Rabbi Avraham Dov Goldenson

Rabbi Abraham Dov(Ber) Goldenson

אברהם דוב ב”ר מנחם מענדל

1870-1931

Yahrzeit: Shevat 20 5691

Born in Slabodka in 1870, Rabbi Goldenson was educated in the Yeshiva ion Slabodka. He was ordained by Rav Yitzchak Elchanon. For 10 years he was the Rav of the city of Lenevab near Kovno. In 1909 he came to America and was a Rabbi at Congreagation Sons of Israel in South Bend, Indiana and B’nei Reuven in Chicago, Illinois. In 1919, he came to St. Louis where he served as Rav of Beit HaMedrash HaGadol, Nusach HaAri, Beth Abraham, B’nai Yeshurun Anshei Galizian.

South Bend, Indiana

While in South Bend (1910-1912) Rabbi Goldenson was the head rabbi of the orthodox congregation Sons of Israel which was also known then as the Williams Street Shul. It would eventually become B’nai Israel and would dissolve as a congregation in the 1990’s. The building that housed the congregation still stands and is part of the Coveleski Stadium and now houses the gift shop part of the South Bend Silver Hawks AAA Midwest Team franchise. A photo of the building is included with the other photos on the right of this text. Click at the bottom of the photos shown to reveal the others.

In addition to the Rabbi’s responsibilities with Sons of Israel he was revered as a religious scholar and also held a separate minyan at the Abos Sholm Synagogue on Friday and Saturday nights. This is confirmed by the listing in the Hibberd South Bend City Directory, 1910. Those Jewish men who chose to attend services conducted without the haste that was often preferred by the less religious among them, sought the leadership of Goldenson at those weekly services.

His departure from South Bend, as it turns out, was a loss to the community for Hebrew and religious schools he might have organized had he stayed. The potential to elevate religious Jewish life in South Bend was lost with his move to Chicago and subsequently to St. Louis. The local community either did not recognize his immense religious talent and leadership or (at the time) could not afford to pay him a salary that would convince him to stay.

St. Louis, Missouri

Like several other shuls, Nusach Hsari organized a Chevrai Mishnayos (study group). Headed by Mordecai Bachrach, this satellite group not only emphasized the study of traditional law but also assisted the Jewish community in carrying out prescribed burial rites and similar traditonal practices. As a result, the congregation experienced phenomenal growth, attracting many newly arriving immigranrts. That growth led to several moves to larger quarters. By 1920, grown to approximately 250 members, Nusach Hari, purchased the synagogue at 1125 North 11th, formerly the home of Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol. Owning and occupying a large and already well-known facility, Nusach Hari inherited Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol’s role as a major center in the Ghetto, not only for religious services but also for cultural activiites such as concerts, lectures, banquets, and similar community-wide events.

Nusach Hari’s early rabbis were products of Lubavitch Chasidic training. The earliest were a Rabbi Meyer (1908-1912) and Rabbi Samuel Elkin (1914-1917). Then in 1918 Rabbi Abraham Dov Baer Goldenson (a Talmudist) “was sent by the [Lubavitcher] Rebbe to guide the congregation.” A renowned scholar and public-spirited humanitarian, Rabbi Goldenson soon became highly respected throughout the broader St. Louis secular community as well as within the Jewish community. He remained Nusarch Hari’s rabbi until he died in 1931.

Rav Goldenson’s Seforim

Kuntres K’Sidram תמידים כסדרם

HaGeyoni Av הגיוני א”ב

Rabbinic Positions Held

South Bend, Indiana

Chicago, Illinois

St. Louis, Missouri