When Berend Lehmann settled in Halberstadt he also became active in organizing a pre-modern community center for the Jewish community. He was focused on founding a “Lehrhaus”, a place of learning where two or three distinguished contemporary Rabbis would be able to study, teach and publish, free from any duties in the community. Berend Lehmann bought the Rosenwinkel building to be the site of the Lehrhaus, known as the Klaus, and the opposite, elliptically shaped property enclosed by the buildings on the Bakenstrasse and Judenstrasse streets for the Community Synagogue to be built on.Lehmann was, however, concerned that the community would no longer be willing to pay for the Rabbis’ salaries after his death, as the Rabbis were not working in the community. This is why Lehmann did not donate the Baroque Synagogue to the Jewish community directly, but rather provided a loan for its construction and furnishings. In order to guarantee the existence of the Klaus, the conditions of the loan stated that the interest to be paid on the loan go to finance the salaries of the Klaus Rabbis. This arrangement successfully allowed the Klaus to function how Lehmann envisioned until 1938.