Misplaced Pages

#402597

125-431: Founded in 1861 as a more liberal breakaway from Congregation Baith Israel , for the first 65 years it attempted four mergers with other congregations, including three with Baith Israel, all of which failed. The congregation completed its current Classical Revival synagogue building in 1910 and its "Jewish Deco" ( Romanesque Revival and Art Deco ) Temple House in 1929. These two buildings were contributing properties to

250-496: A Sunday school soon afterwards, the first in Brooklyn, and at the time, an innovation. The school was free, and run by volunteers, with separate classes for boys and girls. By 1890 the school had 160 students, and at its peak the school had 500 pupils. In 1869 reformers again left Baith Israel, and, joining with dissenters from Kahal Kodesh Beth Elohim of Williamsburg , founded Temple Israel. Though many reformers had left

375-630: A Jewish farm colony in Utah , and during World War I he was "said to be the first Jewish chaplain in the United States Army to serve on foreign soil". A leader in Jewish–Christian ecumenism , he was editor of American Hebrew Magazine from 1918, served as the delegate of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now Union for Reform Judaism ) to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference , and in

500-526: A bout between a German and a Negro was improper". Lyons denounced the Nazi racial ideas , which he noted discriminated against blacks as well as Jews, and encouraged the audience to boycott all German-made goods until "Hitler comes to his senses". Lyons died the following year, and Landman served as sole rabbi. After his death, the Central Conference of American Rabbis described Lyons as the "dean of

625-504: A drive to pay it off completely. Eugene Sack, the father of Second Circuit Court of Appeals judge Robert D. Sack , joined Landman as rabbi in 1946. While serving as assistant rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Shalom of Philadelphia , Sack had been instrumental in the founding of the Reform movement's National Federation of Temple Youth in 1939, and had presented a paper at its first biennial convention. Starting in 1943 he spent 18 months in

750-511: A family center there. After raising over $ 2 million more, including a $ 54,000 grant from the Jewish Communal Fund, in 2003 the congregation began re-building the three-story school/community center from the ground up, leaving only the historic facade . In 2004 the building was re-opened as the "Sol and Lillian Goldman Education Center", and a day-time pre-school launched. Though the sanctuary also needed extensive repairs,

875-594: A full membership meeting in 1982 to decide whether women could lead the services, blow the shofar (the rams-horn trumpet blown on the High Holidays), and whether daughters of kohanim (hereditary priests) could give the priestly blessing . Advised by Scheindlin, the congregation decided to make the services fully egalitarian, allowing women to perform all three functions. Baith Israel Anshei Emes' move to egalitarianism culminated in August 1988, when Debra Cantor

1000-423: A loss of identity, and forced a withdrawal. Instead, the congregation raised funds for a second building, and in 1928–1929 built the six-story Temple House (used for all congregational activities) on the corner opposite the main sanctuary. Designed by Mortimer Freehof and David Levy, the cast stone building's architectural style was "Jewish Deco", a mix of Romanesque Revival and Art Deco decorative forms that

1125-577: A margin of over two to one to re-orient the synagogue pews in the manner of Christian churches, and introduce mixed seating . However, nothing was done about this until 1879, when the renovations were carried out: the front pews were removed, the side pews extended to the walls, and the vestibule moved outside the sanctuary. Led by rabbi Dr. E. M. Myers, the synagogue was re-dedicated on September 7. In April 1883, Baith Israel, Beth Elohim, and Temple Israel, Brooklyn's three leading synagogues, tried to merge; Beth Elohim and Temple Israel had both been formed in

1250-410: A new pulpit , and two large bronze menorahs , and employed six people. Dues were $ 12 (today $ 340) per year, and Sunday school fees were $ 0.02 (today $ 0.560) per session. Membership had grown to 140 families by 1919. The congregational school held classes daily, and had 400 students and 20 teachers. Sidney Weinberg , who rose from the job of assistant porter to head Goldman Sachs from 1930 to 1969,

1375-533: A new building helped revive the congregation, and by 1906 (its 50th anniversary) membership had doubled. Goldfarb was a talented musician, known to this day as composer of popular tunes for the songs " Shalom Aleichem " and "Magein Avot" used in most Ashkenazi synagogues. With his brother Samuel E. Goldfarb, he compiled The Jewish Songster for schoolchildren, the first American collection of Jewish songs. Israel Goldfarb also served as Professor of Liturgical Music at

SECTION 10

#1732798183403

1500-559: A new one was sought. After a three-year search, in 1885 Beth Elohim purchased the building of the Congregational Church at 305 State Street (near Hoyt) for $ 28,000 (today $ 950,000), and moved in that year. In 1891, Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan offered Sparger a salary larger than Beth Elohim could match, and he moved there. Beth Elohim subsequently split the offices of cantor and rabbi, hiring G. Taubenhaus as rabbi and

1625-419: A new prayer book, adding Friday night services, and the "radical reform" of making the sermon the most important part of the service. He appealed to younger congregants, and, under his direction, the synagogue experienced a large increase in attendance. Though more seats had been added to the synagogue by narrowing the aisles, as a result of Sparger's innovations Beth Elohim outgrew its Pearl Street building, and

1750-572: A non-profit dedicated to memory and civic responsibility. In July 2015, Rachel Timoner became the Senior Rabbi. Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes ( Hebrew : בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת , lit.   'House of Israel – People of Truth'), more commonly known as the Kane Street Synagogue , is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue at 236 Kane Street in

1875-505: A number of families left the synagogue to form B'nai Avraham, an Orthodox congregation in Brooklyn Heights . In 2002 Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes received a $ 1 million grant for building renovations from Lillian Goldman, just weeks before her death; she had previously donated $ 20 million for the reconstruction and expansion of Yale Law School's library , and $ 5 million to Manhattan's 92nd Street Y for

2000-539: A number of times. The sanctuary ceiling cracked in the early 1980s, and services were held in Temple House for a time. The congregation mounted a "Save our Sanctuary" campaign in 1982, and repaired the ceiling. In the 1980s Beth Elohim also refurbished the Moses stained glass window, and painted the main sanctuary. The congregation restored and renovated its buildings in 1990, and in 1992 did emergency restoration work to

