SW Taylors Ferry Road.                       

 Pioneer Jews, mostly concerned with making a living, recognized that the community would grow only if religious needs could be met. On May 2, 1858, eight men gathered in Portland's National Hotel to establish Beth Israel on 5th Ave. and Oak St. The congregation officially organized with 21 male members. Reverend Samuel M. Laski conducted services above a livery stable and blacksmith shop. Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco loaned the torah and shofar, which were eventually purchased. In a town that sported five churches, one school and 55 saloons, Portland's first synagogue emerged. Portland quickly became Oregon's major Jewish community. 

Temple Beth Israel, organized in 1858, is Portland’s oldest Jewish congregation.  The members worshipped above commercial space on Front Street before moving to this synagogue on Southwest Fifth and Oak in 1861. 

In 1888, Beth Israel moved to larger quarters at Southwest Tenth and Main streets, where the auditorium accommodated 750 people.  A prosperous congregation supported the building of a new synagogue, graced with a Spanish cedar and maplewood organ and elaborate stained glass.  This 1888 building was destroyed by fire in 1923.  

When its replacement was finished at Northwest Nineteenth and Flanders in 1928, rabbis from across the nation attended its dedication.

Written by Trudy Flores, Sarah Griffith, © Oregon Historical Society, 2002.                  

Prussian and Polish Jews founded Ahavai Shalom in 1869 on 6th Ave between Oak and Pine. It lived for 35 years.  Rabbi Julius Eckman was the 1st ordained rabbi.

In 1883 a group of Russian Jews, formerly of North Dakota, established what is now the Conservative congregation Talmud Torah.

Our family synagogue, Neveh Zedek Talmud Torah with Rabbi Kleinman built in 1911 after the congregations of Talmud Torah (founded 1893) and Neveh Zedek founded 1909)merged.  They had first met together in a little store on 1st Ave between Mill and Mongomery in 1900.  The more orthodox left in 1905 for Shaarie Torah, strictly orthodox.  This lived for 68 years before merging again in 1961.  

 Neveh Zedek, Portland's Conservative which was more orthodox congregation, was established in 1900, merging with Talmud Torah two years later. This became my synagogue when I attended kindergarten in 1939 with Rabbi Kleinman. I remained there, finally teaching in the lower grades.   My brother, David, attended in 1947 and was bar mitzvahed there in 1955.                                   

Ahavai Shalom and Neveh Zedek Talmud Torah merged in 1962 to form Congregation Neveh Shalom, Portland's major Conservative synagogue.  RABBI JOSHUA STAMPFER

Rabbi Joshua Stampfer was born in Jerusalem, in pre-state Israel, in 1921. He died Dec. 26, 2019.

Stampfer was the rabbi at Congregation Neveh Shalom from 1954 to 1993 and served as rabbi emeritus until his death.

Major institutions he helped create include Camp Solomon Schechter, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, the Oregon Board of Rabbis, Foundation School and Neveh Shalom’s Library. He also cofounded two international organizations – the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies and the Sino Judaic Institute. Programs he created include Weekend in Quest; the Portland Jewish Film Festival; and a Writers and Scholars Lecture series. He was also instrumental in the formation of Judaic studies programs at three Portland universities – Portland State University, Reed College and Lewis & Clark College.

Rabbi Joshua and Goldie Stampfer, z”l, had five children, 20 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

A service for Stampfer was held Dec. 29, at Congregation Neveh Shalom. A special memorial service in memory of Rabbi Stampfer to mark the conclusion of the month-long Sheloshim was held Jan. 26 in Neveh Shalom’s Stampfer Chapel.

Contributions in Rabbi Stampfer’s memory may be made to: Camp Solomon Schechter, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education; or Congregation Neveh Shalom.                         

Eight men formed Ahavai Sholom, one of the congregations that would become Neveh Shalom, in 1869, when Portland had about 460 Jews. The new congregation, which appealed to traditional Jews from Prussia and Poland, purchased a cemetery and land for a building and hired a rabbi, Julius Eckman. Rabbi Eckman had previously held the pulpit at Temple Beth Israel, Portland’s first Reform congregation, primarily made up of German Jews. For the next thirty-five years, Ahavai Sholom made its home on Southwest Sixth Avenue between Oak and Pine.

As early as 1902, a group of Jewish Portlanders, unhappy after the merger of two other synagogues, began to hold religious services together. Three years later in 1905, they officially formed Congregation Shaarie Torah. Joseph Nudelman, the congregation’s first president, led the effort to purchase a church building, which they moved to First Avenue near Hall Street.                   

