Congregation Agudas Achim celebrates community at ‘Incorporation Gala’

“This is amazing!” Those words were heard over and over at a gathering to celebrate Congregation Agudas Achim and its community.

Dubbed the Incorporation Gala, the March 11 party at the Pawtucket Country Club was organized to celebrate the preservation and restoration of the congregation’s original articles of incorporation, a document dating back to 1911.

Molly Jacobs, president of the Attleboro synagogue, pointed to the articles as evidence of the congregation’s durability, even during difficult times, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic has eased, the synagogue has conducted more services and events in person, and Jacobs encouraged congregants to reengage with the community, to rediscover the joys of being together as a community.

Stuart Freiman, a former president of Agudas Achim who has a lifelong interest in ephemera, took the lead on the restoration project.

“What drew me to this hobby was when I realized that these documents are primary sources of history, and that when I touch one, I’m connected to the people who originally wrote, signed, sealed, mailed and handled these papers,” he said.

Freiman worked with the Northeast Document Conservation Center, in Andover, Massachusetts, to preserve the document. At the gala, Freiman and fellow congregant Aaron Weintraub unveiled a perfect digital reproduction, which is now on display at the Reconstructionist synagogue, 901 North Main St., Attleboro.

Nearly 100 people attended the gala, including rabbis from other Reconstructionist synagogues in Massachusetts. Entertainment included a band of congregation members performing hits from the 1950s through the 2000s.

Congregation Agudas Achim welcomes visitors to services and events; for a calendar and more information about the congregation, go to agudasma.org or call 508-222-2243.

Submitted by Congregation Agudas Achim