Ansche Chesed is a synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

 on the Upper West Side

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...

 of the New York City borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

.

History

The congregation was founded in 1828 by a group of German, Dutch and Polish Jews who split off from Congregation B'nai Jeshurun. By the time the congregation erected the building on Norfolk Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

 that is now the Angel Orensanz Center

Angel Orensanz Center

The Angel Orensanz Center is located at 172 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side of New York City, New York...

 in 1850, there had been further secessions and the congregation was composed of immigrants from Germany. It was also the largest in the United States. In the 1870s, the congregation merged with Temple Emanu-El

Temple Emanu-El

Temple Emanu-El of New York was the first Reform Jewish congregation in New York City and, because of its size and prominence, has served as a flagship congregation in the Reform branch of Judaism since its founding in 1845. Its landmark Romanesque Revival building on Fifth Avenue is widely...

, but by 1881 the more traditional German Jews of Ansche Chesed had reformed, been joined by newer immigrants, and were meeting in Yorkville

Yorkville, Manhattan

Yorkville is a neighborhood in the greater Upper East Side, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 72nd Street to the south. However, its southern boundary is a subject of...

 at Lexington Avenue

Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)

Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...

 and 113th Street.

In 1908, the congregation was part of the movement of upper-middle-class New Yorkers to the newly fashionable neighborhood of Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

. The congregation opened a handsome, brick, Greek revival Temple at Seventh Avenue

Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)

Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....

 and 114th Street.

In 1928, the congregation again followed fashion, from Harlem to the even newer Upper West Side

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...

 of Manhattan, opening its present Byzantine revival building at West End Avenue

West End Avenue

West End Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River.West End Avenue originates at West 59th Street; the continuation of the street below 59th Street is called Eleventh Avenue. It runs from 59th Street to its...

 and 100th Street. The architect was Edward I. Shire.

Contemporary

Ansche Chesed is a non-denominational congregation. In addition to the historic sanctuary, the congregation possesses a commodious education building. This enables multiple minyan

Minyan

A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....

im to meet within the congregation. These include:

• Minyan Ma'at
• Minyan Rimonim
• West Side Minyan

It hosts the nursery school, Purple Circle