Chelsea-Revere Hebrew School (Chelsea, Mass.) Records

Collection

Identifier: I-313

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The Chelsea-Revere Hebrew School Records contains the records of the institution and its activities, as well as press materials in the form of newspaper clippings. Institutional records include meeting minutes, financial records and correspondence, personnel manifests, memos, publications, memorial documents and correspondence, and notices describing activities relating to school functions. Correspondence from the school's officers and faculty to community members and alumni highlights the characteristics of the roles and relationships generated by the school. There are also several class photographs featuring Rabbi Hershoff, Principal, and Ellen Kagen, one of the teachers.

Some folders contain restricted materials, including personnel evaluations and reports. These records cannot be accessed without permission from the archivist.

Dates

undated, 1939-1981

Creator

Chelsea-Revere Hebrew School (Organization)

Language of Materials

The collection is in English and Hebrew.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for researcher use. Please contact us to request access or to make an appointment to view this collection at jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of this collection. For more information contact jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Historical Note

The precursor to the Chelsea-Revere Hebrew School, a Talmud Torah school, was established in 1896 on Medford Street in Chelsea by Monas Berlin and his wife Gootie. At the time of its founding, Chelsea had a small Jewish community consisting of twenty-five families. The community continued to grow rapidly into the next century, reaching nearly a third of the city’s total population by 1910. The substantial population prompted the need for a dedicated building, and the ground was broken for the Chelsea Hebrew School in 1922.

Officially open for classes in 1925, the mission of the school was to generate the “tremendous progress that has been made toward the enrichment of Jewish culture” for the children of the community. In the early 1930s, Chelsea’s Jewish population reached 20,000 out of 46,000 total residents. However, this marked the beginning of the Jewish population’s steady migration to other suburban neighborhoods, such as Newton and Brookline. By the 1950s, the Jewish population in Chelsea had decreased in numbers to 8,000, and the school closed in 1979.

References

Material from the collection.
Mystic River Jewish Communities Project. 30 January, 2013.About Chelsea, MA

Extent

3 linear feet (3 manuscript boxes and 1 oversized box)

Additional Description

Abstract

The Chelsea-Revere School was established by Monas Berlin in 1896 and served the Chelsea, Massachusetts Jewish community until 1979. The collection contains the records of the institution and its activities including meeting minutes, financial records, correspondence, personnel manifests, memos, publications, photographs, memorial documents, and school function notices, as well as press materials in the form of newspaper clippings.