Holy Ark

The congregation constructed its current building at 145 Broadway in 1922-23. The synagogue’s magnificent ark, was constructed at its previous location by 1873 and is a transplant. The ark first graced the majestic nineteenth century synagogue of Congregation Anshe Chesed (renamed Beth-El and later purchased by Rodeph Sholom), at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street in New York City. That building was razed in 1926, the ark stored, and then given to Ahavas Sholom. In 1929, one of Ahavas Sholom’s founders, Leopold Jacobson, an antique dealer and furniture maker, trimmed and installed it in the six-year-old building. Ahavas Sholom’s ark is the oldest known ark in the state of New Jersey and among the oldest in the United States. In recent years, with the support of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee, Ahavas Sholom was named to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and then to the National Register of Historic Places.