Congregation Mishkan Tefila, Boston, MA
Congregation Mishkan Tefila was founded in 1858 as Mishkan Israel, and is considered to be the oldest conservative synagogue in New England. Its founding members were East Prussian Jews who separated from Ohabei Shalom, which was predominately Polish at the time. In 1894, Mishkan Israel and another conservative synagogue, Shaarei Tefila, merged to form Congregation Mishkan Tefila.
In the early part of the 20 th century, the congregation moved from the South End of Boston to Roxbury (the synagogue was located on Moreland Street and Elm Hill Avenue.) Beginning in the 1940s, however, the Boston Jewish population began to move from the Roxbury-Mattapan-Dorchester areas to the suburbs of Newton and Brookline. In response to this demographic shift the synagogue moved its religious school to Walnut Street in Newton in 1955, and began planning for a new building in Chestnut Hill on Hammond Pond Parkway. The groundbreaking ceremony was on November 13, 1955. In 1958, services were held for the first time in the new synagogue building.
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1858:
Mishkan Israel founded with former East Prussian Jewish congregants of Ohabei Shalom.
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1894:
Mishkan Israel and Shaarei Tefila merge to form Congregation Mishkan Tefila.
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1955:
Religious School moves to Walnut Street in Newton.
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1955:
Groundbreaking ceremony held on November 13th on Hammond Pond Parkway.
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1958:
First services held in new building.
Footnote 1 Information for this administrative sketch is from the following resources: "Our History." Congregation Mishkan Tefila. August 10, 2010 ( http://www.mishkantefila.org/aboutus.html ) Materials from the collection.
From the guide to the Congregation Mishkan Tefila (Boston, MA), records, 1922-1996, (American Jewish Historical Society)
