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Congregation Habonim
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Following the devastating events of November 9, 1938 in Nazi Germany, Congregation Habonim literally emerged from the ashes to create a community and sanctuary for German-Jewish immigrants in New York and like-minded Jewish New Yorkers to gather and pray. Founded exactly one year after Kristallnacht, the congregation quickly became a cornerstone for German-Jewish refugees, helping them rebuild and strengthen their Jewish faith. Congregation Habonim held its first service at the Central Synagogue on 5th Street and Lexington Avenue, drawing a crowd of 150. Ever since then, the congregation has flourished, continuing to serve and support hundreds of Jewish New Yorkers to this day.
Congregation Habonim was founded by Dr. Hugo Hahn, the former rabbi of the synagogue in Essen. The synagogue was severely burned and damaged during Kristallnacht, albeit not completely destroyed; the restored old synagogue building in Essen serves today as a “House of Jewish Culture." Rabbi Hahn fled Nazi persecution after Kristallnacht, and arrived with his wife Aenne and their two daughters in New York on March 31, 1939. They quickly established a new Jewish congregation, drawing on their network of friends and former colleagues. Hahn named the new congregation “Habonim,” meaning "the builders," inspired by the vision of creating a future that their children would be proud of.
Soon after its founding, Congregation Habonim started religious education classes for children to attend throughout the week. These were held in Washington Heights and Queens. This later expanded to include programs for children and teens, as well as a Junior League, a group that would host trips to cultural and educational institutions on the weekends. Dr. Hahn had also been an active leader in Jewish Youth organizations during his time in Essen. By 1941, Congregation Habonim’s children’s programs were so well attended that they were able to create a sleepaway camp in the Catskills.
In 1940, not even a year after its founding, the congregation’s rapid expansion required renting a 1,500-seat Town Hall to host services for the High Holidays. By 1942, Congregation Habonim started regular services in the Masonic Temple in Forest Hills for the German-Jewish conservative community. Two years after that, a cemetery for the congregation’s members was purchased in Paramus, New Jersey.
Finally, in March of 1952, Congregation Habonim broke ground on a plot of land on West 66th Street where the official synagogue would be constructed, designed by Stanley Prowler and Frank Falliance. The striking design of the building featured a cube rotated 45 degrees and placed inside another cube.
“The temple is not only a house of the past, but also a house of the future…The stained-glass windows in this sanctuary are meant to convey this trend...” -Marion Adler, "The Windows in Our Sanctuary,” Congregation Habonim Bulletin Vol. 20, No. 11 (1959).
Another key feature in the structure of the new building was its stained-glass windows. The addition of these stained-glass windows provided an open and welcoming space creating an environment Congregation Habonim strove towards. German-American artist Samson Schames, a member of Congregation Habonim, was one of the artists who submitted designs for these stained glass windows. Some of Schames' window designs created the image of a Menorah, some contained small designs depicting little nodes to Jewish traditions and values like the Star of David.
Ultimately, Congregation Habonim chose the abstract designs of the stained window artist Robert Sowers for its new building.
Because of the congregation’s quick expansion, it was able to garner a lot of attention for its significant contribution to not just the Jewish community as a whole, but also to those recovering from the devastation of World War II. In 1955, ten years after the creation of the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the congregation in the ballroom of the Hotel Diplomat.
In April of 1975 the congregation, inspired by the Women’s Rights movement, began to allow women to also be called up to the Torah.
From the beginning of Congregation Habonim’s history, men and women worked together to create programs for community enrichment. The Sisterhood ran the Judaica shop (where they sold many copies of their cookbook, “Recipes Remembered”) and taught adult Hebrew classes. The Brotherhood worked alongside the Jewish Guild for the Blind to create Shabbat programs. In the late 1960’s, the Senior Youth Group started a Community Action Program where they founded a day camp called Camp Shalom for “disadvantaged neighborhood youth.”
Congregation Habonim’s legacy continues to this day where they continue to hold weekly Shabbat services, host community and holiday events, run religious education programs for teens and adults, and teach bar/bat mitzvah classes.
In 2025, the congregation will open its new building on 25 W 65th Street in Manhattan, directly behind the location of the (now demolished) old synagogue building on 44 W 66th Street, which will provide the congregation with more and improved space for their services and programs.
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