Repository: ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title: Shaare Torah Congregation, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records
Creator: Shaare Torah Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Collection Number: AIS.1998.22
Extent: 12.5 Linear Feet (16 boxes)
Date: 1936-1996
Date: 1940-1993
Abstract: The Shaare Torah Congregation was founded in 1880 by Orthodox Jewish immigrants to Pittsburgh. The first permanent synagogue for the congregation was built in 1909, and longtime Rabbi Bernard A. Poupko was installed in 1943. This collection contains records of Shaare Torah from Rabbi Poupko's tenure and slightly before, including records of membership, programs hosted by the congregation, and cemetery records.
Language: English .
Author: Charles Stanford. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process on April 18, 2006.
Publisher: ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address: University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

The Shaare Torah Congregation was founded in 1880 by Orthodox Jewish immigrants to Pittsburgh during the city's industrial expansion. Most of the founders came from eastern Europe. Several buildings were used as meeting places through the first years of the congregation until the first permanent synagogue was built in 1909.

Rabbi Moshe Simon Sivitz served the congregation from 1881 until his death in 1936. After this loss visiting Rabbis occupied the pulpit until January 10, 1943, when Rabbi Bernard A. Poupko was installed. On April 20, 1947, ground was broken for the congregation's current building at the intersection of Murray and Nicholson Avenues in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Since its founding, Shaare Torah Congregation has been an active center for worship, learning, and culture. It has undertaken many philanthropic efforts in the local Jewish community, such as establishing an annual scholarship to Yeshiva University and Hillel Academy and contributing to other Jewish institutions of higher learning in the United States and Israel. Shaare Torah is a member of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

More information about Shaare Torah's current activity can be found on their Web site: http://www.shaaretorah.net/index.php.

Scope and Content Notes

This collection contains records of Shaare Torah from 1936-1993, including records of membership, programs hosted by the congregation, and burials of deceased members. The records are divided into seven series:

Series I. Correspondence, 1965-1970
Series II. Membership
Series III. Programs and Publications
Series IV. Minutes and By-laws, 1949-1957
Series V. Cemetery Records
Series VI. Record Books
Series VII. Scrapbooks, 1940-1993

Additional scope notes are found at the series level. A commemorative book published in 1955 and offering more details of the congregation's history can be found in Series III.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Shaare Torah Congregation, Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1998.

Previous Citation

Shaare Torah Congregation, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records, 1936-1996, AIS.1998.22, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Shaare Torah Congregation, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records, 1936-1996, AIS.1998.22, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Fiona Seels in 1998 and by Charles Stanford in April 2006.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Charles Stanford in April 2006. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 4642651

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Subjects

Corporate Names

Hillel Academy (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Shaare Torah Congregation (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Yeshiva University

Personal Names

Poupko, Bernard A.
Sivitz, M. S.

Other Subjects

Rabbis -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Ethnic groups
Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Churches and Synagogues
Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History
Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Social conditions
Jews -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- Social life and customs
Orthodox Judaism -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Synagogues -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List

Series I. Correspondence, 1965-1970

Scope and Content Notes

This series predominantly consists of letters from the executive secretary to members of the congregation. There are also letters between Shaare Torah personnel and other agencies. Most letters to individual congregation members deal with matters such as condolences for deaths, donations, and tuition for the Hebrew school.

1965-1971

Containers: box 1, folder 1-17

Letters to Entire Congregation

Containers: box 1, folder 18

Donations, 1967-1972

Containers: box 1, folder 19

Miscellaneous

Containers: box 1, folder 20

Series II. Membership Records

Scope and Content Notes

Men's membership records contain the names of the men who belonged to the congregation, their addresses, and their dues owed and paid per year. The cards in Box 3 are organized in alphabetical order. They contain the names and addresses of both male and female members of the congregation.

Men's Membership, A-Z

Containers: box 2, folder 1-19

Membership Cards, A-K

Containers: box 3

Series III. Programs and Publications

Scope and Content Notes

Besides regular worship and holiday observances, Shaare Torah has hosted a Hebrew school, ongoing educational programs, an annual banquet, and other social events. This series contains programs of the annual banquets; graduation exercises and other school ceremonies; and fundraising events such as the annual donor luncheon of the Shaare Torah Sisterhood, which celebrated each years's fundraising campaign undertaken by the women of Shaare Torah. The series also contains annual reports of receipts, various writings of Rabbi Poupko and isolated issues of a few periodicals.

