Temple Beth Israel (Sharon, Pennsylvania)
Encyclopedia
Temple Beth Israel is a Reform
synagogue
located at 840 Highland Road in Sharon, Pennsylvania
. Originally called House of Israel Congregation, it was founded in 1888 as an Orthodox
congregation by Jews
from Eastern Europe
.
The congregation constructed its first synagogue building in 1903, and expanded it in 1924. It hired its first full-time rabbi
, Maurice Moskowitz, in 1929; he served until 1934.
By the 1940s the congregation had moved to Conservative Judaism
, and with the installation of M. Robert Syme (1945–1948) as rabbi, transitioned to Reform Judaism. It joined the Union for Reform Judaism
in 1949, and completed its current building in 1950.
Rabbis since Syme have included Meyer M. Abramowitz (1948–1956), Robert Bergman (1957–1961), Joseph Hewzog (1961–1974), Samuel Weingart (1974–1985), and Stephen Sniderman (1985–1996). Jacques Cukierkorn has been the rabbi since 1996.
from Eastern Europe
first settled in Sharon in the 1880s. In August, 1888 they founded the Orthodox
Temple Beth Israel (originally called House of Israel Congregation) so that they would have place to worship for Rosh Hashanah
the following month. J.M. Rabinowitz (or Rabinovitz) served as cantor
, ritual circumciser
, Hebrew teacher, and ritual slaughterer.
Services were initially held on the second floor of 62 Shenango Street. The first permanent synagogue building was constructed in 1903. By 1907 the synagogue had 40 member families, and its annual revenues were $1,000 (today $). Services were held on Shabbat
and the Jewish holiday
s. The congregational school had two teachers and 25 students. A dissenting group who wanted more traditional services formed the Shaarah Torah synagogue. A number of years later Shaarah Torah re-merged with Beth Israel.
A new sanctuary was added to the building in 1924, in time for High Holy Days
that year. Beth Israel's first full-time rabbi
, Maurice Moskowitz, was hired in 1929. He served until 1934, and was succeeded that year by Aaron Shapiro, who served until 1936. Shapiro was succeeded by Meyer Finkelstein, who served until 1937, and then by Harry Seeve, who served from 1937 to 1941.
Sidney Riback joined as rabbi in 1941; by this time the synagogue had moved to Conservative Judaism
. By 1942 there were approximately 140 Jewish families in Sharon, and the women of House of Israel had formed a sisterhood.
. When he arrived in Sharon, it had a Jewish population of approximately 150 families, and Beth Israel was its only synagogue.
Syme changed synagogue ritual, adopted the Union Prayer Book
, and added a choir and organ. These changes were resisted by some members. Syme also discovered that Sharon's Orthodox Jewish population was sharing space with Beth Israel's congregation, worshiping in the basement. He felt it important that the Orthodox Jews be able to pray in the sanctuary too; so, on Friday nights he followed the Reform service in the Union Prayer Book, using an organ, while on Saturday mornings he followed the services from an Orthodox siddur
(prayer book), praying without an organ. (Orthodox services normally do not use musical instruments, since the playing of musical instruments on Shabbat and many holidays are forbidden by Jewish law
.) While living in Sharon, Syme also walked to synagogue and kept a kosher home, in accordance with Jewish law, to show that he was the rabbi of all of Sharon's Jews.
Looking for the greater challenge, opportunity, and money a larger congregation could provide, Syme eventually resigned in 1948, moving to Temple B'nai Abraham of Butler, Pennsylvania. Syme would become better known as rabbi of Detroit's Temple Israel
, where he served for almost 47 years, starting in 1953.
, Columbia University
and the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary of America
(both in 1943), and the Reform Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1946. He had served from 1938 to 1944 as a cantor and director of Jewish education at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, from 1944 to 1946 as its student rabbi, and from 1946 to 1948 as its rabbi. Abramowitz served until 1956, moving the following year to Temple B'rith Sholom of Springfield Illinois, where served the rest of his rabbinical career.
In 1949, the congregation started using the Union Prayer Book for High Holy Days, and Beth Israel joined the Union for Reform Judaism
(then Union of American Hebrew Congregations). That same year, the members began construction of the current building at 840 Highland Road (at Euclid Avenue). The building was completed by September 1950, in time for Rosh Hashanah.
Abramowitz was succeeded as rabbi by Robert Bergman (1957–1961) and Joseph Hewzog (1961–1974). Hewzog was succeeded by Samuel Weingart in 1974. Raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Weingart was a graduate of State University of Iowa, and had been ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1962. He served until 1985, and later served as rabbi of Temple Israel
of West Lafayette, Indiana.
Weingart was succeeded as rabbi in 1985 by Stephen Sniderman. A native of Toronto, Canada, Sniderman was a graduate of York University
and was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 1975. He served until 1996, and was succeeded that year by Jacques Cukierkorn. Cukierkorn has been the rabbi since 1996.
Reform Judaism (North America)
Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews today. With an estimated 1.5 million members, it also accounts for the largest number of Jews affiliated with Progressive Judaism worldwide.- Reform Jewish theology :Rabbi W...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
located at 840 Highland Road in Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
. Originally called House of Israel Congregation, it was founded in 1888 as an Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
congregation by Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
The congregation constructed its first synagogue building in 1903, and expanded it in 1924. It hired its first full-time rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, Maurice Moskowitz, in 1929; he served until 1934.
By the 1940s the congregation had moved to Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
, and with the installation of M. Robert Syme (1945–1948) as rabbi, transitioned to Reform Judaism. It joined the Union for Reform Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
The Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
in 1949, and completed its current building in 1950.
