Breed Street Shul

Breed Street Shul and Rabbi Mordechai Ganzweig

 - Joy Krauthammer
8.20.2014

Enjoy these 4 photos.

Yesterday (after admitting her, and then immediately taking my sister (Tzipora bat Leba) home from the hospital because her broken foot surgery is postponed for 1 more day, 8.21) I received an unexpected wonderful uplifting call. A young rabbi from Lakewood, N.J. called to say he discovered a photo of his beloved father, z”l, and my name, date, and phone were written on back.  Thirty years later, my number is unchanged and I was home to get phone call. I had chills hearing his name and this call. 

The son Yisroel had just commemorated the 14th yahrzeit, 16 Av, of his beloved father, Rabbi Mordechai Ganzweig, z”l.  Rabbi Ganzweig died at age 49 in 2000. I had read about the memorial in LA's Hillygram, and after 30 years was thinking about this rabbi who had brought much pleasure to the Jewish community that I'd brought to him in busloads.

When I ran "Joy’s Jewish Art Tours of LA" in the early 1980’s, the primary place (out of many stops) I took my busloads of  guests, was to the historic Breed Street Shul where Rabbi GANZWEIG would welcome us all into his shul (along with the elderly caring shomer Mr. Cohen). There was no longer a minyan at this Boyle Heights synagogue, the oldest functioning synagogue in LA. 

I had photographed Rabbi Ganzweig as he shared personally with us all, the story of the shul and its magnificence. The shul was filled with Hiddur Mitzvah, beautification of ritual objects. The stained glass windows were renowned.

TODAY there is a tour at American Jewish University of the Rare Books Exhibition on Pirkei Avot. The books are from the collection of a prior rabbi at Breed Street Shul. Such a coincidence. My photographs accompany this exhibit.  The exhibit has run since May and ends this week. I missed the artists’ reception, so tonight I hope to see my own enlarged photographs on view at the exhibit (which I would have missed if sister was in hospital).

One photo is of the Breed Street Shul, Congregation Talmud Torah. It was the very first time I had photographed a shul. What I had not even known at that time, was that it was my own paternal grandfather’s, z”l, shul. He had died before I’d ever taken my first plane ride, and I’d never met him. His elderly rebbetzin Zilberstein told me that she remembered my grandfather. (That's a whole other story.)  I photographed his empty chair.  In a darkroom, I had developed and enlarged the black/white photos. 

Yisroel Avigdor Ganzweig discovered a photo of his father in his shul. I had sent my only photo to the shul's rabbi, and now I see it again because Yisroel has quickly sent it to me. I've removed ageing spots and crack lines from the photo, and returned it digitally to the son. As a young boy, Yisroel used to accompany his father to the Sunday tours.  I am so very happy, and so is the son to have made this connection. 

The LA Jewish Historical Society’s president Pauline Hirsch, z”l, in the 1980’s called me. (She knew me from the Jewish Federation and the arts world.) Pauline asked me, “Joy, I see in the press that you run tours to the Breed Street Shul”.  How is that possible? Even I can’t get into the shul. I want to take groups there.” I joyously shared the phone number of Rabbi Mordechai Ganzweig, and for the first time, after my personal bus tours, official tours went regularly to the Breed Street Shul. The tours still through the Jewish Historical Society, take people to this Cultural Historical monument. 

The Chairs and Shtenders photo has also been exhibited at the Exodus Festival, and also at the Jewish Federation accompanying an exhibit years ago of Breed Street Shul furniture. My photo was gifted to their permanent collection.

I am thrilled that Rabbi Ganzweig’s son has the photo of his beloved father leading a tour of his Breed Streed Shul, and that he called to tell me. 

~ ~ ~

My Grandfather's Empty Chair

Breed Street Shul

© Joy Krauthammer 

Mogen Dovid

Breed Street Shul

© Joy Krauthammer 

Pirkei Avot exhibit, Rare Books Collection

American Jewish University  May - August 2014

© Joy Krauthammer 

Breed Street Shul photo (1980's) in exhibition of Rare Books from Breed Street Shul at American Jewish University. Last night the librarian Jackie Ben Efraim toured a synagogue through the secured private collection and Pirkei Avot v'Imahot exhibit. Directly behind framed photo in locked glassed room are OLD bibles from 1500's!

(Photo was from my darkroom days.) See Shul story:
http://joys-prose.blogspot.com/2014/08/breed-street-shul.html

~ ~ ~