From the very beginning, the aim for the Vilna Shul was to be more than just a house of prayer. It was also to have “rooms for a Hebrew school, and for social affairs, and meeting places for communal organizations.” So this building was always a kind of community center. Community was really a part of its mission.
Dr. Jonathan Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University