Temple Israel (West Bloomfield, Michigan)

Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

The congregation was founded in 1941 in Detroit.[1] In 1949 the congregation erected an Art Deco temple designed by architect William Kapp. The original temple is now the Word of Power Church and is included in the National Register of Historic Places as part of Detroit's Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District.

Temple Israel has since relocated in West Bloomfield.

Temple Israel is among the largest Reform congregations in the country.[2] As of 2012 its website states that it is the largest in North America,[3] and the official database of the Union for Reform Judaism confirms this, reporting a membership of 3,383.[4] In 1995, Temple Israel was the first reform congregation to open a mikveh (ritual bath).[5]

References

  1. ↑ Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook, Greenwood Press, 1996, pp. 177-8.
  2. ↑ Alexander J. Drukas, "An interview with Paul M. Yedwab, Rabbi, Temple Israel, West Bloomfield", Mlive.com, April 10, 2008.
  3. ↑ "I'm New Here" at Temple Israel official website (accessed February 13, 2012).
  4. ↑ Congregational Profile of Temple Israel, Union for Reform Judaism (accessed February 20, 2012).
  5. ↑ Sue Fishkoff, "Reimagining the Mikveh", Reform Judaism, Fall 2008.


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