HNT HISTORY ARCHIVES
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DECADE 4
From War to Peace – From Financial Crisis To Mortgage Burning

The world was at war again. Adolph Hitler was Chancellor of Nazi Germany, instilling fear into millions of Jews worldwide. The Great Depression still clutched the United States in economic turmoil, and financial struggles still hung heavily on Herzl’s shoulders. Yet our synagogue’s spirituality and sense of community helped soothe the wounds of life during those troubled times.

In 1936, dire financial straits once again threatened the survival of Herzl’s synagogue and cemetery. An emergency general meeting held only two days before a scheduled foreclosure trial prevented the repossession of Herzl’s spiritual house of worship when $3,000 was raised, infusing our synagogue with new capital – and with new life.

In 1937, the Fani Rosenbaum Memorial Chapel was erected in Herzl’s Cemetery. Inspired by Rachel’s Tomb and designed by nationally known Seattle architect B. Marcus Pritica, the chapel was gifted by Fani’s financier son, Lewis Newman Rosenbaum.

On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing an abrupt end to America’s abstinence from the war.

Herzl supported its service personnel and the war effort in countless ways. More than 275 men and women congregants served in the military; the synagogue held many special worship services and programs and provided High Holy Day seats without charge for service personnel; the Sisterhood organized an active Red Cross unit, sponsored dances, and arranged wedding receptions for servicemen and women who married in the synagogue; and the Herzl Men’s Club received a U.S. Treasury Department certificate for its participation in wartime fund raising.

In 1942 a weekly Herzlgram publication began, and in December 1942, Cantor Joseph Shiffman’s melodious voice filled the sanctuary when Herzl observed a day of mourning for Jews who had lost their lives in the concentration camps.

When holocaust survivors and German refugees began to reach Seattle’s shores, Herzl embraced them with open arms. Considered alien enemies, the United States imposed nightly curfews between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM on all German immigrants. In response, the congregation conducted Shabbat services every Friday night at 6:45 PM, allowing all congregants to daven in communal prayer.

Having survived the hardships of war and the many financial crises that threatened its very existence, Herzl’s fourth decade ended in 1946 with the congregation joyously celebrating both a full year of peace – and a mortgage burning ceremony and banquet in the synagogue’s vestry.

During the decade, Herzl was served by Rabbis Philip Langh, Bernard Rosenberg, Samuel Cass, and Franklin Cohn; Cantors Sebastiano Burnetti and Joseph Shiffman; and congregation presidents P. Allen Rickles, Henry Silver, Leo Meltzer, Benton Sterling, and Peter Thomas.

In many ways, these were truly the best of times and the worst of times – we prayed together, we mourned together, we held together, and we celebrated the passages of our lives together as a struggling yet strengthening congregation.