2125-621: A private home on January 22, 1856, to discuss their "earnest desire [to] effect the incorporation of a synagogue and congregation for divine service", and in March that year they founded Congregation Baith Israel. The group had originally organized in 1855 as the United Brethren Society, a benefit society that provided members with medical and burial assistance. Hiring the Reverend M. Gershon as cantor (the person who leads

2250-456: A result of demographic shifts. Programs for young children helped draw Jewish families back into the neighborhood and revitalize the membership. By 2006, Beth Elohim had over 1,000 members, and, as of 2009, it was the largest and most active Reform congregation in Brooklyn, the "oldest Brooklyn congregation that continues to function under its corporate name", and its pulpit was the oldest in continuous use in any Brooklyn synagogue. In 2009, it

2375-415: A role he filled until his death in 1944. By the turn of the twentieth century English had replaced German in the services and official minutes, and the second days of holidays eliminated. The synagogue had 106 members and annual revenues of around $ 8,000 (today $ 290,000), and its Sunday School had approximately 300 pupils. Taubenhaus left the congregation in 1901, and the following year Alexander Lyons

2500-475: A single set of standards, that Jews should not organize as Jews for anything except purely religious purposes, and that in any event Reform Judaism was the future and Orthodox Judaism would not survive. As Lyons put it, To me Reform Judaism is an irresistible conviction. I believe it to be the religion of the Jewish future, while I regard orthodoxy as a survival that may have a galvanized life now and then, but on

2625-558: A small, more traditional, Hebrew -focused spinoff prayer group at Beth Elohim, and has spoken in favor of a more traditional liturgy. Bachman and his wife, Rachel Altstein, have been instrumental in bringing 20- and 30-year-olds into the synagogue, and in December 2007, Bachman was named one of The Forward ' s "Forward 50". In 2008 he was a regular contributor to the Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive website. Epstein, born in

SECTION 20

#1732798183403

2750-404: A special all-men section of pews was designated at the front left of the sanctuary. The merged congregations adopted the current name, a combination of the two previous names, and, with the assistance and encouragement of Goldfarb and synagogue president Harris Copland founded a sisterhood. Nevertheless, the combined membership was still not large; in 1911, the year the congregation renovated

2875-411: A time, the only congregation in Brooklyn that celebrated Jewish holidays for the traditional two days. In 1889 Baith Israel asserted it was "the only orthodox congregation in the city", and that year the board forced the resignation of a Mr. J. Folkart, for transgressing the laws of Yom Kippur . In 1892, when Hyman Rosenberg was expelled as rabbi of Brooklyn's Beth Jacob synagogue for eating ham ,

3000-590: A week, had 15 teachers and 200 students. In 1908, the congregation purchased a 100-foot (30 m) by 112-foot (34 m) lot on the northeast corner of Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue. Plans were made to erect a new synagogue building there with a sanctuary seating 1,500 people, at an anticipated cost of $ 100,000 (today $ 3.4 million). The structure was designed and built by the Manhattan architectural firm of Simon Eisendrath and B. Horowitz (or Horwitz). Construction began in 1909 and completed in 1910. Designed in

3125-480: The Brooklyn Eagle canvassed local rabbis for their views on the matter. While George Taubenhaus, rabbi of Beth Elohim stated, "I do not believe my congregation would expel me if I ate ham", Baith Israel's rabbi Friedlander responded, "While there are some differences between the reform and orthodox Jews, I do not think it is the place for any Jewish minister to eat ham. The reformers do not so strictly observe

3250-642: The Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible ) were inscribed on the Garfield Place facade , and the Biblical verses " SHOW ME THY WAYS O LORD TEACH ME THY PATHS GUIDE ME " ( Psalms 25:4–5 ) on the Eighth Avenue facade. The building was also decorated with bas-reliefs of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish and Babylonian charioteers . It housed a 125-seat chapel, a large ballroom, social halls, class rooms for

3375-494: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden . On March 26, 2021 Union Temple merged with Congregation Beth Elohim . Union Temple was the result of the merger of two nineteenth century congregations, K. K. Beth Elohim and Temple Israel. Most recently, the synagogue was led by Rabbi Stephanie Kolin. The building was designed by Arnold Brunner and completed in 1929 as the community house for a planned temple next door, which

3500-507: The Brooklyn Eagle , "recognized as the leading Hebrew synagogue of Brooklyn". The views of the congregation regarding kashrut (the Jewish dietary laws) were by then quite liberal; in 1892, when Hyman Rosenberg was expelled as rabbi of Brooklyn's Beth Jacob synagogue for eating ham , Taubenhaus stated that he did not believe his congregation would expel him for doing the same. In 1895, Samuel Radnitz succeeded Weisskopf as cantor,

3625-564: The Classical Revival style, this "monumental example" of "austere neo-Classical grandeur" had five sides, representing the five books of Moses , a sanctuary that ultimately sat 1,200, and was capped by a saucer dome . The entrance faced the corner of Garfield and Eighth, and carved in stone over it was the Biblical verse fragment "MINE HOUSE SHALL BE AN HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE" ( Isaiah 56:7 ). The basement held classrooms, an auditorium, and administrative offices, and behind

3750-588: The Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City , New York , United States. It is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Brooklyn. Founded as Baith Israel in 1856, the congregation constructed the first synagogue on Long Island , and hired Aaron Wise for his first rabbinical position in the United States. Early tensions between traditionalists and reformers led to

3875-556: The East River in all kinds of weather, when they wished to go to their place of worship". According to synagogue legend, the founders had grown tired of rowing across the East River each Friday to celebrate Shabbat in Manhattan . Carol Levin, however, writes that a ferry service from Whitehall Street in Manhattan to South Ferry, Brooklyn (at the foot of Atlantic Street) had existed since 1836 (see South Ferry (ferry) ), that

