Jewish World Review August 30, 2000 / 29 Menachem-Av, 5760

A Mystical Light Shines on the Walnut Street Shul

By Steven Rosenberg

http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- It is a five minute ride over the Tobin Bridge, and if you take either of the first two exits north, you’ll find yourself in the middle of what was once one of the most densely populated Jewish areas in New England.

Almost 100 years ago they poured into the little city of Chelsea from nearly every major center in Eastern Europe. By the time the Depression hit, there were over 15,000 Jews in town and an estimated 16 shuls. Lithuanians, Russians, Poles and Hasidim all had their own places of worship. There may not have been food on the table, but there was always a shul to daven in.

In the shadow of the bridge sits Walnut Street, a stone’s throw from a mall that replaced an entire Jewish neighborhood that burned to the ground in the Great Chelsea Fire of 1973. Triple deckers and brick tenements still exist here and it’s not too hard to imagine a turn-of-the-century Jewish neighborhood filled with shuls, kosher butchers, bakeries, variety stores and open markets. Walnut Street today looks like any other smaller urban street — cars are parked close to the curb; people sit out on the stoops of the their houses and recognize everyone, including strangers. Perhaps the quietness of the neighborhood today serves as a gentle protector to the great shul that still stands on its corner. Once you see it, you’ll understand why so many people have worked so hard to keep it open.

It is a smiling face that greets you at the door of the great Agudath Sholom Synagogue in Chelsea, better known as the Walnut Street Shul. Herb Kupersmith, who despite living in Marblehead for the last 32 years, is the heart and soul of the shul. Raised on the streets of the city in the 1950s, Kupersmith worked in the clothing business and as an NBA scout, but never forgot his childhood synagogue. In 1988, he visited the shul and walked around the old building, marveling at the edifice which was built in the tradition of old Eastern European Ashkenazic design. Constructed in 1900, it held 1,100 people regularly for Shabbat until World War II. But the once grand synagogue had fallen in disrepair. The stained glass windows had been boarded up, the ceiling mural was fading and the centerpiece of the shul, the 37-foot oak ark, needed to be restored.

That day as he surveyed the shul, he found himself standing before the ark, looking up at the women’s balcony, where his mother, Sally Kupersmith, and his grandmother, Fannie Sugarman, used to sit. “I’m going to restore this synagogue,” he thought, looking up at a vision of the two people who raised him. He left the shul and found the rabbi, Nochum Cywiak, and told him of his plans. “He said okay, that’s another bubbemeise,” or fantasy, Herb remembers .

Kupersmith kept his word, and before long, he had raised $100,000 to restore the shul. The stained glass windows, the ark, the benches, the murals, the electricity — even the oil burners — were fixed. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Forty-eight years after his bar mitzvah, the shul is fully functioning, with Rabbi Cywiak holding a daily minyan. Kupersmith, for his part, keeps a low profile, and comes and goes, checking on the building. While admittedly leaning toward the secular life, he often visits the synagogue and makes his way up to the balcony. “Sometimes, I bring a list of names with me and I pray for people,” he says, looking down from the U-shaped balcony where the names of women who once held the seats are still engraved.

Now, 10 years after the shul’s restoration, Kupersmith is on a mission to keep the synagogue functioning and financially solvent. He’s in the process of raising another $100,000 to establish an endowment to maintain the building. Many people have stepped forward so far, but he’s still looking for more help.

Meanwhile, an estimated 500 people will gather for the shul’s 100th anniversary on Sept. 10 beginning with a service at 6:15 p.m. A kosher meal will follow downstairs, and no doubt it will be one of the largest Jewish reunions this area has seen for a while. “Everyone is invited,” affirms Kupersmith. Tickets are available by calling (781) 639-5151.

In an era when century-old shuls are fast disappearing, Kupersmith understands the importance of carrying on history and tradition. “It’s mystical,” he says about his attraction to the shul. He talks with pride about his wife, Sondra, and his three daughters and grandchildren. In the same sentence he mentions the importance of his mother, grandmother, and people like Murray Brown, Harold Mindel, Mina Karas, Steve Harris and Arnie Goodman who have devoted so much time to keeping the Walnut Street Shul alive. For him, they’re all family. “Never drink your cup dry, leave some for other people,” he says, quoting his former basketball coach, Julius Zeff.

For sure, his old coach would be proud of his former player today.

Steven Rosenberg is the editor of The Jewish Advocate. Comments by clicking here.