Bangor�'s earliest Jewish roots date from the 1840�s. Over the past 170 years Jewish institutions in the city have experienced many changes � a pattern undoubtedly replicated in other Maine communities. Bangor currently has three active congregations representing Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism. These congregations maintain their own Hebrew schools, Chevra Kadishas and cemeteries on Mount Hope Avenue. They each have their own youth activities and social programming. The city also has a Jewish Community Council and Chapel (Center Street) where funeral services are held. "Bangor's first Jews arrived from Germany in the 1840s and consisted of small number of dry-goods merchants, peddlers and tailors. Immediately and ambitiously they tended to their Orthodox Jewish needs by establishing a synagogue, Ahawas Achim, ("Brotherly Love"), with approximately thirty members. �. The congregation received a charter from the city in 1859, established a burial ground on Webster Avenue, employed for a shohet for the proper ritual slaughter of animals, planned for a school with instruction in German, English and Hebrew, discussed building a mikveh (ritual bath) and prepared for the time when they might need to disband. That moment came in the late 1850's, when Bangor's economy soured. The Jewish community dispersed, and its few sacred ritual objects, including a Sepher Torah, were sent to Boston for safekeeping. � They did revive Ahawas Achim in 1874 by bringing back the