Congregation Beth Elohim

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This article is about a Jewish congregation founded in 1861 in Brooklyn, New York. For the birthplace of American Reform Judaism, see Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue.
Congregation Beth Elohim

Sanctuary main entrance
Basic information
Location 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue,
Park Slope, Brooklyn,
New York City, Flag of the United States United States
Geographic coordinates 40°40′16″N 73°58′28″W / 40.671093, -73.974521Coordinates: 40°40′16″N 73°58′28″W / 40.671093, -73.974521
Religious affiliation Reform Judaism
Functional status Active
Leadership Rabbi Andy Bachman
Website http://www.congregationbethelohim.org
Architectural description
Architect(s) Simon Eisendrath & B. Horowitz (Sanctuary)[1]
Mortimer Freehof and David Levy. (Temple House)[2]
Architectural style Classical Revival (Sanctuary)
"Jewish Deco" - Romanesque Revival and Art Deco (Temple House)[2]
Direction of facade West (Sanctuary)
Groundbreaking 1909 (Sanctuary)
1928 (Temple House)[2]
Year completed 1910 (Sanctuary)
1929 (Temple House)[3]
Specifications
Capacity 1200 (Sanctuary)
Dome(s) 1 (Sanctuary)
Materials Cast stone (Temple House)[2]

Congregation Beth Elohim, also known as the Garfield Temple, is a Reform synagogue currently located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It is the largest Reform synagogue in Brooklyn,[4] the "oldest Brooklyn congregation that continues to function under its corporate name,"[5] and its pulpit is the oldest in continuous use in any Brooklyn synagogue.[6]

Contents

[edit] Early years

Sanctuary interior.
Sanctuary interior.

The synagogue was founded on September 29, 1861 by 41 German 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.[7] The synagogue was led by George Brandenstein, who also served as cantor, and was paid $150/year.[5]

While searching for a permanent location, the congregation continued to meet and hold services at Granada Hall. Men and women sat together, and services were conducted in German and Hebrew. Within a few months, a church on Pearl Street, between Nasau and Concord, was purchased for $5,100 and renovated. The new building was dedicated on March 30, 1862.

By 1868 membership had increased to 103, and by 1869 almost 100 students attended the Sunday school.[8]

Though more seats had been added to the synagogue by narrowing the aisles, by 1882 the congregation had outgrown its location and new accommodations were sought. A church on State Street, near Hoyt, was eventually purchased, and the building dedicated in 1885.[3]

In 1882 the congregation also hired Solomon Mosche[9] as the religious leader of the congregation, and in April 1883 Baith Israel, Beth Elohim, and Temple Israel, Brooklyn's three leading synagogues, attempted an amalgamation.[10] This was the third such attempt; the previous two had failed when the members could not agree on synagogue ritual.[11] 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.[12] Mosche and the rabbi of Temple Israel were to split the offices of rabbi and cantor: Baith Israel, at the time, had no rabbi.[11] Though this attempt also failed, in the following year the three congregations carried out combined activities, including a picnic[13] and a celebration of the 100th birthday of Moses Montefiore.[14]

Mosche fell ill in 1884, and after being unable to serve for six months, was replaced by William Sparger. Sparger, 26, was Hungarian by birth, a graduate of the Prince Rudolph University of Vienna, and, according to a New York Times article of the time, "belong[ed] to the extreme liberal school of Hebrew theology."[15]

In 1891 Sparger moved to Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, and the congregation split the offices of cantor and rabbi, hiring Dr. George Taubenhaus as rabbi and the Mauritz Weisskopf as cantor.[8] By this time the views of the congregation regarding kashrut were quite liberal; in 1892, when Hyman Rosenberg was expelled as rabbi of Brooklyn's Beth Jacob synagogue for eating ham, Taubenhaus stated "I do not believe my congregation would expel me if I ate ham."[16]

In 1893 Taubenhaus's brother Joseph would be appointed rabbi at Baith Israel, Beth Elohim's parent congregation.[17] In 1895, Samuel Radnitz succeeded Weisskopf as cantor, a role he filled until his death in 1944.[8]

[edit] Twentieth century

Temple House.
Temple House.

By the turn of the twentieth century a number of changes had been gradually made to the services; English slowly replaced German in the services and official minutes, an organ and choir were added, and the second days of holidays were eliminated.[8][3] In 1901 Taubenhaus left the congregation, and the following year Dr. Alexander Lyons was hired as the congregation's first American-born rabbi.[18] Lyons went on to serve the congregation for 37 years, until his death in 1939 at the age of 71.[19] After his death, the Central Conference of American Rabbis described him as the "dean of the Brooklyn rabbinate from the point of view of service."[19]

In 1907 the women's auxiliary was founded; until then, though seating was mixed, women had little say in the running of the synagogue.[18]

In 1909 the congregation began construction on its current building at Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue. The structure, completed in 1910, was built in the Classical Revival style, and had five sides, representing the 5 books of Moses.[6]

