Synagogue records, as records of a particular community in a particular place, can contain tremendous gems for scholarship in Jewish history.  Thanks to a wonderful collaboration between the The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the American Jewish Historical Society, the records of five of the most important synagogues in New York City are being made available freely online via the Early New York Synagogue Archives portal.  The portal contains records from the Sherith Israel, B'nai Jeshrun, Ansche Chesed, Kane Street, and Eldridge Street Synagogues and date from the 1730s through the 20th century.