Congregation Beth Elohim - Misplaced Pages Continue

4000-495: The First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland . After Friedlander left, his name was, for reasons unknown, deleted from the synagogue histories, and the financial records and minute books dating from his tenure were removed from Baith Israel's archives. He was succeeded by Joseph Taubenhaus, the brother of Dr. Gottheil/Godfrey Taubenhaus, the rabbi of Congregation Beth Elohim; another brother, Jacob/ Jean Taubenhaus

4125-709: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA), became the part-time rabbi of the congregation, replacing Howard Gorin, who had served since 1976. Scheindlin had become a member in 1974, after joining the faculty of the JTSA and moving to Brooklyn Heights , and from that point on read the Torah every week and served as cantor . He also encouraged the re-constitution of a choir, which called itself "the DeRossi Singers" after Salamone DeRossi ,

4250-700: The Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II as an army chaplain ; at one point he had to substitute peach juice for Passover wine . Sack had also previously been involved in anti-Zionist efforts amongst the Reform rabbinate. In 1942 the Central Conference of American Rabbis had abandoned its former anti-Zionist stance, and adopted a resolution favoring the creation of a Jewish army in Palestine, to fight alongside other Allied armies , and under Allied command. Sack and other prominent Reform rabbis opposed this; meeting on March 18, 1942, they agreed "there

4375-545: The Red Cross ; many committee members eventually resigned in protest over the overt politicization of the event, and its control by William Randolph Hearst . Isaac Landman , a graduate of Hebrew Union College , joined Lyons as rabbi of Beth Elohim in 1931. Born in Russia in 1880, Landman had come to the United States in 1890. In 1911, with the assistance of Jacob Schiff , Julius Rosenwald , and Simon Bamberger , he founded

4500-575: The Torah ark was a combination Rabbi's study/Board meeting room. The State Street building was sold to Congregation Mount Sinai. 1909 was also the year Judah Leon Magnes proposed and founded his Kehilla , a "comprehensive communal organization for the Jews of New York", which operated until 1922. Lyons opposed its creation, arguing that Jews in New York were too diverse to co-exist in one organization with

4625-546: The gutters ) needed to be replaced; interior columns were taped to prevent plaster from falling off them; the sanctuary doors needed to be replaced; and the stained glass windows needed to be removed, the metal holding them repaired, and their wooden framing replaced. In 2007 the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Sacred Sites Program awarded Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes grants totaling $ 17,500, for copper roof and masonry restoration. In 2008,

4750-458: The village of Williamsburgh , K.K. Beth Elohim was the first Jewish congregation established in Brooklyn and the first on Long Island . Prior to its. closure, it was a member congregation of the Union for Reform Judaism . The congregation first worshiped in a private home on Marcy Avenue. In 1860 a former church building on South First Street was purchased and remodeled for use as a synagogue, it

4875-458: The 1860s by dissenters from Baith Israel. This was the third such attempt; the previous two had failed when the members could not agree on synagogue ritual. The combined congregation, which would purchase new premises, would have 150 members (only heads of households were considered members at that time). Members would be refunded half the purchase price of the pews in their existing buildings. The rabbis of Beth Elohim and Temple Israel were to split

5000-593: The 1930s—offered its premises for the holiday (Sunday night and Monday), and accommodated over 1000 worshipers. The day before the holiday, the synagogue was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church , who shouted antisemitic and anti-gay slogans. As of 2012, Beth Elohim was the "oldest Brooklyn congregation that continues to function under its corporate name", and its pulpit was the oldest in continuous use in any Brooklyn synagogue. Its rabbis were Andy Bachman, Shira Koch Epstein, and Marc Katz,

5125-459: The 1970s. After the war, Beth Elohim allowed women to become full members, granting them full voting privileges and allowing them to hold office. The congregation subsequently elected Jeanette Marks as a trustee. At this time the origins of the membership began to change, as Jews of Eastern European descent started joining the congregation. In the late 1940s the central vault ceiling of the main sanctuary cracked, and had to be repaired. At that time

Congregation Beth Elohim - Misplaced Pages Continue

5250-587: The Associate Rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C. At Beth Elohim, he focused on programming and services for urban Jewish families. Under his leadership, Beth Elohim opened after–school and early childhood centers in 1978, and a day camp the following year, all housed in the Temple House. The 1970s also saw a return to more traditional practices in the service, under Weider's guidance. Some members began wearing head coverings in

5375-533: The Atlantic Street synagogue's location, so close to the ferry terminus, "must have seemed convenient to many", and that "[f]erry service was fast, frequent and inexpensive ... In the year 1869 there were almost 52 million passengers." Thus, in her view, the story of the founders growing tired of rowing across the East River is a "folk tale". In the congregation's early years, tensions existed between traditionalists and reformers, and in 1861, 41 of

5500-486: The Boerum location was part of the problem, and made the bold decision to sell it, buy new premises, and hire a rabbi (the synagogue had, for many years, run without one). In 1905, they hired Israel Goldfarb, a 1902 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary , as "Hazan [cantor] and Teacher", his first and only pulpit. The following year Goldfarb was appointed rabbi, a position he would hold for over 50 years. In 1905,

5625-762: The Bronx and raised in New Milford, Connecticut , attended Wesleyan University and Hebrew Union College, and served as the coordinator of the Institute for Reform Zionism. In 2008 she was a member of "Rabbis for Obama", a cross-denominational group of more than 300 American rabbis supporting Barack Obama 's 2008 presidential campaign . Barrington Rhode Island native Marc Katz graduated from Tufts University and studied at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem before becoming Beth Elohim's rabbinic intern in 2009. He served as

5750-431: The Brooklyn rabbinate from the point of view of service". The synagogue's fortunes improved in the 1940s, but in 1946, its bank threatened to foreclose on its buildings, in anticipation of their sale to the local Catholic diocese , as the congregation had not paid the mortgage in many years. The congregation succeeded in convincing the bank to re-negotiate its mortgage, and reduce the outstanding loan, and Max Koeppel led

