Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 (founded in 1875) was the first Reform

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...

 Jewish congregation in North Texas

North Texas

North Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...

, and is the largest 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...

 in the South

Deep South

The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...

.

History

Temple Emanu-El of Dallas was founded in 1873 and chartered in 1875. Originally called the Jewish Congregation Emanu-El, it was renamed Temple Emanu-El Congregation in 1974. The small but growing Jewish community felt the need for a permanent religious structure as well as for a rabbi to conduct services and to offer religious education for children, several families formed Congregation Emanu-El. They elected David Goslin president; Philip Sanger vice president; Emanuel Tillman treasurer; H. Regensburger secretary; and Alexander Sanger, August Israelsky, and Henry Loeb trustees. The next year they built a small red brick temple in the Byzantine style at Commerce and Church (now Field) streets in downtown Dallas. The congregation engaged its first rabbi, Aaron Suhler, in 1875 and joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1906. In 1957 the temple moved to its present location in north Dallas. Architects Howard R. Meyer and Max M. Sandfield

Max M. Sandfield

Max M. Sandfield was an architect, sculptor, and artist.-Life:Born in Lithuania, Sandfield immigrated to the United States as an infant and was raised in San Antonio. He graduated from MIT in 1925 with a bachelors degree in architecture. In April 1944 he met Carol Wiener, whom he married three...

, with noted California architect William Wurster

William Wurster

William Wilson Wurster was an American architect and architectural teacher at the University of California, Berkeley and at MIT, best known for his residential designs in California. - Biography :...

 as consultant, received an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects for the design of the present structure, which was enhanced by art coordinator György Kepes of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Notable rabbis at the temple were David Lefkowitz

David Lefkowitz (rabbi)

Rabbi David Lefkowitz , an historic Texan rabbi, became Temple Emanu-El 's rabbi in 1920. He was rabbi until 1949, when he was replaced by Rabbi Levi Olan. He took a firm stance against the Ku Klux Klan. . The Perkins School of Theology houses the "Sadie and David Lefkowitz Collection of Judaica"...

 (1920–49) and Levi A. Olan

Levi Olan

Rabbi Levi Arthur Olan was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine. From 1949 to 1970 he was Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, Texas. Prior to that, from 1929 to 1948, he was Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts ....

 (1949–72). http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/ijt1.html

Locations

Temple Emanu-El has had four locations in its history:

• Commerce Street (1876–1898)
• Ervay Street (1899–1917)
• South Boulevard (1917–1956)
• Hillcrest Road (1957–present) http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/ijt1.html

Core values

According to Temple Emanu-El's website, the goal of the Temple is to
"Temple Emanu-El is a vibrant Reform Jewish community that strives to be a place of sacred encounter. It is a place where learning, prayer and deeds change people's understanding of themselves, of their world and their responsibilities in it." http://www.tedallas.org/

Clergy

The current members of the Temple Emanu-El Clergy are:

• Rabbi David E. Stern
  David E. Stern
  Rabbi David Eli Stern is the senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, the largest synagogue in the South/Southwest United States and the third-largest in the Union for Reform Judaism....
  
   (Senior Rabbi)
• Rabbi Debra J. Robbins
• Rabbi Kimberly Herzog Cohen
• Rabbi Asher Knight
• Rabbi Adam Allenberg (educator)
• Rabbi Amy Ross (educator)
• Cantor Richard Cohn

Past Temple Emanu-El Senior Rabbis include:

• Rabbi William Greenburg (deceased)
• David Lefkowitz (rabbi)
  David Lefkowitz (rabbi)
  Rabbi David Lefkowitz , an historic Texan rabbi, became Temple Emanu-El 's rabbi in 1920. He was rabbi until 1949, when he was replaced by Rabbi Levi Olan. He took a firm stance against the Ku Klux Klan. . The Perkins School of Theology houses the "Sadie and David Lefkowitz Collection of Judaica"...
  
   (deceased)
• Rabbi Levi Olan
  Levi Olan
  Rabbi Levi Arthur Olan was born in Cherkasy, Ukraine. From 1949 to 1970 he was Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, Texas. Prior to that, from 1929 to 1948, he was Rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts ....
  
   (deceased)
• Rabbi Gerald J. Klein (deceased)
• Rabbi Jack Bemporad
• Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman
  Sheldon Zimmerman
  Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman is a rabbinic leader in Reform Judaism . He is a past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion...
  
  
• Rabbi Charles Mintz (interim senior)

Past Assistant and Associate Rabbis and Cantors include:

• Rabbi Irwin Goldenberg
• Rabbi Ellen Lewis
• Rabbi Richard Harkavy
• Rabbi Liza Stern
• Rabbi Mark Kaiserman
• Rabbi Peter Berg
• Cantor Annie Lynn Bornstein
• Rabbi Barry Diamond (educator)
• Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg
• Rabbi Oren J. Hayon

Music

Temple Emanu-El is nationally renowned for its music programs. Samuel Adler

Samuel Adler (composer)

Samuel Hans Adler is an American composer and conductor.-Biography:Adler was born to a Jewish family in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Hugo Chaim Adler, a cantor and composer, and Selma Adler. The family fled to the United States in 1939, where Hugo became the cantor of Temple Emanuel in...

 created many of the Temple's early musical offerings including their extensive volunteer adult and children's choirs. Simon Sargon

Simon Sargon

Simon Sargon is an American composer, pianist, and music educator of Israeli and Indian descent. He studied at Brandeis University and at the Juilliard School under Sergius Kagen. For many years, Sargon was Jennie Tourel's accompanist, performing with her in concerts and master classes across the...

 expanded the choir's influence and created programs such as the Showcase Series (showcasing jazz, classical, and pops musicians).

See also

• History of the Jews in Dallas, Texas‎
• B'Nai Abraham Synagogue, Brenham
  B'nai Abraham Synagogue, Brenham
  -History:Early Jewish settlers in the Washington County, Texas arrived during the 1860s. B. Levinson, an original founder, arrived in 1861. Alex Simon arrived in 1866. These individuals became active in the business community of Brenham, and as other Jewish settlers arrived, the need for a...
  
  
• Jewish Texan
• Temple Emanu-El website