Temple Israel (Silver Spring, Maryland)

Last updated

Temple Israel
Mount Jezreel Baptist Church (formerly Temple Israel) 04.jpg
The former synagogue, now church, in 2019
Religion
Affiliation
Ecclesiastical or organizational status
StatusActive (as a church)
Location
Location420 University Blvd East, Silver Spring, Maryland
CountryUnited States
USA Maryland relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Maryland
Geographic coordinates 39°00′31″N76°59′51″W / 39.0087209°N 76.9974763°W / 39.0087209; -76.9974763
Architecture
Date established1951 (as a congregation)
Completed1952 (as a synagogue)

Temple Israel is a former Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 420 University Boulevard East, in the neighborhood of Montgomery Knolls, in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1951, the building was completed in 1952 and operated as a synagogue until 1997; when it was subsequently repurposed as the Mount Jezreel Baptist Church, a Baptist church building.

Contents

History

Temple Israel was founded in 1951 as a Conservative congregation, originally named the Langley Hebrew Congregation. Rabbi Lewis Weintraub was the synagogue's first rabbi. In 1952, the synagogue's building was constructed on University Boulevard. [1] Sam Eig, a Jewish real estate developer, donated 10 acres (4.0 ha) to the congregation. [2] A synagogue, library, social hall, and Hebrew School were built at this location. During its peak, Temple Israel was home to 750 families. About half of these families were headed by government employees who commuted into Washington, D.C. for work. [3]

As part of the Soviet Jewry movement, the synagogue "adopted" two Soviet prisoners of conscience: Aleksander Feldman in 1976 and Amner Zavurov in 1977. Rosh Hashanah greeting cards were sent to Soviet Jews in 1975 and Simchat Torah greetings were sent in 1976. In 1979, English classes were held for Soviet-Jewish immigrants. [4]

In the 1990s, changing demographics caused Temple Israel to make the "painful decision" to sell the synagogue building on University Boulevard. In 1997, Temple Israel merged with Beth Tikva (now Tikvat Israel) of Rockville, Maryland. Beth Tikva had been founded in 1959 as the Rockville-Wheaton Synagogue. [5] As of 2023, the building that was housed Temple Israel is home to Mount Jezreel Baptist Church, a predominantly black church. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (West Hartford, Connecticut)</span> Historic Reform synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut, US

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 701 Farmington Avenue, in West Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem</span> Orthodox synagogue

Agudath Israel Etz Ahayem, transliterated from Hebrew to mean the Congregation of Israel Tree of Life, is a Conservative Jewish synagogue located at 3525 Cloverdale Road in Montgomery, Alabama, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid (Milwaukee)</span> United States historic place

Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale, a suburb north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (North Adams, Massachusetts)</span> Reform synagogue in North Adams, Massachusetts, US

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 53 Lois Street, in North Adams, Massachusetts, in the United States. The congregation was founded in the early 1890s as House of Israel by Eastern European Jews recently immigrated to the United States. The Chevre Chai Odom congregation broke away from House of Israel in 1905, but re-united with it in 1958, and the congregation adopted its current name in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Scottsdale, Arizona)</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Scottsdale, Arizona, US

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the United States. Incorporated in 1920, the congregation affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism in 1935.

Temple Beth Israel was a Jewish synagogue located at 840 Highland Road in Sharon, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Originally called House of Israel Congregation, it was founded in 1888 as an Orthodox congregation by Eastern European Jews. The congregation merged with Congregation Rodef Sholom of Youngstown, Ohio in July, 2013; and the former synagogue building was sold to a Christian church in 2014.

Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 411 South Eighth Street, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1907 to provide services for the High Holidays, it was then, and remains today, the only synagogue in the Lebanon area.