5875-462: The Depression. By 1937 the congregation had elected Lyons "rabbi for life". In 1938 Lyons made common cause with Thomas Harten, the black pastor of Holy Trinity Baptist Church. Speaking to a mixed black–Jewish audience at the church, Lyons informed the listeners that he was planning to attend the second Joe Louis versus Max Schmeling boxing match in order to protest Adolf Hitler 's "view that

6000-646: The Executive Vice President of the Synagogue Council of America , was, like his grandfather, a talented musician, composing music for synagogues and churches, writing scores for television films for ABC , A&E , CNBC , and PBS , and serving as Chairman of the American Society of Jewish Music. The membership decline continued in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as older congregants died and moved away, and dwindled to

6125-671: The Jewish Theological Seminary from 1920 to 1944, and in 1949 founded the School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College . In his Kol Nidre sermon of 1905, Goldfarb emphasized the need for a Talmud Torah (providing inexpensive Jewish education for primary school children), and it was immediately founded. Talmud Torahs helped synagogues in neighborhoods with small Jewish populations to attract young Jewish families, and were common in "second-settlement areas of New York City such as Harlem and Brooklyn". By 1907–1908

6250-1012: The Mauritz Weisskopf as cantor. Born in Warsaw , Taubenhaus could read the Pentateuch fluently in Hebrew at age four, and began studying the Talmud at age six. He attended the "Berlin theological seminary" (likely the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums ) for six years. Upon emigrating to the United States, he served at Kehillah Kodesh Bene Yeshurum in Paducah, Kentucky , Temple Israel in Dayton, Ohio , and Congregation B'nai Israel in Sacramento, California , before becoming

6375-528: The Nazis. A memorial plaque in honor of Mickey Marcus is located in the lobby of the Union Temple of Brooklyn where his funeral service was conducted. It reads: "Killed in action in the hills of Zion while leading Israeli forces as their supreme commander in the struggle for Israel's freedom—Blessed is the match that is consumed in kindling flame/ Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of

SECTION 50

#1732798183403

6500-611: The Park Slope historic district , listed as a New York City Landmark district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The congregation went through difficult times during the Great Depression , and the bank almost foreclosed on its buildings in 1946. Membership dropped significantly in the 1930s because of the Depression, grew after World War II , and dropped again in the 1960s and 1970s as

6625-629: The Pearl Street building. Instead, the Pearl street building was renovated, and an organ and choir added. Ignaz Grossmann served as rabbi from 1873 to 1876. Beth Elohim voted to retire Brandenstein in 1882, an action which created some controversy both within the congregation, and among other Brooklyn synagogues. Younger members of the congregation found no specific fault with Brandenstein, but wanted "a change", and succeeded in dismissing him and electing an entirely new board of officers. The final vote

6750-421: The Reform movement held these ceremonies), and continued for both boys and girls (in place of Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations) until the 1940s. Aaron Wise , father of Stephen Samuel Wise , was one of the synagogue's earliest rabbis, from 1874 to 1875. This was his first rabbinical position in the United States, before moving to Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Manhattan. In 1876, the congregation voted by

6875-758: The Synagogue filed documents with the New York Department of State, and was approved to officially use the name "Kane Street Synagogue," which had been its commonly-used name for several decades at that point. The congregation had been supportive of the LGBTQ+ community since at least the early 1990s, and following the late 2006 decision by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards to allow same-sex commitment ceremonies , in 2007 Kane Street Synagogue voted to follow suit. The day before Yom Kippur , 2009,

7000-522: The United States. Raphael Benjamin was rabbi of the synagogue from 1902 to 1905. Temple Israel was founded in 1869. Until 1872 services were held in the Y.M.C.A. building on the corner of Fulton Street and Galatin Place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn . In that year the congregation purchased a former church building on Greene Avenue. Temple Israel dedicated a larger and more magnificent new building on

7125-479: The board of trustees, and in 1975, the congregation began calling women to the Torah and counting women in the minyan , the latter just two years after the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly voted nine to four in favor of this innovation. In 1980, Nancy Fink, a Brooklyn Law School professor, was elected as the congregation's first female president. Fink called

7250-492: The charter members of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in 1913, with Michael Salit, who had been synagogue president in 1906, serving as the congregation's delegate, and he, Rabbi Goldfarb and another synagogue member, Isaac Applebaum, were among the 22 individuals who initially founded the organization. Aaron Copland celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Baith Israel Anshei Emes in 1913. The Copland family

7375-609: The congregation also purchased for $ 30,000 (today $ 1,020,000) its current building at Tompkins Place and Harrison Street (renamed Kane Street in 1928), along with an adjacent school building and a connecting two-story arcade. The Romanesque revival church building, erected in 1855, had originally housed the Middle Dutch Reformed Church , and, from 1887, the Trinity German Lutheran Church. The hiring of Goldfarb and purchase of

7500-471: The congregation continued to meet and hold services at Granada Hall. Men and women sat together, unlike the traditional separate seating , and services were conducted in German and Hebrew . Within a few months, the former Calvary Protestant Episcopal church on Pearl Street, between Nasau and Concord, was purchased for $ 5,100 (today $ 156,000) and renovated for another $ 2,000 (today $ 61,000). The new building

7625-401: The congregation had 160 members, and the congregational school, which held classes for two hours once a week, had ten teachers and 150 students. Though the synagogue had undertaken innovations in some areas of Jewish law , it still insisted on strict adherence in others. In 1878 Tinter was dismissed for officiating at the marriage of a Jewish woman and Christian man, and Baith Israel was, for

SECTION 60

#1732798183403

7750-524: The congregation had grown to 85 member families. The Talmud Torah, which held classes four days a week, had three teachers and 75 students. In 1908, Baith Israel merged with Degraw Street's Talmud Torah Anshei Emes Synagogue, a growing congregation that had become too large for the row house in which it held services. Talmud Torah Anshei Emes's membership was mostly made up of Eastern European Jews, who were stricter in their observances than Baith Israel's mostly German-origin membership; to accommodate them,