Rabbis since Syme have included Meyer M. Abramowitz (1948–1956), Robert Bergman (1957–1961), Joseph Hewzog (1961–1974), Samuel Weingart (1974–1985), and Stephen Sniderman (1985–1996). Jacques Cukierkorn has been the rabbi since 1996.
Early history
JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
first settled in Sharon in the 1880s. In August, 1888 they founded the Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Temple Beth Israel (originally called House of Israel Congregation) so that they would have place to worship for Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
the following month. J.M. Rabinowitz (or Rabinovitz) served as cantor
Hazzan
A hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
, ritual circumciser
Mohel
A mohel is a Jewish person trained in the practice of brit milah "covenant of circumcision."-Etymology of the Hebrew and Aramaic term:...
, Hebrew teacher, and ritual slaughterer.
Services were initially held on the second floor of 62 Shenango Street. The first permanent synagogue building was constructed in 1903. By 1907 the synagogue had 40 member families, and its annual revenues were $1,000 (today $). Services were held on Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
and the Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
s. The congregational school had two teachers and 25 students. A dissenting group who wanted more traditional services formed the Shaarah Torah synagogue. A number of years later Shaarah Torah re-merged with Beth Israel.
A new sanctuary was added to the building in 1924, in time for High Holy Days
High Holy Days
The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...
that year. Beth Israel's first full-time rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, Maurice Moskowitz, was hired in 1929. He served until 1934, and was succeeded that year by Aaron Shapiro, who served until 1936. Shapiro was succeeded by Meyer Finkelstein, who served until 1937, and then by Harry Seeve, who served from 1937 to 1941.
Sidney Riback joined as rabbi in 1941; by this time the synagogue had moved to Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
. By 1942 there were approximately 140 Jewish families in Sharon, and the women of House of Israel had formed a sisterhood.
Move to Reform
The members voted to reform services in 1945, and hired a new rabbi, M. Robert Syme. Born in 1920 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was a graduate of the Jewish Institute of ReligionJewish Institute of Religion
The Jewish Institute of Religion was an educational establishment created by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise in 1922 in New York City. While generally incorporating Reform Judaism, it was separate from the previously established Hebrew Union College...
. When he arrived in Sharon, it had a Jewish population of approximately 150 families, and Beth Israel was its only synagogue.
Syme changed synagogue ritual, adopted the Union Prayer Book
Union Prayer Book
The Union Prayer Book was a siddur published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States.-History:...
, and added a choir and organ. These changes were resisted by some members. Syme also discovered that Sharon's Orthodox Jewish population was sharing space with Beth Israel's congregation, worshiping in the basement. He felt it important that the Orthodox Jews be able to pray in the sanctuary too; so, on Friday nights he followed the Reform service in the Union Prayer Book, using an organ, while on Saturday mornings he followed the services from an Orthodox siddur
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
(prayer book), praying without an organ. (Orthodox services normally do not use musical instruments, since the playing of musical instruments on Shabbat and many holidays are forbidden by Jewish law
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
.) While living in Sharon, Syme also walked to synagogue and kept a kosher home, in accordance with Jewish law, to show that he was the rabbi of all of Sharon's Jews.
Looking for the greater challenge, opportunity, and money a larger congregation could provide, Syme eventually resigned in 1948, moving to Temple B'nai Abraham of Butler, Pennsylvania. Syme would become better known as rabbi of Detroit's Temple Israel
Temple Israel (West Bloomfield, Michigan)
Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan.The congregation was founded in 1941 in Detroit. In 1949 the congregation erected an Art Deco temple designed by architect William Kapp...
, where he served for almost 47 years, starting in 1953.
Events since 1948
Syme was succeeded in 1948 by Meyer M. Abramowitz. Born in Rochester, New York in 1918, Abramowitz had an unusual educational background; he was a graduate of the Orthodox Hebrew Theological CollegeHebrew Theological College
The Hebrew Theological College, known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois which also functions as a private university on campus. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
(both in 1943), and the Reform Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1946. He had served from 1938 to 1944 as a cantor and director of Jewish education at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, from 1944 to 1946 as its student rabbi, and from 1946 to 1948 as its rabbi. Abramowitz served until 1956, moving the following year to Temple B'rith Sholom of Springfield Illinois, where served the rest of his rabbinical career.
In 1949, the congregation started using the Union Prayer Book for High Holy Days, and Beth Israel joined the Union for Reform Judaism
Union for Reform Judaism
The Union for Reform Judaism , formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations , is an organization which supports Reform Jewish congregations in North America. The current President is Rabbi Eric H...
(then Union of American Hebrew Congregations). That same year, the members began construction of the current building at 840 Highland Road (at Euclid Avenue). The building was completed by September 1950, in time for Rosh Hashanah.
Abramowitz was succeeded as rabbi by Robert Bergman (1957–1961) and Joseph Hewzog (1961–1974). Hewzog was succeeded by Samuel Weingart in 1974. Raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Weingart was a graduate of State University of Iowa, and had been ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1962. He served until 1985, and later served as rabbi of Temple Israel
Temple Israel (Lafayette, Indiana)
Temple Israel is a former synagogue in Lafayette, Indiana, United States. Its 1867 building is one of the ten oldest synagogue buildings in the United States....
of West Lafayette, Indiana.
Weingart was succeeded as rabbi in 1985 by Stephen Sniderman. A native of Toronto, Canada, Sniderman was a graduate of York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
and was ordained at Hebrew Union College in 1975. He served until 1996, and was succeeded that year by Jacques Cukierkorn. Cukierkorn has been the rabbi since 1996.