Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (New York, N.Y.)

The roots of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (SWFS) were planted in 1905, when Dr. Stephen Samuel Wise, who had already attracted national attention from the pulpit in Portland, Oregon, was under active consideration for the pulpit at Temple Emanu–El in New York City. When Dr. Wise learned that his sermons would be reviewed in advance by the temple’s board of trustees, he withdrew himself from consideration. In doing so, Rabbi Wise clearly stated his vision from his Portland pulpit, then sent it to the New York Times: "The chief office of the minister, I take it, is not to represent the view of the congregation, but to proclaim the truth as he sees it. A free pulpit, worthily filled, must command respect and influence; a pulpit that is not free, howsoever filled, is sure to be without potency or honor. In the pursuit of the duties of his office, the minister may from time to time be under the necessity of giving expression to views at variance with the views of some, or even many, members of the congregation."

Within months, Rabbi Wise was giving life to his vision of a free synagogue, holding synagogue services at the Hudson Theater on West 47th Street in New York City. After only a few weeks he was conducting services on the Lower East Side on Friday evenings and holding forums on social issues uptown on Sunday evenings. He so inspired those who heard his message that on April 15, 1907, more than a hundred of his followers met at the Hotel Savoy to establish a free synagogue. Henry Morgenthau, Sr., who would become the congregation’s first president, declared that day, "The Free Synagogue is to be free and democratic in its organization; it is to be pewless and dueless." A religious school opened that October, and six months later had an enrollment of 150 students. Dr. Wise’s Sunday morning services, held at the Universalist Church of Eternal Hope on West 81st Street, drew more than 1,000 people.

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