Negotiations to merge with Union Temple were started in 1925. A vote confirming the merger eventually passed, and the impending merger was announced in the Brooklyn Eagle. However, younger congregants feared a loss of identity, and forced a withdrawal from the merger.[20] Instead, the congregation raised funds for a second building,[20] and in 1928[2]-1929 built the six-story Temple House (used for all congregational activities) on the corner opposite the main sanctuary.[3]

During the Great Depression the synagogue experienced financial difficulties, and its membership decreased significantly.[3]

The synagogue's fortunes improved in the 1940s, but in 1946 the synagogue's bank threatened to foreclose on its buildings, in anticipation of their sale to the local Catholic diocese. The congregation succeeded in re-negotiating its mortgage, and by 1953 had grown to over 700 families.[3]

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 helped draw Jewish families back into the temple and revitalize the membership.[21]

In 1990 the congregation restored and renovated its buildings.[3]

[edit] Recent events

With over 1000 members, Beth Elohim is currently the largest Reform congregation in Brooklyn,[4] it is the "oldest Brooklyn congregation that continues to function under its corporate name,"[5] and its pulpit is the oldest in continuous use in any Brooklyn synagogue.[6] In 2007 it 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".[22]

As of 2008, the rabbis are Andy Bachman and Shira Koch Epstein, the congregational scholar is Rabbi Daniel Bronstein, and the Rabbi emeritus is Gerald Weider. Bachman became the first new senior rabbi of the congregation in 25 years on October 25, 2006.[4] Before becoming senior rabbi of the congregation, Bachman had previously been an educator there from 1993 to 1998,[4] and in 2002 started a small more traditional Hebrew-focused spinoff minyan at Beth Elohim.[23] In December 2007 Bachman was named one of The Forward's "Forward 50".[24]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kamil & Wakin (2005), p. 152.
  2. ^ a b c d e Morrone & Iska (2001), p. 376.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Olitzky & Raphael (1996), p. 228.
  4. ^ a b c d Norsen, Francesca. "Congregation Beth Elohim Set to Install New Rabbi", Brooklyn Eagle, October 20, 2006.
  5. ^ a b c "Origins", Synagogue website.
  6. ^ a b c Bergman (2001), p. 314.
  7. ^ Olitzky & Raphael (1996), p. 226.
  8. ^ a b c d "Timeless Symbolism" Synagogue website.
  9. ^ Landman (1939), p. 546. "CITY AND SUBURBAN NEWS; NEW-YORK. BROOKLYN. WESTCHESTER COUNTY. NEW-JERSEY."PDF, The New York Times, July 11, 1884, refers to him as "the Rev. Mr. Mosher". "Consolidation of Local Hebrew Churches." (part 1), Brooklyn Eagle, April 26, 1883, p. 2, refers to him as "the Rev. S. Moshe".
  10. ^ "HEBREWS CONSOLIDATING. A Movement to Unite Three Congregations—Important Action Taken on the Subject", Brooklyn Eagle, April 7, 1883, p. 1.
  11. ^ a b "Consolidation of Local Hebrew Churches." (part 1), Brooklyn Eagle, April 26, 1883, p. 2.
  12. ^ "Consolidation of Local Hebrew Churches." (part 2), Brooklyn Eagle, April 26, 1883, p. 2.
  13. ^ "A HEBREW SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION. The First Combined Picnic to be Held in Prospect Park.", Brooklyn Eagle, July 7, 1884, p. 4.
  14. ^ "MONTEFIORE — Brooklyn Honoring the Centenarian.", Brooklyn Eagle, October 27, 1884, p. 1.
  15. ^ "CITY AND SUBURBAN NEWS; NEW-YORK. BROOKLYN. WESTCHESTER COUNTY. NEW-JERSEY."PDF, The New York Times, July 11, 1884.
  16. ^ "HOW THEY REGARD HAM. Views of Local Rabbis on Mr. Rosenburg's Expulsion.", Brooklyn Eagle, December 16, 1892, p. 1.
  17. ^ "A NEW RABBI FOR BAITH ISRAEL: Rev. M. Friedlander succeeded by Rev Joseph Taubenhaus.", Brooklyn Eagle, May 1, 1893, p. 10.
  18. ^ a b "New Century", Synagogue website.
  19. ^ a b Yearbook of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1939, p. 301.
  20. ^ a b Abramovitch & Galvin (2001), p. 33.
  21. ^ Sleeper (1989), p. 160.
  22. ^ Union for Reform Judaism, "Congregation of Learners, Best Practices in Adult Study"PDF (510 KiB), 2007, p. 7. URL accessed December 13, 2007.
  23. ^ Nussbaum Cohen, Debra. "The New Gen-X Judaism", The Jewish Week, August 2, 2002.
  24. ^ "Forward 50", The Forward, December 12, 2007.

[edit] References

[edit] External links