Docent Stories

Our volunteer tour guides share the story of the Eldridge Street Synagogue from its 1887 opening to its current restoration and renewal.

Barry Feldman
"By 1880, they were Yankees"

Why I volunteer: It's an opportunity to interpret for visitors the vibrant era of Jewish immigration and settlement when traditional folkways were transformed and reworked into new cultural identities. A tour of the synagogue evokes a mosaic of this period:  observant Jews scurrying to prayer, sweatshop workers hurrying to their machines, pungent odors from pickle barrels, long lines and crowded reading tables at the library, strikers gathering at Straus Square, children playing on the steps of crowded, dark tenements.  The story continues.  Standing on the steps leading to the synagogue I observe a colorful, paper lantern swaying against the window of an electronics store, Buddhist monks lighting candles at a storefront temple, Chinese signs I cannot read, small restaurants, children with backpacks heading to school. How can I work elsewhere?

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Linda katz
"The synagogue became a melting pot"

Why I volunteer: I love talking with our visitors from all over the world, who enjoy the beauty of the synagogue while also sharing their own stories.   I love the synagogue and watching it uncover its "original" beauty through the restoration. It reminds me of what the congregation and other Eastern European Jews were able to achieve as they came here and the beauty that can be created.  

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Jane Herman
"The immigrants faced a lot of obstacles"

Why I volunteer: From the first moment I set foot inside the Eldridge Street Synagogue, I was smitten.   Its architectural grandeur, its rich religious and cultural history and the voices of the countless immigrants who made it great all spoke to me.  

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Barry Wolborsky
"A greenhorn, fresh of the boat"

Why I volunteer: The moment I stepped inside the main sanctuary, I felt like I was transported back in time along with a powerful and immediate connection to grandparents and other family members.   Volunteering at Eldridge Street has become not only a meaningful experience that has prompted me to learn more about my own family and my Jewish culture and background, but a fun one as well.

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Roberta Berken
"The opening was in 1887"

Why I volunteer: Being at Eldridge Street is a walk back in time to when my ancestors came here in the l890's.I feel I am walking in their shoes feeling as they did in a new country, smelling the smells they smelled, walking the streets they walked and experiencing religion much as they might have (although my relatives were Socialists).It is bearing witness to their great leap to America and living it to some extent.

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Lyla Glener
"A revelation and reaffirmation"

Why I volunteer: I read about the first Clean and Shine (an event where volunteers help clean and renew the synagogue) in 1991 and thought it sounded uniquely interesting. I had a wonderful day.   The experience spoke to something in my roots and tapped into many feelings. I fell in love with the synagogue and was committed to its preservation.

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George Beckwith
"They tried to make everything look fancier"

Why I volunteer: First the incredible inspiration of the building itself.   It is really exceptional to come into a very architecturally significant 120 year old building in New York that still has much of its original fabric intact.   Second, I feel my history at Eldridge Street, my heritage.   It pulls on my heart strings to go in there.

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Clarice Feinman
"We have electricity!"

Why I volunteer: There are so  many reasons why I became and remain a docent at the Eldridge Street Synogogue.  I spend so much time in a beautiful synogogue steeped in history and tradition, and I  share all of this with the wonderful and friendly staff and docents.

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Belulah Buchwald
"Congregation size diminished"

Why I volunteer: When I first came to the Eldridge Street Synagogue I was dismayed at the condition of this grand old building.  It pleases me greatly to know that I can play a part in the restoration.  When I am there I think of my family and all the others who came to America to find a better life.  I can even walk in their footsteps on the worn floors and sit in the seats where their tired bodies rested as they followed the service and listened to the cantor's beautiful voice.

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Annie Polland
"In 1986 the Eldridge Street Project was formed"

Why I work here: What attracted me to study and teach Lower East Side history was the vibrancy and diversity of its immigrants over time; what attracts me to the Eldridge Street Project is the opportunity to share and discuss that history with its equally vibrant and diverse visitors.

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Edward Cheng
"The more the neighborhood changes..."

Why I volunteer: For the bagel, pickles, egg creams and the slivovitz (what else?). I grew up down the block and would peek in occasionally.   I feel a responsibility to the neighborhood and the immigrant experience.

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