The Lower East Side

American Chasidism took root in New York decades before the arrival of the great rebbes and Holocaust survivors of the 1940s. Drawing on years of original research and overlooked archival sources, Dov Bergman reconstructs the largely forgotten Chasidic world of the Lower East Side and challenges the conventional history of Chasidism in America.

Through the stories of remarkable personalities, pioneering religious leaders, vibrant congregations, and forgotten institutions, The Lower East Side reveals how this immigrant neighborhood became the cradle of American Chasidism. Richly illustrated with rare photographs on nearly every page, this fascinating history brings a lost world to life and sheds new light on an important chapter of the American Jewish experience.