About us

About Us - Our History

The late 1880’s were a period of great change across the country, causing many Orthodox Jews to look beyond the big, modern cities, including New York. Several of these “seekers” came to Tarrytown, forming the nucleus of what was to become the Hebrew Congregation of Tarrytown and North Tarrytown, and over time what we now know as Temple Beth Abraham.

Hyman Levy, son of Abraham Levy, reportedly the first Jew to settle in Tarrytown, provided a room over his dry goods store to serve as the “shul” (synagogue). This arrangement continued until 1905, when the congregation built the first Orthodox synagogue building on Valley Street in North Tarrytown, now Sleepy Hollow. Since most of the early Jewish settlers came from Kovno, near Kiev, the architecture of this first building was a replica of an old Lithuanian synagogue. The interior featured a beautiful hand-carved ark, which stands today in our Chapel. As was the tradition, a circular “bima” (altar) and the ark were in the center of the room, behind which were pews for the men. Ladies sat upstairs in long rectangular balconies.

By the 1930’s the congregation needed a place to hold Jewish social events and celebrations. In 1933, thanks to the money raised by the Ladies Auxiliary, property on North Washington Street in Tarrytown was purchased and a new Jewish Center built, complete with a kosher kitchen. The Valley Street shul had become crowded, so the Jewish center was also used for religious services. However, since there was no balcony for separate seating, the Orthodox continued to worship at the Valley Street building while the Jewish Center followed the Conservative tradition.

In 1945 membership had become mostly Conservative, with a vestige of Orthodox and many new Reform members. The need for a larger building was evident but there was a dilemma: maintain the Conservative tradition or change to Reform? A unique compromise was reached. There would be two chapels under one roof. Today’s property was purchased in 1949, and the current building hosted its first services in 1955. In 1956 the official name became Temple Beth Abraham.