The History of Adath Israel and the Jews of Trenton--February 2, 2014 Part 1

After a long layoff, we're back.

On Sunday, February 2, 2014, I spoke to an Adult Education session at Adath Israel.  The program focused on the history of Adath Israel, which is celebrating its 90th Anniversary this year and how the History of the Jews of Trenton played into the formation of the synagogue.

I am posting the first third of my talk here and in a few days will post the third-third.

What happened to the second-third?   Well, during my presentation, Adath was evacuated due to a smoky smell in the lobby.  The 50 or so people who were in the sanctuary had to go outside.  Luckily, the weather was beautiful and we relocated to the picnic tables behind the Bridge Academy and spent about 15 or 20 minutes learning al fresco.   Unfortunately, the video camera never made it outside.   It's a shame, because in those 20 minutes, we really covered the beginning of Adath and I presented some fascinating documents from two scrapbooks which have been donated to the synagogue by Joe Liebreich, son of Rabbi Leon Liebreich, the second Rabbi at Adath (1927-1945).

I am researching the possibility of covering this material in what's called a Google Hangout.  A Google hangout is a video call which can be shared live with up to 10 people who have computers with video cameras and can be recorded, archived and later viewed on You Tube.   As I learn about the technical requirements and the feasibility of doing this, I will keep you all updated.   If you have interest in joining me in a Google Hangout in the future, there is one requirement that I know of.   You need to have a g-mail account and upgrade it--for free--to a Google Plus account.   Do that now and you'll be ready when I announce those future plans.   The Google Hangout also gives us a chance to interact as a group in the future, no matter where you are located, so send me your g-mail addresses and we might be able to do some exciting things in the near future.

So, with no further ado...here's part one of my talk at Adath.   Thanks to my wife Marlene for operating the camera, Lisa Snyder and Hedda Morton of Adath for allowing me to present.    I apologize for the audio, which is decent throughout, but the microphone was very directional and it dips when I turn my head.


The slides from this presentation are available online here.




Adath Talk1 from Ed Alpern on Vimeo.