Congregation Montefiore and the Max Weiss Family

Synagogue today.   335 South 3rd East.

Congregation Montefiore was the congregation that the Max Weiss family attended.  (See previous blog "Two Temples".)   Annie (Jewish name, Hannah) Weiss was especially faithful to her Jewish religion.  It was because of the synagogue that Annie wanted to leave Roosevelt and live in Salt Lake.  She wanted to raise her family in the Jewish tradition of her fathers.  Annie wanted to be near others of her faith and Max honored that desire by building her a new home in Salt Lake City.  Max commuted to Roosevelt by train to work his fur and hardware business for many years.

Annie also wanted her sons to live where they could more easily attend Jewish religion classes.  Her desires were similar to those of the Kol Ami Synagogue Religious School of today:

The role of Religious School is to help foster an appreciation and awareness of Judaism in all its facets. Our school seeks to:

• Promote the development of a Jewish identity - a belief in God, an understanding of Torah, Jewish history, philosophy, values, and culture;
• A knowledge of Hebrew - ranging from the understanding of the prayer book and significant Jewish texts to conversational skills;
• A comprehension of the meaning of Jewish ceremonies, traditions and life-cycle events; and
• A long-term commitment to support actively and participate meaningfully in Jewish life.  (See http://www.conkolami.org) 

Kol Ami Synagogue, http://www.conkolami.org,  serving both reform and conservative Jews,  is located at 2425 E Heritage Way in Salt Lake City.

Apparently Max and Annie's son, Simon Weiss, wasn't that interested in his religious roots or attending religion classes.  According to Clarissa Chase Weiss, Simon must have attended Mormon services with some of his friends because he knew all the LDS hymns.  Simon eventually married this local Mormon girl and he allowed their children to be raised in the Latter-day Saint beliefs.

828 Washington Street-Max and Annie Weiss Home in Salt Lake City, UT.

Weiss Home in SLC, UT.

Weiss Home in 2013.

Each Friday night and Saturday, especially during the High Holy Days, members of the Weiss family would walk to Montefiore Synagogue for services.

Max and Annie's oldest son, Abe Weiss, was married to his wife, Miss Lizzie Benchick, by Rabbi Zorach Bielsky in the Montefiore Synagogue in Salt Lake City in 1911, even though both were from Uintah County.  

Note Signatures of Abraham Weiss and Lizzie Benchick, married 9 of July, 1911 in Salt Lake's Montefiore Synagogue.

Family members mentioned in the list of Deaths in the Congretation Montefiore include:
Max in 1933, Morris in 1942, Annie Weiss in 1954.   All are buried in the Montefiore Cemetery.
(See Brooks, Juanita, The Jews of Utah, pp. 239-240.)

Brigham Young gave the property for the Jewish Cemetery early in the history of Salt Lake Valley.

Montefiore Cemetery is located on strip of land next to the Salt Lake City Cemetery. 

Max Weiss headstone in the Montefiore Cemetery. Hebrew name is Michael ben reb (son of the honorable) Asher Weiss. Age 65 at death.

Annie Weiss headstone reads:  Beloved Wife and Honorable Hannah, daughter of the worthy Abraham.  WEISS -27 Tamuz 5714-83 years old. 1 Sam 25:29 "May her soul be bound up in the band of eternal life."

Rose Weiss, granddaughter to Annie and Max, was the "burser" in the national Jewish sorority Phi Sigma Sigma, at the University of Utah campus.   Her brother, Arthur, is listed as Utah Participants in World War II from Congregation Montefiore. Rose and Arthur came to live with Max and Annie when their parents (Abe and Libby Weiss) both died.     (See Brooks, Juanita, The Jews of Utah,
pp. 195, 202.)

Marker outside the Congregation Montefiore Synagogue.

The National Register historic marker explains the building's history:
(See:  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9Q4A)

This Synagogue was constructed in 1903 at a cost of $9,000, and was one of only 4 synagogues built in Utah during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

It was designed by prominent Utah architect Carl Neuhausen. The building's exotic style results from an eclectic mix of architectural elements, including Byzantine columns at the entry, Moorish arches in the towers, onion-shaped domes, and round-arched windows throughout.

The Congregation Montefiore was established in 1895 by a conservative group within Salt Lake City's Jewish community. This Synagogue served as its home for over 70 years.

Front entrance to synagogue.

Now a Christian church.

The old Montefiore Synagogue is now a Christian church.

The building was purchased in the fall of 1987 by Metro-Fellowship, a Christian Church affiliated with Assemblies of God, and renovated by volunteers under the direction of Pastors James Schaedler and Jack Perry.
 ====
At the laying of the cornerstone on August 13, 1903 of the Montefiore Synagogue, Joseph F. Smith and John Henry Smith attended and made a brief address. Later the LDS church donated $650.00 toward the building of the Jewish or "Israelite" Temple.  Apparently the building was completed late in the fall of 1903 and there was a dedicatory service remembered by some. (See Brooks, Juanita, The Jews of Utah.)

When Mark and Cyndy Weiss went to Israel in 2014, they saw the Montefiore windmill in Mishkenot Sha'ananim and learned more of the history of the man behind the name. 

Moses Monefiore

Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, FRS (Leghorn, Italy, 24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Jewish family, he donated large sums of money to promote industry, business, economic development, education and health amongst the Jewish community in the Levant (modern day Israel), including the founding of Mishkenot Sha'ananim in 1860, the first settlement of the New Yishuv. As President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, his correspondence with the British consul in Damascus Charles Henry Churchill in 1841-42 is seen as pivotal to the development of Proto-Zionism.^[1][2](see details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Montefiore).

Montefiore windmill in Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Israel.  We saw this from our bus while in Israel in 2014.

Whenever I drive by the Synagogue on the way up to the University of Utah, I think mostly of faithful Annie.  She died when her great-grandson, Mark Weiss, was 2 years old.  He has no memories of her.  We haven't yet found a link to her Jewish ancestors in Russia (Belorussia) and hope with the indexing of so many new records we can soon make the connection.  Meanwhile, we honor her tradition of righteousness in keeping the commandments of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.