The place on Bayard street was soon too small for the rapidly increasing congregation, and it removed in November of the same year to larger quarters on the first floor of a house on the corner of Canal and Elm streets, for which a monthly rental of twenty-five dollars was paid, although there was a carpenter-shop on the floor above. In another six months the continual increase necessitated another removal, this time to the top floor of a former court house at the corner of Pearl and Centre streets. There was a German congregation, “Bet Abraham,” on the first floor of the same building; but it soon moved out and, changing its name to “Sha’are Zedek,” located in Henry street and was known as the Henry Street Synagogue, until it moved uptown several years ago. During the three years which the first Russian congregation, which called itself simply the Bet ha-Midrash, remained on Pearl street, Mr. Ash became the regularly appointed rabbi at a salary of two dollars a week, and Joshua Falk ha-Kohen, author of “Abne Joshua” (a commentary on Pirke Abot, New York, 1860), delivered occasional sermons without compensation. About this time a quarrel between Rabbi Ash and Judah Middleman, who was also a Talmudical scholar, about the recognition of a shochet, in which the rabbi would not submit to the decision of European rabbinical authorities, led to the first split in the congregation. Middleman and his followers withdrew and formed a separate _minyan_ on Bayard street, which later became the congregation Bene Israel (Kalwarier, organized 1862), which now has its synagogue on Pike street. A Portuguese Jew by the name of John Hart, who visited the Pearl street synagogue to say kaddish on his Jahrzeit, or anniversary of his parents’ death, influenced his friend, Samson Simpson, the founder of Mount Sinai Hospital (b. in Danbury, Conn., 1780; d. in New York, 1857), to donate three thousand dollars, which formed the largest part of the fund with which the Welsh Chapel, No. 78 Allen street, was purchased and turned into a synagogue. It was dedicated June 8, 1856. New quarrels between the rabbi’s adherents and the officers of the congregation led to a lawsuit, and later to another split; this time Rabbi Ash and twenty-three of his followers left the synagogue, and they formed a new congregation which they named “Bet ha-Midrash ha-Godol,” which was dedicated August 13, 1859, the first location being the top floor of the house on Forsyth street, on the southwest corner of Grand street. Henry Chuck was the first president of the new congregation; Mayer Salwen, secretary; Israel Cohen, reader, and Nathan Mayer, beadle and collector.