Washington Hebrew Congregation
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The Washington Hebrew Congregation is a Jewish congregation formed on April 25, 1852 in Washington, D.C. by twenty-one members.
Solomon Pribram was elected the first president. By 1854, there were forty-two members. On December 13, 1855, at the thirty-fourth session of the United States Congress, a special act was passed, which provided that
| all the rights, privileges, and immunities heretofore granted by the law to the Christian churches in the city of Washington be and the same hereby are extended to the Hebrew Congregation of said city. |
The congregation grew steadily in membership and in influence; and in 1863 it moved to the site of a former Methodist church, which had been used by the government for hospital purposes during the Civil War.
By 1905, the First Washington Hebrew Congregation was the only Reform Judaism congregation in the District of Columbia, with a membership of 350, and a religious school attended by 200 children.
One prominent leader was Uriah P. Levy.
In 1870, thirty-five members left the parent body to form an independent congregation, with Isaac Stampel as Hazzan. This congregation, which was called Adath Israel, was organized as a protest against the Reform tendencies of the old congregation.
The Washington Hebrew Congregation is currently a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.
- Washington Hebrew Congregation website
- Washington Hebrew Congregation History
- Jewish Encyclopedia article on Washington D.C. congregations
- Raphael, Marc Lee. Towards a "national shrine": a centennial history of Washington Hebrew Congregation 1855-1955 (Williamsburg, Va.: Dept. of Religious Studies, College of William and Mary, 2005); no ISBN.
