| Temple Emanu-El | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Location | 1701 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida |
| Affiliation | Conservative Judaism |
| Rite | Ashkenazic & Sephardic |
| Status | Active |
| Leadership | Rabbi: Daniel Sherbill Cantor: Marc-Philippe Beaudoin deRoca President: Jeffrey Rynor |
| Website | Temple Emanu-El Website |
| Architectural description | |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 1,370 |
| Materials | Marble |
Temple Emanu-El is a historic synagogue located in the South Beach district of Miami Beach, Florida. It is the oldest and largest Conservative congregation in Miami Beach. The original sanctuary was constructed in 1947 as the "Miami Beach Jewish Center" at a cost of $1 million, with additions for classrooms and a grand ballroom being added in 1966. It is considered to be one of America's most beautiful synagogues with an impressive Byzantine and Moorish style of architecture, featuring a rotunda building and aluminum dome more than ten stories tall. It is roughly modeled after the Great Synagogue of Oran. The Abraham Frost Sanctuary is capable of holding 1,370 people at maximum capacity, thus making it the fifth largest synagogue in the United States by fixed seating capacity. As of 2011, the senior rabbi is Daniel Sherbill.
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In 1938, several Jewish residents which had worshipped in the Beth Jacob Orthodox synagogue on Third Street, organized a new congregation called Congregation Jacob Joseph of Miami Beach. These Orthodox Jews purchased a home on the corner of Euclid Avenue and Fourteenth Place for their house of worship under the spiritual direction of Rabbi Joseph Rackovsky.
By 1940, this congregation claimed 200 members, each of whom paid $10 in annual dues. Eventually, Mayer Frankel and Harry Sirkin (both past presidents of Temple Emanu-El) would emerge as leaders of this congregation. Several changes swept the congregation including a change of its name in 1941 to the Miami Beach Community Jewish Center. The following year it had shortened this name to simply Miami Beach Jewish Center. At the time, the congregation was divided into Orthodox and Conservative factions, and Rabbi Rackovsky eventually departed to begin a new Orthodox congregation elsewhere on South Beach. The Conservative faction largely remained, and thus the Miami Beach Jewish Center became a Conservative synagogue.
In September 1941, Rabbi Samuel Bension, a native of Palestine, arrived from New York to become rabbi of the Miami Beach Jewish Center. Raising some $50,000, a new sanctuary was completed and dedicated in September of that year. Soon came the conflict of World War II, and Miami Beach was transformed from a premiere resort to a major training center for the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1943, Rabbi Bension departed the MBJC and the young congregation invited Rabbi Irving Lehrman from Montclair, NJ to serve as its spiritual leader. This is a position he would hold for the next fifty years.
At the end of the war, the Miami Beach Jewish Center announced its plans for a new building. Groundbreaking was held in December 1946 with Rabbi Lehrman giving the principal address. Completed in 1948, the magnificent domed structure (still used by Temple Emanu-El) stood more than nine stories tall and could seat some 1,400 worshippers. Modeled after the Great Synagogue of Oran in Oran, Algeria, its Byzantine and Moorish architecture stands as an architectural curiosity in the largely Art-Deco dominated cityscape of Miami Beach.
The congregation continued to prosper with both its new facility and the rapid influx of northeastern Jews to the Miami Beach area. In 1954, the Miami Beach Jewish Center changed its name to Temple Emanu-El or “May G-d Be With Us,” a decision that received overwhelming support from the Board of Directors and the entire congregation.
The 1950s were a triumphant and decisive time for Temple Emanu-El. Rabbi Lehrman, a strong supporter of Civil Rights, had seen the barriers of segregation broken in the South. The Temple’s mortgage was paid off in a festive ceremony at the Foutainebleau Hotel. Lastly, Samuel Friedland donated a plot of land next to the synagogue to build a ballroom and classroom building.
In 1966, the groundbreaking for a hall-school building took place. Morris Lapidus, the world-renown architect who designed Lincoln Road and the Fontainebleau Hotel, oversaw the construction. The enormous Friedland Ballroom was able to accommodate 600 guests for dinners and 900 for lectures. The 1960s would finish on a high note as Temple Emanu-El announced in 1968 that a “fast-growing, nationally acclaimed” Solomon Shechter Day School would be renamed the “Lehrman Community Day School.” This achievement, marked as the “jewel in the crown” of Temple Emanu-El by Rabbi Lehrman would go on to national prominence and serve as the foundational cornerstone for Temple Emanu-El’s continued prosperity and growth.
By the 1970s Temple Emanu-El had grown to more than 1,300 families with a budget of more than two million dollars and a staff of 82 full-time employees. High Holiday services, held in the adjacent Miami Beach Convention Center in order to accommodate the grandiose crowds, would attract more than 4,000 worshippers. Rabbi Lehrman continued to serve Judaism at the local and national level, receiving numerous awards and citations for his achievements around the world. In 1979, he published the acclaimed book, “The Name of G-d,” which saw instant success and popularity.
The 1980s saw much change, not only for Temple Emanu-El, but for Miami Beach as well. More than 125,000 Cuban refugees flooded into South Beach escaping the oppression of their native island country just 90 miles away. This changing demographic in South Beach forced Temple Emanu-El to expand and redevelop its programs to reach a larger geographic audience. Leaders during this time period such as Larry Schantz, Judge Irving Cypen, and Cal Kovens became the new generation of leaders at Temple Emanu-El. Dr. Amir Baron spearheaded the Lehrman Day School to prominence and prosperity with his unparalleled leadership. By the end of the 1980s the “Event of the Century” marked a turning point in the path of Temple Emanu-El. It empowered itself for a new future and new direction in the “new” South Beach of its time.
Throughout the 1990s and into the early 21st century several rabbis served Temple Emanu-El including Rabbi Ed Farber (now the Rabbi of Beth Torah in North Miami Beach) and Rabbi Leonid Feldman (now Rabbi in Palm Beach). Cantor Yehuda Shiffman also served the congregation with distinction and honor during this time period as both chazzan and (at times) spiritual leader.
By 2000, Temple Emanu-El was in dire need of repair and renaissance, as its present structure was more than 53 years old. Spearheaded by the leadership and financial generosity of civic leaders such as Stephen Muss and Dr. Phillip Frost, Temple Emanu-El’s sanctuary underwent a $2,000,000 renovation. This renovation was the work of world-renowned architect and designer, Kenneth Treister. This renovation of the newly named “Frost Sanctuary” propelled Temple Emanu-El into a new century with gusto and direction.
Today, Temple Emanu-El still stands as a monumental congregation in the heart of world famous South Beach. Its iconic façade and Byzantine architecture serve as a testament to the strength and longevity of the Jewish community in Miami Beach.
Over the years, Temple Emanu-El has hosted a myriad of notable statesmen and religious leaders such as: Presidents Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and other notables such as Henry M. Jackson, the Dalai Lama, and Desmond Tutu.