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Outside the Eldridge Street Synagogue, it was a regular Sunday on New York's lower East Side as residents and tourists picked their way past stands piled high with Chinese greens and five-and-dime stores bearing signs written in Mandarin.
But inside the historic sanctuary, visitors were transported back 125 years to the days when the signs were all in Yiddish and a group of neighbors came together to found one of the first great American houses of worship built by Eastern European Jews.
The cornerstone-laying ceremony of 1886 was a festive affair with live music and a host of community leaders included in the program.
So on its anniversary, organizers from the synagogue - now also a not-for-profit organization known as the Museum at Eldridge Street - held a re-enactment, complete with klezmer music, speeches and fun.
There was even an actor in period costume re-creating the speech given by the synagogue's founding president, Sender Jarmulowsky.
"I can't think of a greater symbol of our faith or our commitment to our community," said New York Senator Chuck Schumer, a surprise guest. "This is the cradle of American Jewry."
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin paid tribute to a group of dedicated people who obsessively pursued the extensive renovation of the synagogue, which was completed in 2007.
"What can 1 say?" Telushkin said. "Thank God for meshuggeners."
The day's celebration, which was co-sponsored by the National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene, kicked off with a performance by Frank...