MC 738

Inventory to the Congregation Adas Israel ((Passaic, N.J.) Records

By Mitchell Greenberg

June 1987

Special Collections and University Archives

Finding aid encoded in EAD, version 2002 by Tara Maharjan, June 2020

Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.

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Scope and Content Note

The records of Congregation Adas Israel, accession 3435, date from 1939 to 1986, with the bulk of them dated later than 1945. Material prior to 1939 (the Congregation having been founded in 1921) was not acquired, and material for most series extends no later than the early 1970's.

The collection is rich in its Men's Club documentation, which being of a fairly miscellaneous nature provides one with a good overview of the Congregation's activities for a number of years. Another strong presence is the Free Aid Loan Society, the records of which appear to be complete. Financial records for the Congregation as a whole are well organized into biannual auditor's reports although for a limited number of years. There is a single version of the constitution and by-laws, adopted 1946, with no indication as to whether or how much this version has been revised since 1946. There is however an undated "proposed constitution" in the Men's Club GENERAL FILES (which may relate to the Men's Club alone, though). As a source of information on officers and their tenure, the PRINTED PROGRAMS are recommended in addition to the attached Principal Officers (section II) note. AD JOURNALS often contain historical information in the "messages" of rabbi and president, and letters by others, which may elaborate on the attached Chronology of Congregation (section I), which happens to be based mainly on a historical note in the 1973 edition of the Ad Journal.

Lacking in the collection most prominently are minutes of the full Congregation's meetings, if such meetings existed, Also lacking are many monthly newsletters, as only one per year are present in the collection. Another item missing is membership or mailing lists for the full Congregation, a mere two being present in Men's Club GENERAL FILES. One may also notice the absence of any Hebrew School or Sisterhood records except for a lone membership list of the latter. There appears also to be no correspondence, neither of rabbi nor of any officer. And lastly, financial records for years 1964 to the present have been retained by the Congregation and are not present in the collection.

The charter of B'nai Brith Lodge no. 1609 (which met at Adas Israel's Center for a number of years) is stored separately from this collection and contains a list of the Lodge's members' names.

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Arrangement Note

The records of Congregation Adas Israel were fairly well organized when received and required but little rearrangement. The bulk of the rearrangement was chronological, such as of AD JOURNALS, NEWSLETTERS and PRINTED PROGRAMS, while the series Men's Club MEMBERSHIP AND MAILING LISTS, Sisterhood MEMBERSHIP LIST and Congregation PRINTED PROGRAMS were extracted almost entirely from Men's Club GENERAL FILES, the only exception being a printed program of dedication of the new Synagogue-Center which was found among AD JOURNALS.

Segregated from the collection were many duplicate AD JOURNALS, PRINTED PROGRAMS, Men's Club MEMBERSHIP AND MAILING LISTS, plus a flier advertising an appearance of the New York Yankee baseball player Ron Blomberg at an event sponsored by a B'nai Brith Lodge not associated with Congregation Adas Israel. The total amount of segregated material amounted to approximately .3 cubic feet.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Congregation Adas Israel Records. MC 738. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

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Container List

Appendix: List of Principal Officers

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