Congregation Am Tikvah is a combined Conservative and Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 625 Brotherhood Way in San Francisco, California, in the United States. The congregation was formed in 2021 as the result of the merger of the Conservative B'nai Emunah and the Reform Beth Israel Judea congregations, with the latter formed in 1969 through a merger of the Conservative Congregation Beth Israel and the Reform Temple Judea. The congregation is affiliated with both the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Congregation Ahavath Chesed, also called The Temple Jacksonville, or simply, The Temple, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 8727 San Jose Boulevard, in Jacksonville, Florida, in the United States. It is one of the oldest Jewish congregation in Florida and one of the first formally incorporated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth-El (Jersey City, New Jersey)</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Jersey City, New Jersey, US

Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 2419 Kennedy Boulevard in the Bergen Section of Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbo Jews</span> Ethnic group

Igbo Jews are members of the Igbo people of Nigeria who practice Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Israel Shomrai Emunah</span> Orthodox synagogue in Silver Spring, Maryland

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah is an Orthodox synagogue located at 1132 Arcola Avenue, in Kemp Mill, Montgomery County, Maryland, in the United States. Established as a congregation in 1951, it was the first Orthodox synagogue established in Montgomery County. It is also one of the largest Orthodox synagogues in Maryland and is recognized as a key synagogue in the Silver Spring, Maryland area.

Jews have been living in Maine, a state in the northeastern United States, for 200 years, with significant Jewish communities in Bangor as early as the 1840s and in Portland since the 1880s. The arrival of Susman Abrams in 1785 was followed by a history of immigration and settlement that parallels the history of Jewish immigration to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Knolls (Silver Spring, Maryland)</span> Neighborhood

Franklin Knolls is a residential neighborhood located in Silver Spring, a census-designated place in Montgomery County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neziner Congregation</span> Former Philadelphian synagogue

The Neziner Congregation was an unaffiliated Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Southwark neighborhood of South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The congregation was founded in 1896 by immigrants from the city of Nizhyn, Ukraine who met in members’ homes. The congregation purchased the building at 771 S 2nd Street in 1905 and held services and community events there until 1984 when it closed and merged with Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel.

The city of Cumberland, Maryland is home to a small and declining but historically significant Jewish community. The city is home to a single synagogue, B'er Chayim Temple, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. Cumberland has had a Jewish presence since the early 1800s. The community was largest prior to the 1960s, but has declined in number over the decades. Historically, the Jewish community in Cumberland maintained several synagogues, a Jewish cemetery, and a Hebrew school. By 2019, Cumberland's Jewish community had its lowest population point since the early 1900s.

Black Jews in New York City comprise one of the largest communities of Black Jews in the United States. Black Jews have lived in New York City since colonial times, with organized Black-Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities emerging during the early 20th century. Black Jewish and Black Hebrew Israelite communities have historically been centered in Harlem, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens. The Commandment Keepers movement originated in Harlem, while the Black Orthodox Jewish community is centered in Brooklyn. New York City is home to four historically Black synagogues with roots in the Black Hebrew Israelite community. A small Beta Israel (Ethiopian-Jewish) community also exists in New York City, many of whom emigrated from Israel. Black Hebrew Israelites are not considered Jewish by the New York Board of Rabbis, an organization representing mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. However, some Black Hebrew Israelite individuals in New York City are recognized as Jewish due to converting through the Orthodox, Conservative, or other Jewish movements.

The city of Frederick, Maryland is home to a small but growing Jewish community. With roots dating to the colonial era, Frederick's Jewish community is home to three synagogues, a Hebrew school, and a Jewish community center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel</span> Synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania founded in 1946

Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel is a Conservative synagogue located in the Center City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.

References

  1. "History". Tikvat Israel Congregation Rockville MD. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  2. Kelly, Clare Lise (2015). Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture In Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930–1979. Silver Spring, Maryland: M-NCPPC. ISBN   9780971560727.
  3. Gordon, Albert Isaac (1959). Jews in Suburbia. Beacon Press. p. 44.
  4. "TEMPLE ISRAEL". Capital Jewish Museum . Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  5. "A Short History of Tikvat Israel" (PDF). Tikvat Israel. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  6. "Connect With Us". Mount Jezreel Baptist Church. Retrieved December 5, 2023.