In the late 1800s, my great-great-grandfather, Isaac Perelman and his wife Sarah, immigrated from Lithuania and settled in Burlington, Vermont. At the time, Burlington was a growing community for Eastern European Jews. Since there were no orthodox synagogues in Burlington, Isaac along with a small group of other Lithuanian men held services wherever they could find space, sometimes in Isaac’s kitchen. They realized they needed to build a synagogue, so they purchased a piece of land for $25 in northern Burlington, an area which became known as Little Jerusalem.. After Isaac and the other men raised $800, they were finally able to build a synagogue. They chose to name it Congregation Ohavi Zedek, which means Lovers of Justice. By 1906, over 100 families were members of the congregation.

– E.S.

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more