History

About CKI’s Founders

Congregation Kol Israel was founded on March 14, 1924 by Harry Traub, Nathan Bernstein, David Nutman, Barnet Silverman, Morris Bernstein, Luis Galinsky, Ellis Cohen, Harry Bernstein, and Morris Konefsky. We know very little about our founders, but we can infer a few things about them:

Preserving Tradition in a Changing World

CKI’s articles of incorporation state that the purpose of CKI was to “foster and further the Orthodox Hebrew faith...among...young men and women”, and to “perpetuate...strictly Orthodox customs as are now falling into disuse.” Our founders wanted to preserve Jewish life in a moment when they saw it slipping away. We continue to uphold this value as a proud Modern Orthodox synagogue.

Creating a Beautiful Synagogue

From the terra cotta Moorish-style arch they built on the front facade of the building to the enormous stained glass skylight, we can infer that our founders cared about weaving beauty into our shared space. We invite you to take some time in our space admiring the intricate detailing in our Ark and the way that the sunlight filters through the rose windows.

Every Jew Is Welcome

Our late rabbi, Rabbi Schwartz Z”L, used to say that there are two kinds of Jewish communities. There are shtiebels, where the Rabbi owns the building and calls the shots, and there are community synagogues, where the rabbi is an employee and it’s the community themselves that run the show. We have been operating for 100 years as a community synagogue.

From the beginning, we were a collection of many kinds of Jews: Holocaust survivors, businessmen, immigrants, the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy, all davening together. CKI might well be the oldest continuously running Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn. Our longevity may be due to our dedication to welcoming everyone in. Whether you’re Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Haredi or Jew-curious, we want you here.

From GeneraTION To Generation

If our founders had been wealthy, they likely would have bought land on Eastern Parkway, where the eleven-story Union Temple and the enormous Brooklyn Jewish Center were built. Or if they’d just been well-to-do, they might have built a synagogue like Shaarei Tzedek on Park Ave/Kingston Ave, or Temple Isaac on Park Ave between Classon and Franklin. These synagogues were also built in the 1920s, but were up to five times larger and located in prime locations.

Our founders were only able to afford a long, narrow plot of land on an undesirable spot right next to the train tracks. To this day, davening is punctuated by the regular comings and goings of the Franklin Ave Shuttle. But our founders understood that community is not a building or a plot of land. Community is about people who are committed to continually showing up for what matters.

Of the four synagogues mentioned above, none of them are still functioning as synagogues. The Brooklyn Jewish Center on Eastern Parkway, formerly home to 5,000 Jewish families, was bought by Chabad in the 1980s and is now a Yeshiva. It is still a Jewish institution, but it’s not a synagogue. Union Temple merged with Congregation Beth Elohim, and that building is now being used as their cultural center. Shaarei Tzedek’s building has been used as a church for decades. Temple Isaac was razed to the ground a few years ago. There’s now an apartment building standing in its place.

The question is, why have we endured when so many others have faded away? Perhaps we can answer this by asking, why are you here?

Maybe you come to CKI to pray, to schmooze, to eat, to find community and build community. Maybe you feel comfort in this old building and draw inspiration from its timeworn beauty. Maybe you love the quirkiness of this kehillah, where everyone is welcome and all kinds of Jews come to pray. Or maybe you feel a connection to the 100 years of Jews davening here, in the same pews we sit in today, feelings grooves into the floorboards from a century of shokeling.

The next generation of Brooklyn Jews can only benefit from all of these facets of the CKI experience if CKI continues to exist. We cannot do that without your financial support.