The name Ratzon comes from Hebrew word for “yearning and possibility.” It is appropriate then that the center serves as a space to hold events related to the LGBTQ+ Jewish experience, a mutual aid organization, and a host for the national Queer Jewish Youth Group Shulayim L’Shalom (“From margins to peace”).
Tag: Jews and the City
Hearts Together Tree of Life Exhibit and Community
This memorial is dedicated to the nine Jewish worshippers that lost their lives in the Pittsburgh shooting at the hands of an antisemitic white supremacist on October 27th, 2018 in Squirrel Hill. Following the
Rodef Shalom Biblical Garden
Built in the 1980s by Rabbi Walter Jacob and his wife, Irene, the garden brings biblical history to life through a colorful arrangement of flora, pools of running water, and plaques inscribed with bible verses. With unique attractions and educational programming every summer, the garden is not only a vital part of Jewish life in the city, but a center for interfaith collaboration and unity in Pittsburgh.
Kehilat Sfarad Congregation
Kehilat Sfarad Congregation is the only Sephardic Jewish congregation in Pittsburgh. It began as a group of 10 men of Egyptian, Moroccan, Israeli, Greek, and Iranian heritage. Some of the congregants are also Mizrahi Jews, or Jews of Middle Eastern descent. As opposed to Ashkenazi Jews whose ancestors hail from Europe, Sephardic Jews’ ancestors were expelled from Spain and moved to places such as what once was the Ottoman Empire and countries in North Africa.
Irene Kaufmann Settlement Auditorium
Now known as the Elsie Hillman Auditorium, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House Auditorium is the last existing building of the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House (IKS). The IKS was a massive hub for Pittsburgh immigrants from the late 1800s to the first half of the 1900s, and it played a particularly integral and impressive role in assisting Jewish immigrants at the time.
The Pauline Hanauer Rosenberg Residence
The Pauline Hanauer Rosenberg Home sits idly at 417 Lockhart Street in the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in what was originally known as Deutschtown. The home is most notably known for one of its most preeminent residents, Pauline Hanauer Rosenberg. While Mrs. Rosenberg was in residence, the home served as a conduit for many transformative social events and connections within the Jewish community.