Annual Banquets, Programs, 1955-1993

Containers: box 4, folder 1-8

Kollel Bais Yitchok

Containers: box 4, folder 9

Shaare Torah Religious School - Graduation Exercises, 1951-1966

Containers: box 4, folder 10

Shaare Torah Hebrew School - Bas Mitzvah Ceremonies, 1964-1977

Containers: box 4, folder 11

Yeshiva Achei Tmimim, 1977, 1980

Containers: box 4, folder 12

Poale Zedck Congregation, 1978

Containers: box 4, folder 13

Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

Containers: box 4, folder 14

American Zionist Fund Dinners

Containers: box 4, folder 15

Shaare Torah Sisterhood Donor Luncheons, 1959-1981

Containers: box 4, folder 16-17

Other Miscellaneous Events

Containers: box 4, folder 18

Schedule of Upcoming Events, 1972-1988

Containers: box 4, folder 19

Shaare Torah Adult Institute - Schedule of Lectures and Reviews by Dr. Poupko, 1969-1977

Containers: box 4, folder 20

Photographs

Containers: box 4, folder 21

Hillel Campaign Solicitation Prospects

Containers: box 4, folder 22

Moat Chitim Fund Roster, 1971

Containers: box 4, folder 23

Tickets to Holiday Services, 1959, 1969, 1973, 1976-1977

Containers: box 4, folder 24

Writings of Rabbi Poupko, 1964, 1966

Containers: box 4, folder 25-26

Miscellaneous Publications

Containers: box 4, folder 27

American Jewish Outlook, Aug 26 and Nov 25, 1955

Containers: box 4, folder 28

The Jewish Criterion - Shaare Torah 75th Anniversary Issue, Dec 2, 1955

Containers: box 4, folder 29

Annual Reports: Receipts, 1967-1972

Containers: box 4, folder 30-34

Anniversary Journal - Memorial Receipts

Containers: box 4, folder 35

The 613 Commandments

Containers: box 4, folder 36

Seating for a Banquet, c1961

Containers: box 4, folder 37

Pages from a boy's Hebrew school notebook

Containers: box 4, folder 38

Lists (Membership, Committees, etc.)

Containers: box 4, folder 39

Men's Club

Containers: box 4, folder 40

Miscellaneous

Containers: box 4, folder 41-45

Memorabilia

Containers: box 5 (Oversize)

Series IV. Minutes and By-laws, 1949-1957

Scope and Content Notes

Most of the minutes in this series are from the board of directors meetings, which occur approximately once a month, but some are from general membership or special meetings. All minutes are written in English except for a bound volume covering most of 1949, which is written in Yiddish. Bound preservation copies will be used by researchers for the minutes kept from late 1949 to 1954. Bound volumes and unbound pages of minutes are housed in oversized flat boxes.

Minutes of Board of Directors/Committee Meetings, 1956-1957

Containers: box 6 (Oversize), folder 1

By-laws/Charter of Congregation

Containers: box 6 (Oversize), folder 2

Minutes, 1954-1957

Containers: box 6 (Oversize), volume 1

Minutes, 1949-1954

Containers: box 6 (Oversize), folder 3

Minutes, (Bound Preservation Copies), 1949-1954

Containers: box 6 (Oversize), volume 2

Minutes, 1949

Containers: box 6 (Oversize), volume 3

Series V. Cemetery Records

Scope and Content Notes

Shaare Torah maintains a cemetery at 861 Stewart Ave. near Overbrook in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh. Records in this series consist of correspondence, reports, and receipts regarding the establishment and maintenance of burial plots and monuments; and two bound volumes listing the locations of burial plots.

Correspondence, 1965-1970

Containers: box 7, folder 1-11

Correspondence, undated

Containers: box 7, folder 12

Cemetery Records, B-Z, 1948-1957

Containers: box 7, folder 13-20

Cemetery Records, Miscellaneous, c1950-1954

Containers: box 7, folder 21

Maintenance, 1963-1964

Containers: box 7, folder 22

Cemetery Maintenance Receipts, 1973-1976

Containers: box 8

Cemetery Book: A-T, Upper and Lower Sections, undated

Containers: box 9, volume 1

Cemetery Book: T-Z, AA-ZZ and AAA, undated

Containers: box 9, volume 2

Series VI. Record Books

Scope and Content Notes

Bound record books include records of seating and cash transactions. Several of them are written in Yiddish, and not all of their contents have been identified. A more detailed inventory of these books is available in a folder in Box 10.

Record Books

Containers: box 10 (Oversize)

Record Books

Containers: box 11

Record Books

Containers: box 12 (Oversize)

Series VII. Scrapbooks, 1940-1993

Scope and Content Notes

Eight scrapbooks filled with newspaper clippings about the congregation and its activities from 1952 to 1996 are housed in flat boxes.

1952-1957

Containers: box 13 (Oversize), volume 1-2

1958-1959

Containers: box 14 (Oversize), volume 3-4

1959-1987

Containers: box 15 (Oversize), volume 5-6

1987-1996

Containers: box 16 (Oversize), volume 7-8

Guide to the Shaare Torah Congregation, Pittsburgh, Pa. Records, 1936-1996 AIS.1998.22

Arrangement

History

Scope and Content Notes

Access Restrictions

Acquisition Information

Previous Citation

Preferred Citation

Processing Information

Copyright

Subjects

Corporate Names

Personal Names

Other Subjects

Container List

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes

Scope and Content Notes