An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Religious Societies … Constitution and By-Laws of the Congregation Anshi Chesed, New York: S.H. Jackson, 1837

28 pages (8 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.; 212 x 135 mm). Lightly browned and spotted; contemporary marginal notes in pencil, some subsequently erased. Original blue paper printed wrappers strengthened, with minor loss, repaired, at gutter, and small chip to lower corner; owner's signature in English and Hebrew on front wrapper. Modern red half morocco over marbled paper.

Singerman 0618, a defective copy; unknown to Rosenbach or Goldman.

ONLY KNOWN COMPELTE COPY

New York’s Congregation Anshei Chesed (originally styled Anshi Chesed) was founded in 1829 when a group of German, Dutch and Polish Jews seceded from Congregation B’nai Jeshurun which itself had splintered off from Shearith Israel, the earliest American congregation. Such secessions were not uncommon in the formational period of American Judaism in the mid-nineteenth century, although the precise reasons for the break remain shrouded in the past. In 1837, the congregation had grown sufficiently that it was considered appropriate to publish both the constitution and the by-laws.

Emulating the example set by Shearith Israel in its 1805 constitution, the present pamphlet included the enabling New York State legislation. In this case the legislation, An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Religious Societies (pp. 3-11), is dated 1813, but includes amendments through 1826 and was printed together with the the constitution (pp. 13-16) and the by-laws (pp. 17-27), and augmented by a table of Sabbath commencement times for New York City (p. 28). More than a hundred words set in Hebrew type pepper the English text of the by-laws. These, in addition to several handwritten notes in the margins, commenting on nuances of particular clauses, clearly indicate that the text was a ready reference for members of the congregation. Singerman mistakenly records the date as [1836?] based on the defective copy at AJHS. No other complete copy known.