The History of the Congregation Ohav Sholom
A Modern Orthodox Synagogue
Merrick, NY
The information for this article was provided by Rabbi Jeremiah
Wohlberg, in an interview with lifelong congregant Rebecca G. Smith, age 9 at
the time of this article.
Congregation Ohav Sholom was formed in April 1962. The original
"founding" members were the Braverman, Kronish, Marks, Pruss, Robbins, and
Werman families. They started Congregation Ohav Sholom in order to establish an Orthodox
Jewish synagogue in Merrick.
In July 1963, Rabbi Jeremiah Wohlberg joined the congregation as its
full-time rabbi. By then, the synagogue membership had reached 14 families. Over the
years, Rabbi Wohlberg has seen and been part of many changes. This includes the tremendous
growth of the Congregation Ohav Sholom membership to nearly 400 families today.
After their arrival in Merrick, Rabbi Wohlberg and his wife, Mimi, had
two children. Back then, they were the only two local children who attended Hebrew day
school or Yeshiva. Now, the congregation is blessed with many children who attend Hebrew
day school, including the author of this article.
At first, the congregation met in a small, rented store on Merrick
Avenue, near the Smith Street (Chatterton) School, which was nearly a mile north of the
synagogue’s current location. For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when there were
larger crowds, a room was rented in a local firehouse, near the Merrick railroad station.
About two years later, the congregation bought a house located on the
very same property where the synagogue is located today. The congregation remodeled the
inside of the house, with the downstairs becoming the shul and kitchen, and the upstairs
being made into classrooms and an office. For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the
congregation put up a big circus tent in the backyard of the property to hold the many
hundreds of people who came to daven at the Congregation Ohav Sholom.
The current synagogue building was built in two parts, in 1968 and
1974. The new building was needed because the congregation was growing as many more
families started moving into Merrick. The new synagogue was also needed for a Hebrew
School with as many as 300 children at one time, for many other youth activities, and as a
community center. It was easy for the members to think of the idea to build the new
synagogue because many synagogues were being built across Long Island at that time.
Said Rabbi Wohlberg, "One of the great joys I have as a rabbi who
has been in the same community for 35 years is that I see people who grew up in the
community come back with their own babies after they are married. They always have some
very special memories of the times that they spent at Congregation Ohav Sholom."
November 8, 1998
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