Jacob Levinson awoke each morning in 1894 to the sights and sounds and scents of Mobile’s waterfront.  A pawnbroker, cigar merchant and seller of dry goods, Levinson lived and worked in Government Street’s first city block, just a short distance from his companions, Henry Alfman and Leo Scharf.  These two gentlemen lived and worked in the lower Dauphin Street and shared the common trade of umbrella manufacturing as well as clothing, boot and notion sales. But aside from their shared interest in commerce, the three were bound by their faith-Orthodox Judaism.  Levinson lent his home for weekly Sabbath services and he and his cohorts were among the handful of Orthodox Jews who rented storefront space for the observance of Jewish holidays.          

            In late 1894, the three petitioned the state of Alabama to issue a charter for their religious organization, which was granted on October 19, 1894.  Taking its name from the book of Micah Chapter 6, verse 8, the Orthodox congregation, Ahavas Chesed (Hebrew, meaning “love of kindness”) was formed, and distinguished itself from the older Reform-type Congregation Shaarai Shomayim, which today gathers in the Spring Hill Avenue Temple.

            Many stories about the growth of the congregation have endured throughout the history of the Jewish Ahavas Chesed community in Mobile,  William Smolkin penned a story in the early 1930s of that first year of organization: “Typical of the momentary spurts in population was an incident in which several families came to this city in 1895.  The American Immigration Society, with thousands of newcomers on its hands, had written to Jewish congregations all over the country, asking how many immigrants they could accommodate.  The answer they received from Mobile was most hearty.  While most of the city was still sleeping-it was three o’clock in the morning- a welcoming committee composed of Henry Hess of the Congregation Shaaray Shomayin and Rudolph Levinson of Ahavas Chesed went down to meet the in-coming families from New York City, persons who would have to be sheltered and fed until they could gain a foothold in the “second Promised Land”.  After the first few, hectic years, more gradual growth was the order, and there was a steady flow of immigrants between the years of 1895 and 1910.”

            A residence on the corner of Conti and Warren Streets was remodeled into a Synagogue in 1908 and within three years the congregation had grown to a size that warranted construction of a new building altogether.

            In December of 1911, a cornerstone was laid (which included a copy of the Constitution of the United States, a daily newspaper, the Constitutions of both local synagogues, a $10 Confederate note, and American coin and a Hebrew Bible, for the $10,000 brick and steel edifice at Conti and Warren Streets. Within a few months, Rabbi Morris Lichtenstein, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York, joined his brethren at the new house of worship. The synagogue became the hub of the Orthodox Jewish community, a Hebrew school was formed, cemetery plots were purchased and social and civic groups quickly sprang up.  The Ladies Aid Society was among them and gave invaluable service to Jews in Mobile and other cities.  By 1930, the Congregation Ahavas Chesed had grown to such size to warrant construction of a three-story, $12,000 community building directly across the street from the synagogue.  Within six years, the indebtedness on this building was retired. Fro the 45 years that followed, the congregation grew and prospered and made significant contribution to the city and to the Jewish people until 1956 when the sizeable community realized it needed yet another, larger synagogue, and construction of the facility at 1717 Dauphin Street was begun.  During the same time, Congregation Ahavas Chesed affiliated with United Synagogue of America, the organization of conservative congregations, and the ladies auxiliary became a part of National Women’s League for Conservative Judaism.

            Today, some 33 years later, Congregation Ahavas Chesed migrates even farther west to accommodate growth and a residential shift of its membership.

            As we have grown from strength to strength, we pray that our future will continue in the path of our ancestors-one of “loving kindness.”

            Taken from Congregation Ahavas Chesed Dedication Celebration February 11, 1990.