7875-493: The congregation received a congratulatory message from President Herbert Hoover . Additional congratulatory messages arrived from Governor (later President) Franklin D. Roosevelt , Lieutenant Governor Herbert H. Lehman , Mayor Jimmy Walker , and Felix M. Warburg . Nevertheless, the Great Depression brought difficult times; officers were no longer paid their salaries, and were informed in 1932 that they would have to "wait indefinitely" to receive their back wages. In 1933,

8000-710: The congregation's Associate Rabbi until 2018 and is now the Rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, NJ. On September 22, 2013, Beth Elohim celebrated its 150th anniversary and dedicated a new Sefer Torah . Members of Beth Elohim stated it was "the first Torah in New York City to be completed by a woman". In June 2015, Andy Bachman departed to join the 92nd Street Y as the Director of Jewish Content and Community Ritual, and in addition, he founded "Water Over Rocks,"

8125-548: The congregation, several reforms in the service were nonetheless introduced: the congregation abolished most piyyutim and the Priestly Blessing , and, in 1873, introduced a confirmation ceremony for girls, led by the Reverend Dr. Tinter. The confirmation ceremonies, which had initially been held during the holiday of Sukkot , were eventually moved to the holiday of Shavuot (the holiday during which

8250-413: The corner of Bedford and Lafayette Avenues in 1891. Raphael Lasker served as rabbi of the Temple from 1871 to 1876. Temple Israel and K.K. Beth Elohim merged in 1921, deciding to erect a new temple in the newly fashionable location of 17 Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn) . Plans were drawn up by Arnold Brunner for a Neo-Classical temple with an adjacent eleven-story community house. The community house

8375-416: The corner of State Street and Boerum Place in Boerum Hill for $ 3,000 (today $ 92,000), and on January 12 laid the cornerstone for a new building, the first synagogue built on Long Island . The building was completed on August 12, at a cost of $ 10,000 (today $ 305,000), and was consecrated on August 31 by Alexander and assembled dignitaries. The synagogue, which came to be known as the Boerum Schule, created

8500-403: The facade of Temple House and restored the pews. In 1997 the synagogue began its "Kadimah Capital Campaign", which was intended to raise funds to repair and renovate the buildings. By 1999, the congregation had restored Temple House's facade, rebuilt the collapsed Garfield St. entrance, made entry into the synagogue handicapped accessible, added a multipurpose space and classrooms in the basement of

8625-489: The first president of the East Midwood Jewish Center . In 1924, a fire almost destroyed the upper level of the school building, but the congregation repaired the damage. Another renovation was begun in 1928, and included installing illuminated stained glass over the ark and bronze memorial tablets at the rear of the sanctuary, and repainting the sanctuary walls and columns in a trompe-l'œil manner imitating Jerusalem stone and marble . On its 75th anniversary in 1931,

8750-434: The formation of the anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism , "the only American Jewish organization ever formed for the specific purpose of fighting Zionism and opposing the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine." Landman died suddenly in 1946, leaving Sack to head Beth Elohim alone; Sack would eventually serve as rabbi for 35 years. Richard Harvey also joined as cantor in the 1940s; he would serve until his death in

8875-434: The heart/ Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor's sake/ Blessed is the match that is consumed in kindling flame—Dedicated by his fellow members of Union Temple of Brooklyn December 9, 1949." On November 1, 2018, events at Union Temple were cancelled after "Kill All Jews" and graffiti was found inside. New York mayor Bill de Blasio said it was "the vilest kind of hate." Police accused James Polite,

9000-736: The late 1930s and early 1940s was editor of the new ten volume Universal Jewish Encyclopedia . Landman had also been a prominent opponent of Zionism : when, in 1922, the United States Congress was considering the Lodge–Fish resolution in support of the Balfour Declaration , Landman and Rabbi David Philipson had presented the Reform movement's (then) anti-Zionist position to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs . Landman also printed many opinions against

9125-442: The latter forming Congregation Beth Elohim , a Reform synagogue, in 1861. The synagogue nearly failed in the early 20th century, but the 1905 hiring of Israel Goldfarb as rabbi, the purchase of its current buildings, and the 1908 merger with Talmud Torah Anshei Emes re-invigorated the congregation. The famous composer Aaron Copland celebrated his Bar Mitzvah there in 1913, and long-time Goldman Sachs head Sidney Weinberg

9250-881: The latter left Baith Israel to form the Congregation Beth Elohim , a Reform synagogue. That year Baith Israel hired the Reverend Joel Alexander as its religious leader. Alexander, the synagogue's first full-time rabbi, was a graduate of the Jews Seminary in Münster , and had been ordained both in Posen and by Hermann Adler , the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom . In 1862, the remaining 35 members purchased two lots at

9375-616: The leading Jewish composer of the late Italian Renaissance , whose works the choir sang. Even after leaving the synagogue, Scheindlin continued to return to serve as cantor for the High Holidays every year until 2016. In 1982 Scheindlin stated that the membership had grown to the point where it again required the services of a full-time rabbi, and the congregation hired Jonathan Ginsburg as its first full-time rabbi since Israel Goldfarb's retirement. Ginsburg developed adult education and young singles programs, and improved standards in

9500-460: The legal profession. Goldfarb engineered an agreement whereby Aaron would study music for two or three years, and, if that did not work out, then study law. In his memoirs, Copland would later describe Goldfarb as "a composer of liturgical music and the possessor of a fine baritone voice ... a sensitive human being and an effective leader of the congregation". By 1916, the congregation had installed 10 stained glass windows, electric lighting,

9625-469: The offices of rabbi and cantor: Baith Israel, at the time, had no rabbi. Though this attempt also failed, in the following year the three congregations carried out combined activities, including a picnic and a celebration of the 100th birthday of Sir Moses Montefiore . Baith Israel hired Marcus Friedlander as rabbi in 1887. Born in Congress Poland in 1862, he left Russia for England before he

