The sudden collapse last week of the ceiling at the historic
First Roumanian-American Congregation in New York should serve
as a wake-up call to American Jews concerned with the
preservation of their own heritage. Indeed, even before the roof
fell in on the landmark Lower East Side synagogue, it was
puzzling why historic preservation in America has not been a
higher priority on the Jewish communal agenda. For a community
with serious concerns about continuity, such historic sites are
incomparable vehicles for educating young people and connecting
them to their history and their faith. Every day the need to
preserve and restore these sites grows more acute. Synagogues
like the First Roumanian-American Congregation, more familiarly
known as the Rumanische shul, were the first spiritual homes for
successive waves of European immigrants. They were built more
than 100 years ago, and just like the bridges and tunnels of New
York City, they’re bound to fail if not attended to. The same is
true in all five boroughs a