Mount Zion Temple is a Reform synagogue located in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1856 as Mount Zion Hebrew Association, it was the first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. The congregation was formed before the statehood of Minnesota in 1858.
Founded in 1856 by eight German-Jewish families, Mount Zion Hebrew Association (as it was then called) was the very first Jewish congregation in Minnesota. Through the 1860s the congregation met in rented rooms around St. Paul before their first building was completed in 1871, located at East Tenth Street and Minnesota Street in the Lowertown district. [1] Early on the congregation was divided by a group called Ahabath Ahim, [2] which branched off then returned. [3] 1871 was the year Rabbi Leopold Wintner began as Mount Zion's first and Minnesota's first Rabbi. In 1871, the congregation built the first Synagogue in the state. [4] The same year they founded the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society, members of which organized Neighborhood House to serve immigrants in the community. [5] The Rabbis and congregants of Mount Zion are still board members of Neighborhood House. [6]
Emanuel Hess, who had been born in Meerholz, Germany in 1845, became rabbi in 1888. [7] He had previously served as rabbi of Temple Israel of Columbus, Ohio in 1876–1877, [8] and then Congregation B'nai Zion in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he served until 1888. Hess was rabbi of Mount Zion until his death in 1906. [7]
In the 1940s the congregation participated in recreations such as "The Jewish Home Beautiful" which shared traditions of daily life. [9] In 1948, began the leadership of Rabbi Gunther Plaut, who published books on the congregation's history [10] and on the Jewish history of Minnesota.
In the 1950s, the congregation chose the prominent avant-garde architect Erich Mendelsohn to design a building for them. After projects in Europe, the Soviet Union, Israel and America – this was his final building, and it was completed after his death in 1953. [11] The congregation moved into the current building in 1956, 100 years after it was first founded. It is located on Summit Avenue.
In 2002, the Mount Zion Temple was part of a radio program that detailed their restoration of Torah scrolls. [12] In 2007, 690 families were members of the congregation. [13] As of 2012 [update] the rabbis were Adam Stock Spilker and Esther Adler, and the cantors were Rachel Stock Spilker and Jen Strauss-Klein. [14]
Wolf Gunther Plaut, was a Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar.
The Holy Blossom Temple is a Reform synagogue located at 1950 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Toronto. Founded in 1856, it has more than 7,000 members. W. Gunther Plaut, who died on 8 February 2012 at the age of 99, was a long time Senior Rabbi for this synagogue. Notable members and supporters include Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz who made donations to create the Gerald Schwartz/Heather Reisman Centre for Jewish Learning at Holy Blossom Temple.
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Jonathan V. Plaut, was a Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Jackson, MI.
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Temple Israel is a Reform congregation located at 130 Riverside Drive in Dayton, Ohio. Formed in 1850, it incorporated as "Kehillah Kodesh B'nai Yeshurun" in 1854. After meeting in rented quarters, the congregation purchased its first synagogue building, a former Baptist church at 4th and Jefferson, in 1863. Strongly influenced by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, it rapidly modernized its services, and, in 1873, was a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism.
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Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. It is the only Reform synagogue in Memphis, the oldest and largest Jewish congregation in Tennessee, and one of the largest Reform congregations in the U.S. It was founded in 1853 by mostly German Jews as Congregation B'nai Israel. Led initially by cantors, in 1858 it hired its first rabbi, Jacob Peres, and leased its first building, which it renovated and eventually purchased.
Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 2004 East 22nd Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1914, the synagogue affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism in 1915, and constructed its first building on the corner of 14th and Cheyenne Streets in 1919. Early rabbis included Jacob Menkes, Charles Latz, Samuel Kaplan, Jacob Krohngold, and Benjamin Kelsen.
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