9750-499: The old Mosaic law, but it does not seem to me a good example for a rabbi to set to his congregation." By 1904, membership had fallen to 30, and the synagogue nearly failed: mass transit had allowed Jews to migrate away from downtown Brooklyn , and a fire had nearly destroyed the Boerum synagogue building. Further innovations were attempted, including a pipe organ and a mixed-sex choir , but these were removed after objections from Orthodox members. The congregation decided that

9875-610: The oldest continuously operating synagogue in Brooklyn. Union Temple (Brooklyn, New York) The Union Temple of Brooklyn was a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 17 Eastern Parkway between Underhill Avenue and Plaza Street East in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York City , across the street from the Brooklyn Public Library , the Brooklyn Museum , and

10000-522: The point where the congregation could no longer afford to heat the sanctuary, and thought they would have to disband. Nevertheless, in 1972 the congregation established a nursery school and prozdor (high school). Changing demographics and new synagogue programs helped the congregation recover from its low point in the 1970s. In 1979, Raymond Scheindlin, a Ph.D. in Arabic literature from Columbia University , and professor of medieval Hebrew poetry at

10125-414: The prayers), they first met in various homes, then rented space at 155 Atlantic Street, now Atlantic Avenue . Gershon's appointment was controversial; after a background check, the board decided by a 10–9 vote on April 6, 1856, that he had never held the position of cantor in any other congregation, and was therefore not "sufficiently acquainted with the actual requirements to fill said office", and

10250-452: The pulpit was also rebuilt, so that the rabbi and cantor had separate pulpits. Underneath the sanctuary ran an underground stream which would regularly overflow, leading to flooding problems. The flooding was fixed in the 1950s with the installation of check valves , and a concrete slab floor was installed. Though the intent was to provide usable space in the basement, it was rarely used. By 1953, Beth Elohim had grown to over 700 families, and

10375-505: The purchase price of the pews in their existing buildings. Mosche and the rabbi of Temple Israel were to split the offices of rabbi and cantor: Baith Israel, at the time, had no rabbi. Though this attempt also failed, in the following year the three congregations carried out combined activities, including a picnic and a celebration of the 100th birthday of Moses Montefiore . Membership at that time still hovered around 50. Mosche fell ill in 1884, and after being unable to serve for six months,

10500-436: The rabbi emeritus was Gerald Weider, and the cantor was Joshua Breitzer. Bachman, a graduate of University of Wisconsin–Madison with a 1996 rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College, became Beth Elohim's first new senior rabbi in 25 years on October 25, 2006. Before becoming senior rabbi he had previously been an educator there from 1993 to 1998. An advocate of more traditionalism in the Reform movement, in 2002 he started

10625-508: The rabbi of the Shaari Zedek ("Gates of Hope") synagogue in New York. Differences with the latter congregation led to his resignation there shortly before being hired by Beth Elohim. Taubenhaus's brother Joseph would be appointed rabbi at Baith Israel, Beth Elohim's parent congregation, in 1893, and another brother, Jacob/ Jean Taubenhaus , was a famous French chess master . By the time of Taubenhaus's hiring, Beth Elohim was, according to

10750-547: The rabbis of the Park Slope Jewish Center and Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes , proposed opening a liberal Jewish day school in Brooklyn. Though housed at Beth Elohim, it would not be affiliated with any specific Jewish movement, and was intended for children from all branches of Judaism. Planning began in earnest in 1994; the school was modeled on New York's Abraham Joshua Heschel School , as an outgrowth of Beth Elohim's preschool program . The intent

10875-476: The recently acquired synagogue building, the Talmud Torah had only 45 students, 10 of them the children of non-members. The sisterhood had grown to 42 members by 1913; that year 11 men were accepted as new congregants, including "a dentist, an optician, a druggist, a lawyer, a butler and two store owners and a roofer"—in general, middle class occupations. Baith Israel Anshei Emes also became one of

11000-511: The religious school had over 550 students. In the 1960s, however, membership began to decline, as young families moved to the suburbs. In 1970, the congregation again encountered difficulties, "faced with dwindling membership and bleak prospects". The members, however, created one of the earliest nursery schools in the neighborhood, which, along with the Brownstone Revival movement in Park Slope, helped draw Jewish families back into

11125-463: The religious school, meeting rooms, administrative offices, a library, handball courts, a gymnasium, and a swimming pool. Lyons took on a number of causes in the 1910s and 1920s. He worked with Bishop David Greer and Rabbi Stephen Wise to expose conditions in New York's tenements , dissociated himself from Tammany Hall candidates, tried to secure a re-trial for Leo Frank , and opposed some of

11250-704: The renovations of the school/community center were undertaken first because the congregation decided "a venue for social functions is at the heart of every cohesive religious group". The following year, the school received a $ 25,000 grant from the Edith Glick Shoolman Children's Foundation "[t]o assist in the development of the Kane Street Kids program for preschool age children housed in the Congregation's Early Childhood Center". Nearly 300 households were members by 2006, and in

11375-596: The resolution and Zionism in his American Hebrew Magazine . The bill was eventually unanimously supported by both houses of Congress, and approved by President Harding . During the Great Depression synagogue membership decreased significantly; experiencing financial difficulties, the congregation stopped paying its mortgage. Nevertheless, Beth Elohim was not completely moribund; in 1931 it opened its Academy of Adult Jewish Education, which "offered courses in Bible, religion and contemporary Jewish life", and operated throughout

11500-472: The same year, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation awarded the synagogue a grant of $ 350,000 for exterior restoration of the sanctuary. The grant was part of a million-dollar capital campaign that the membership intended to carry out in 2008, as the synagogue building still required extensive repairs: the roof leaked, causing interior damage, and (along with

11625-601: The sanctuary, and planned to add a fifth floor for more classrooms. That year Sack (by then Rabbi Emeritus) died; the year before his death his son, Robert, at his induction as a Second Circuit judge, had described his father as "the most open minded man he had ever known". Janet Leuchter joined as cantor in 2001. A native of Vineland, New Jersey, and 1999 graduate of Hebrew Union College, she had previously served as cantor of Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York. Weider retired as senior rabbi in 2006, after 28 years of service. He