Once the church was reopened as a Jewish synagogue, it became known fondly as the First Street Shul.

Originally formed by men who had come to Portland from the same part of Eastern Europe, Shaarie Torah grew steadily as more Jewish immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe arrived in Portland. Initially, the congregation engaged rabbis and cantors on a short-term basis, but in 1916 they brought Rabbi Joseph Faivusovitch to Portland in a permanent position. He soon changed his name to Fain, because his daughter disliked writing her long surname on school papers.

Russian Jews established the Orthodox Congregation Shaarie Torah in 1905. That became the biggest orthodox synagogue until Chabad came to Portland.  Now, it's Conservative.    

, the only Portland synagogue still in its original location. This was the well-known Mead Street Shul where my Bubba, Zlata Goldfoot nee Jermulowske, attended who lived so close in South Portland. She was a widow with 4 children and would climb the stairs up to the women's section. I taught there for Chabad after returning from Israel in 1986.  

Kesser Israel is the stronghold for Torah Judaism, for Yiddishkeit, in the Pacific Northwest, and for Oregon in particular. Located in the progressive city of Portland, it is a laidback congregation that is attracting new young families and individuals. It’s origins date back to the California Gold Rush, which, from 1848-1856, brought approximately 300,000 people to California. About half of those arriving came by sea from abroad and the other half came over land. The United States had an estimated Jewish population of 15,000 in 1840; by 1848 it had grown to 50,000. Included in the 300,000 gold-diggers heading west were approximately 4,000 Jews hoping to strike it rich. Rather than miners and diggers, most of the Jewish immigrants, in large part from Prussia and German speaking countries, were merchants. They established businesses offering clothing, supplies, and equipment to the miners, the mining companies, and local communities. These frontier Jews subsequently moved to other states, with Oregon holding prominence, servicing farmers and towns, bringing commerce and providing leadership. They also served in various government and political roles – there were Jewish mayors in the Oregon cities of Astoria, Pendleton, Troutdale, and Burns.

Originally located in the heart of the historic Jewish immigrant neighborhood, Old South Portland, Kesser moved to its current building, in the heart of today’s Jewish community, in 2008, on Capitol Highway with Rabbi Brokkin.  

Reconstructionist Havurah Shalom was founded in 1979. Havurah Shalom is a vibrant, diverse, participatory Jewish community steeped in spirituality, learning, and acts of social responsibility. We welcome people of all ages, identities, abilities, and backgrounds. As a part of the Reconstructing Judaism movement, we envision a just and compassionate world where creative Jewish living and learning guide us toward lives of holiness, meaning, and purpose.

Our joyous worship is infused with singing, chanting, and dance.  We “pray with our feet” through tikkun olam (social justice) partnerships within and beyond our local community.  We dive deeply into Torah, learning from Chassidic masters as well as other wisdom traditions. And we celebrate the divine image reflected in the rich tapestry of individuals and families – LGBT, Interfaith, Jews by Birth, and Jews by Choice – who journey with us.  P'nai Or means 'Faces of Light' in Hebrew.

Eastern European immigrants had begun arriving around 1900 and became the core of the Portland Jewish community. Settling at the southern end of the center of Portland's downtown, they formed a nearly self- sufficient community lasting more than 50 years. Everything – a kosher shopping district, five synagogues and a community center – contributed to a lively Jewish culture that intermixed with other immigrant groups who also lived in South Portland.                                

The neighborhood changed radically in the late 1950s with an urban renewal project designed to replace residences with a business and commercial district. By this time, many of the second and third generation had moved to the suburbs. Most remaining residents were forced to move. Shops closed or relocated, buildings were razed and a unique part of Portland's history ended.

Resource:

https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/temple-beth-israel/#.YoSPEajMKUk

https://www.opb.org/artsandlife/series/historical-photo/oregon-historical-photo-destruction-of-a-synagogue/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/jews-in-oregon/#.YoSG46jMKUk

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/portland-jews

https://www.thenewsguard.com/community/offbeat-oregon-how-portland-s-rabbi-got-in-a-gunfight-at-the-president-s-hotel/article_0248b036-3683-11eb-8c9a-bf2e03252d8e.html

https://www.havurahshalom.org/%20

https://www.jewishportland.org/community-directory/pnai-or-of-portland-jewish-renewal

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/FMfcgzGpFzsrstjcHBqKrwgpVhqtHHhN

Labels: Ahavat Achim, Havai Shalom, Havurah Shalom, Kesser Israel, P'nai Or, Shaari Torah, Talmud Torah, Temple Beth Israel

# posted by Nadene Goldfoot @ 9:07 AM