Truckin' on the Western Branch

Gomley Chesed Synagogue Organized in 1886 with about 20 families in downtown Portsmouth, Chevra Gomley Chesed members met in homes, storefronts, and a firehouse until 1901 when the congregation bought a building on County Street. The congregation also established a Jewish cemetery and, in 1918, a community center near the synagogue. As the congregation shifted from Orthodox to Conservative after World War II, men and women became more equal in religious services and education. Downtowners moved to the suburbs of the Churchland area in the early 1950s. The synagogue also moved to a new, contemporary style building in the Sterling Point neighborhood. Robert Rosenfeld has been on the synagogue board for 75 years since he was 20 in 1939. He was the synagogue president in 1958 and said, Everybody died out or was moving out of downtown Portsmouth. In 1954 Gomley Chesed had about 200 families and built the new synagogue’s main sanctuary with 817 seats. Still it was so crowded that there used to be arguments over seats for the high holidays. We had about 175 attend Sunday school and used to have a Hebrew school. But In the early 1970s the young married couples started leaving. Now we are down to about 75 members, mostly in their 70s and 80s. The building has been on the market for several years and as of now the future of the synagogue remains uncertain.

Robert Rosenfeld, past Synagogue President. Image by Sheally

Robert Rosenfeld with Gomley Chesed directories. Image by Sheally

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