11750-517: The sanctuary, some Hebrew prayers were added to the Sabbath service, and the Reform movement's new High Holy Days prayer book The Gates of Repentance was adopted. The synagogue building and Temple House were contributing properties to the Park Slope historic district , which was listed as a New York City Landmark district in 1973, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1985, Weider and Beth Elohim, in cooperation with

11875-402: The services were led by George Brandenstein, who served as cantor , and was paid $ 150 (today $ 5,100) a year. Brandenstein was hired as cantor, not rabbi , because "the congregation believed having a cantor was more important", though in practice he filled both roles. A shamash (the equivalent of a sexton or beadle ) was also hired for $ 75 a year. While searching for a permanent location,

12000-637: The suburbs . Though the Centennial Celebrations of 1956 "provided a brief burst of energy for the Congregation and produced funds to maintain the Synagogue", during this period the choir was disbanded, the Sunday School and Talmud Torah closed, and paid staff reduced. In the 1960s, following Goldfarb's retirement, the synagogue hired a series of part-time rabbis, including Goldfarb's grandson, Henry D. Michelman, who served as rabbi from 1967 to 1971. Michelman, who would later become

12125-477: The synagogue abolished fixed wages entirely for its employees, and instead paid them on a "month-to-month basis", depending on what the congregation could afford. In 1932 women were allowed to join the choir. In deference to traditionalists , however, the choir was moved to the organ loft, so that the women would be less visible. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Herman Belth raised $ 20,000 (today $ 250,000) and contributed another $ 20,000 for another renovation of

12250-498: The synagogue more attractive to existing and potential members, that same month the congregation purchased, for $ 55,000 (today $ 1,330,000), the building of the Central Presbyterian Church on Schermerhorn Street near Nevins Street. Sufficient numbers of new members did not, however, materialize, and the congregation was forced to give up its new building, forfeit its $ 4,000 (today $ 96,000) deposit, and return to

12375-470: The synagogue was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church , who shouted antisemitic and anti-gay slogans. The congregation was led by now Rabbi Emeritus, Samuel H. Weintraub from 1996 to 2021. He was succeeded by Interim Senior Rabbi Paul. F. Resnick. Rabbi Michelle Dardashti was elected as head rabbi by the congregation in March 2022, and officially assumed her role on August 1 of that year. Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes continues to be

12500-489: The synagogue's children's education programs. Geoffrey Goldberg followed him as rabbi from 1987 to 1988. In 1994 the buildings' stained glass windows, parapet tower, and brownstone were repaired, landscaping redone, and, with a grant from the Sol Goldman Charitable trust, the bimah and vestibule were refurbished. Membership had increased to almost 200 families by 1995, and in 1996 Samuel H. Weintraub

12625-454: The synagogue. The building was fortified, the interior (except the front wall) repainted, and the exterior brick walls, which had been clad in "blue-veined white stone", were refinished with " brownstone type stuccoed slabs". When the renovations were complete, the synagogue was re-dedicated in January 1953. Despite Belth's efforts, membership continued to decline, as congregants moved to

12750-550: The temple and revitalize the membership. One of those young families was that of Gerald I. Weider, a young rabbi who joined the synagogue's staff in 1978. A native of the Bronx , Weider graduated from Rutgers University , and was ordained at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1973 (he would be granted a Doctor of Divinity degree by Hebrew Union College in 1998). Before joining Beth Elohim, he served as Assistant Rabbi of Temple Ohabei Shalom of Brookline, Massachusetts, and as

12875-846: The views of Samuel Gompers . In 1912, Lyons was a founding member of the Eastern Council of Reform Rabbis, an organization of Reform rabbis from the Eastern United States that was created despite opposition from the Central Conference of Reform Rabbis . In 1919 he withdrew from the Brooklyn Victory Celebration Committee (celebrating the Allied victory in World War I ) and asked that his contributed funds be donated instead to

13000-400: The whole is doomed. By 1919, Beth Elohim had 133 member families. The congregational school, which held classes once a week, had 305 students and 16 teachers. Negotiations to merge with Union Temple (the successor to Temple Israel) were started in 1925. A confirmation vote eventually passed, and the impending merger was announced in the Brooklyn Eagle . However, younger congregants feared

13125-554: Was 29 in favor, 21 against, out of a total membership of 53 or 54 (only the male heads of households were counted as members during this era). Solomon Mosche was hired to replace Brandenstein. In April 1883, Baith Israel, Beth Elohim, and Temple Israel , Brooklyn's three leading synagogues, attempted an amalgamation. This was the third such attempt; the previous two had failed when the members could not agree on synagogue ritual. The combined congregation, which would purchase new premises, would have 150 members; members would be refunded half

13250-469: Was a famous French chess master . In 1889, the congregation again renovated the synagogue building, repairing it and replacing the roof, increasing the seating capacity, adding a new vestibule and double entrance way, and redecorating the interior. At that time over half of the congregants still spoke German as their native language. The congregation had 50 members—defined as "heads of families who own seats"—by 1891, and 300 congregants in total. By 1900,

13375-464: Was a need to revitalize Reform Judaism, to oppose Jewish nationalism, and to publicize their point of view". They planned "for a meeting of non-Zionist Reform Rabbis to discuss the problems that confront Judaism and Jews in the world emergency", to be held in Atlantic City . 36 rabbis eventually attended the two-day conference on June 1, 1942, including Beth Israel's Landman. The conference led to

13500-528: Was active in the synagogue; his father Harris became treasurer and chairman of the Talmud Torah in 1905, had helped purchase the current building, served as president of the congregation from 1907 to 1910, and was made a life trustee in 1936. Aaron's brother Ralph served as superintendent of the Sunday School. Goldfarb was instrumental in assisting Aaron Copland in his early musical career. While still in high school, Aaron had approached Goldfarb for his support in studying music: Aaron's father wanted him to enter

13625-539: Was afterwards used as a school offered elementary education in English and German, in both secular and religious subjects. The school closed when public education began in Brooklyn. A new synagogue was built on Keap Street south of Division Avenue in 1876. Known as the Keap Street Temple , for many years it was the largest synagogue in Brooklyn. It is among the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in

