Congregation Temple Israel (Creve Coeur, Missouri)

Congregation Temple Israel is a Reform synagogue in Creve Coeur, Missouri,[1][2] a municipality in suburban St. Louis County. Temple Israel's founders differed in opinion from the leadership of Shaare Emeth, favoring the more liberal political and theological view point that was sweeping parts of Europe and the United States at the time.[3]

One of these founders was Rabbi Solomon H. Sonneschein, who became Temple Israel's first rabbi. During the first year of operation, Temple Israel had between 60-70 members, and 604 persons attended the first Erev Rosh Hashanah services.[3]

Rabbis

Amy Feder, Senior Rabbi Michael Alper, Rabbi

Rabbis

Solomon H. Sonneschein        1886-1890

Leon Harrison                     1890-1928

Ferdinand M. Isserman          1929-1963

Martin E. Katzenstein            1963-1967

Alvan D. Rubin                    1967-1987

Mark L. Shook                      1987-2010

Amy Feder                           2010-Present

Associate and Assistant Rabbis

Arnold S. Task                      1958-1960

Martin E. Katzenstein             1961-1963

Stanley J. Garfein                 1964-1966

Richard F. Steinbrink              1966-1968

Alan D. Bregman                   1968-1975

Dee A. Mogerman, Board President

Mark L. Shook                      1972-1980

Joseph P. Klein                      1975-1978

Gary A. Huber                      1978-1983

Martin L. Levy                      1980-1982

Donald M. Kundstadt               1982-1987

Frank W. Muller                     1983-1985

Eric J. Bram                          1985-1995

Steven L. Mills                       1995-2000

Amy B. Bigman                      2000-2005

John A. Franken                     2003-2008

Amy Feder                            2006-2010

Michael Alper                         2008-Present

Board Presidents

Isaac Schwab                        First President (1886)

Moses Shoenberg                  Second President

William Stix                           Third President

Moses Fraley                        Fourth President

David Treichlinger                  Fifth President

Aaron Fuller                          Sixth President

David Sommers                      Seventh President

Jules Glaser                          1920-1930

Jesse A. Wolfort                     1931-1937

Emil Mayer                           1938-1940

Maurice Weil                         1941-1942

Harry L. Franc                       1943-1945

Adolph H. Rosenberg             1946-1948

Earl Susman                        1949-1950

Harold W. Dubinsky               1951-1954

Melvin S. Strassner                 1955-1958

Joseph Kutten                       1959-1961

Edward A. Scallet                  1962-1965

Marvin S. Levin                      1966-1969

William B. Eiseman, Jr.           1970-1973

Robert S. Goldenhersh            1974-1976

Arthur E. Ansehl                     1977-1979

Paul P. Weil                           1980-1983

Merle L. Silverstein                 1984-1987

Gary Follman                         1988-1990

Ellen Deutsch                         1990-1993

Leonard Adreon                     1994-1995

Karen L. Knopf                      1995-1998

Daniel J. Schwartz                   1998-2000

Cary J. Mogerman                   2000-2003

Neil J. Handelman                   2004-2006

David L. Weinstein, M.D.      2006-2010

JoAnne Levy                         2011- 2013

Dee A. Mogerman                  2014-Present

Facilities

The first Temple Israel building - a stone temple located off 28th and Pine Street - was completed in 1888.[4] As Temple Israel grew its membership, the downtown location became inconvenient, and so a lot was purchased on Kingshighway and Washington Boulevards.[3]

In 1957, membership had grown to 1358, and a larger facility was needed to accommodate. The cornerstone of a new Temple Israel building was laid on June 18, 1960, thought after a legal battle with the city the congregation chose as its new home.[3] The synagogue was involved in litigation against the City of Creve Coeur when the City changed its zoning rules to prohibit any churches, including the synagogue, just after the synagogue purchased land for a new building. The synagogue ultimately prevailed against the City when the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled that state law did not authorize municipalities to regulate the location of churches.[5]

Public Figures - Members

Kurt Deutsch

Sam Fox

Tom Gallop

Merle Silverstein

Public Figures - Spoke at Temple Israel

Abba Eben[6]

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.[7][6]

Simon Wiesenthal[6]

Henry Kissinger[6]

Other Information

The synagogue conducted its first wedding for a LGBT couple in 2008.[8]

In 2010, Temple Israel made history by promoting Assistant Rabbi, Amy Feder (31), to Senior Rabbi, making her the youngest female senior rabbi to lead a large Reform congregation in North America.[9]

In 1967, it had nearly 1,600 members, and in 2016 it had approximately 900 member households.[1][10]

References

  1. 1 2 "About Temple Israel". Congregation Temple Israel. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  2. ↑ Walter A. Schroeder, Howard W. Marshall (1941). Missouri: the WPA guide to the "Show Me" state. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rosenkranz, Samuel (1986). A Centennial History of Congregation Temple Israel. Congregation Temple Israel, Creve Coeur, Missouri. pp. 1–77. LCCN 85-73578.
  4. ↑ Norbury L. Wayman. "History of St. Louis's Neighborhoods". Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Congregation Temple Israel v. City of Creve Coeur, 320 S.W.2d 451 (Mo. 1959)". Google. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Temple Israel to mark 125th anniversary". St. Louis Jewish Light. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  7. ↑ "Alumni Recall Dr. King's 1964 Visit to SLU : SLU". www.slu.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  8. ↑ Richard Weiss (May 19, 2008). "Extraordinarily Ever After: A St. Louis Wedding". St. Louis Beacon. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  9. ↑ 314-340-8125, DOUG MOORE • dmoore@post-dispatch.com >. "Rabbi is youngest female senior leader of Reform congregation". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  10. ↑ Kerry M. Olitzky, Marc Lee Raphael (1996). The American synagogue: a historical dictionary and sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
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