13750-653: Was common in Jewish buildings of the period. Romanesque features included the fenestrations , while a prominent Art Deco feature was "the figure of Moses and the Tablets of Law , emphasizing the corner of the roof parapet ." The doorway and balcony at the east end of the building had "a distinctly Moorish flavor, featuring symbolic ornament: the Star of David , the Menorah , and the Lion of Judah ." The names of major figures from

13875-455: Was dedicated on March 30, 1862, and the congregation became known as "the Pearl street synagogue". By 1868, membership had increased to 103, and by 1869, almost 100 students attended the Sunday school. Beth Elohim had originally conducted its services in the traditional manner, but on February 19, 1870 "inaugurated the moderate reform services" instead. In an attempt to stem defections and make

14000-489: Was described as the largest and most active Reform congregation in Brooklyn. Prominent members included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer . In April of that year, Beth Elohim was listed by Newsweek as one of America's 25 "Most Vibrant" Jewish congregations. In September, just four days before Yom Kippur , a part of the sanctuary ceiling collapsed. No-one was hurt, but the sanctuary had to be closed. The nearby Old First Reformed Church—with which Beth Elohim had had close ties since

14125-680: Was erected first, and dedicated in 1929. Because of the Great Depression , the planned Temple was never built. Instead, the congregation continued to worship in the Community House. During the High Holy Days the congregation worshiped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music . In 1942, the theater on the ground floor of the Community House was remodeled as a sanctuary, designed after the old synagogue in Essen, Germany burned by

14250-519: Was furthermore not "a competent reader enough to read the Sepher Torah ". As a result, services were led by laymen, except during the Jewish holidays , when a professional cantor would be brought in from Manhattan. An 1886 Brooklyn Eagle article states that until the founding of Baith Israel "[h]itherto the Hebrew residents in Brooklyn had been under the necessity of finding their way across

14375-591: Was hired as its first female rabbi, making it the first synagogue in the Northeastern United States to be led by a woman. Cantor, who was 33 at the time, had been valedictorian of that year's graduating class at the Jewish Theological Seminary . The decision was not accepted by all congregants; the Conservative movement had ordained its first female rabbi, Amy Eilberg , only three years before, in 1985, and following Cantor's appointment

14500-471: Was hired as rabbi. In 1961 the synagogue began granting women some pulpit honors, giving the Sisterhood President gelila , and in 1966 granting married couples hagbaha and gelila (the honors of lifting and re-wrapping the Torah after it has been read). In the 1970s, women became more involved in the synagogue's political and religious activities: in 1972, the first woman was elected to

14625-448: Was hired as the congregation's first American-born rabbi. Lyons went on to serve the congregation for 37 years, until his death in 1939 at the age of 71. In 1907, the women's auxiliary was founded; until then, though seating was mixed, women had little say in the running of the synagogue. That year the congregation had 110 member families and annual revenues of $ 9,259.55 (today $ 300,000). The congregational school, which held classes one day

14750-406: Was listed by Newsweek as one of America's 25 "Most Vibrant" Jewish congregations. Congregation Beth Elohim was founded on September 29, 1861, by 41 German and Bohemian Jews at Granada Hall on Myrtle Avenue , members of Congregation Baith Israel who had become disaffected after they attempted and failed to reform practice there. The synagogue name was chosen by a vote of the membership, and

14875-450: Was married at Baith Israel Anshei Emes in 1920. The Weinberg family, which had joined the synagogue when it was still on Beorum Place, was also very active in the synagogue; Sidney's mother, Sophie, was sisterhood president from 1912 to 1913, and his father, Pincus, served as president from 1919 to 1921, and the children all attended the Sunday school and Talmud Torah. The Weinbergs subsequently moved to Flatbush , where in 1924 Pincus became

15000-473: Was married there in 1920. Membership peaked in the 1920s, but with the onset of the Great Depression declined steadily, and by the 1970s the congregation could no longer afford to heat the sanctuary. Membership has recovered since that low point; the congregation renovated its school/community center in 2004, and in 2008 embarked on a million-dollar capital campaign to renovate the sanctuary. Twelve Bavarian , Dutch , and Portuguese Jews gathered at

15125-428: Was never built because of the Great Depression ; the 11-story building has been used for the congregation's worship since, except, in the past, on High Holy Days, when the Brooklyn Academy of Music was utilized. In 1942, a theatre in the building was remodeled to be a sanctuary. In 2015 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Founded in 1848 by German and Alsatian Jewish immigrants living in

15250-496: Was replaced by 26-year-old William Sparger. Despite his illness, Mosche lived until age 75, dying on November 3, 1911. Sparger was Hungarian by birth, a graduate of the Prince Rudolph University of Vienna , and, according to a contemporary New York Times article, "belong[ed] to the extreme liberal school of Hebrew theology". He introduced changes to the services, including improving the choir, bringing in

15375-418: Was succeeded by Andy Bachman. At that time, Beth Elohim had over 500 members. In 2007, the synagogue was a winner of the Union for Reform Judaism 's Congregation of Learners award for medium size synagogues, for "those synagogues that provide an exceptional environment of varied and comprehensive learning opportunities and have imbued their synagogue communities with a culture of learning". In 2009, Beth Elohim

15500-445: Was to start with only first grade in 1995, but extend to eighth grade by 2000. At the time Beth Elohim had approximately 500 member families and 141 children in the preschool. The school opened in 1995, and continued for three years, growing to 38 students, before moving to new premises and becoming independent under the name "Hannah Senesh Community Day School". In the 1980s and 1990s Beth Elohim's buildings were repaired and refurbished

15625-572: Was twenty. Though speaking little English at the time, he graduated there from the London Theological Seminary, before emigrating to the United States. He was 24 years old when he assumed the post at Baith Israel, at the time the youngest man in New York state to be appointed to so significant a position of Jewish leadership. Friedlander served until 1893, when he resigned to take a more lucrative position in California at

#402597