B'nai Israel Congregation (Rockville, Maryland)

Last updated

B'nai Israel Congregation
Deputy Chief Sander Cohen Memorial Service (39058605181).jpg
Synagogue interior with Governor Hogan, in 2017
Religion
Affiliation Conservative Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Synagogue
Leadership
  • Rabbi Michael J. Safra
  • Rabbi Mitchell Berkowitz
StatusActive
Location
Location Rockville, Maryland
CountryUnited States
USA Maryland relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Maryland
Geographic coordinates 39°03′15″N77°07′41″W / 39.054174°N 77.128007°W / 39.054174; -77.128007
Architecture
Type Synagogue architecture
Date established1925 (as a congregation)
Completedc.1970
Specifications
Capacity3,500 worshippers
Interior area125,000 square feet (11,600 m2)
Website
bnaiisraelcong.org
[1] [2]

B'nai Israel Congregation is a Conservative Jewish egalitarian congregation and synagogue, located in Rockville, Maryland, in the United States. [3] B'nai Israel's mission is to study in the Jewish tradition, worship God, commit to social action, and address the needs of the Jewish people locally, in Israel, and worldwide. [3] The congregation consists of 1,200 families. [3]

Contents

Clergy and leadership

Logo of B'nai Israel Congregation Bnai-logo.png
Logo of B'nai Israel Congregation

B'nai Israel's clergy includes rabbi Michael J. Safra, Rabbi Mitchell H. Berkowitz, Cantor Josh C. Perlman, and Cantor Sarah Bolts. [1] Rabbi Matthew H. Simon and Rabbi Jonathan A. Schnitzer both serve as rabbi emeritus, and Cantor Robert Kieval is cantor emeritus. [1] Marla Schulman serves as B'nai Israel's president. [4]

Religious programs and activities

B'nai Israel holds religious services, including morning and evening minyan, [5] Shabbat services, [6] and holiday services. [7]

B'nai Israel's preschool has a religious curriculum and enrolls children between 15 months and 5 years of age. [8] B'nai Israel's religious school has classes for students in kindergarten through eleventh grade. [9] Classes are held on Sundays and weekday evenings. [9]

Lectures and classes are held during the year at B'nai Israel to educate Jewish adults. [10] Social action programs at B'nai Israel include school supply drives, fall and winter clothing drives, and blood drives. [11]

Award

In 2011, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Solomon Schechter Awards presented B'nai Israel with a gold award for Jewish education for adults. [12] United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism noted B'nai Israel's "varied courses and programs provide learners with a greater appreciation for the scope of Jewish history and thought and offer conceptual grounding in many key aspects of Judaism and Jewish life." [12]

History

B'nai Israel was founded in 1925. [2]

In 1936, B'nai Israel was led by Rabbi Henry Segal and was located at 14th Street and Emerson Street NW in the Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Sixteenth Street Heights. [13] Membership increased, and B'nai Israel moved to a larger space at 16th Street and Allison Streets NW, which was also in Sixteenth Street Heights. [13] In 1952, B'nai Israel moved a few blocks away, to 16th Street and Crittenden Street NW. [13] At the time, B'nai Israel's members generally lived nearby. [13]

By the mid-1960s, however, many of B'nai Israel's members had moved away from the neighborhood, and those who had stayed felt unsafe in the neighborhood. [13] The synagogue was vandalized, and some members said they were afraid to attend services. [13]

In 1970, B'nai Israel bought 14 acres (56,700 m2) on Montrose Road in Rockville, Maryland. [13] The old building was sold to Nineteenth Street Baptist Church for $1.2 million. [13]

Rabbi Matthew H. Simon attended an ecumenical worship service marking the presidential inauguration of George H. W. Bush in 1989. [14] Rabbi Simon read verses from Deuteronomy 10:17–10:18. [14]

In 1989, Rabbi Jonathan Schnitzer left B'nai Abraham Synagogue in Wilson, Pennsylvania, to join B'nai Israel Congregation. [15]

in 2002, B'nai Israel held a forum for candidates for governor of Maryland. [16] Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Bob Ehrlich both participated, and Barry Sussman served as the forum's moderator. [16]

In 2006, B'nai Israel held a forum for candidates. [17] Participants included Martin O'Malley, candidate for governor of Maryland; Kristen Cox, candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland; and Ben Cardin, candidate for United States Senate. [17] Jonathan Salant served as moderator. [17]

In 2007, B'nai Israel hosted a forum sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. [18] Presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani spoke at the forum. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to make the religious, legal, and social status of Jewish women equal to that of Jewish men in Judaism. Feminist movements, with varying approaches and successes, have opened up within all major branches of the Jewish religion.

<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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adas Israel Congregation (Washington, D.C.)</span> Largest Conservative synagogue in Washington, D.C.

Adas Israel is a Conservative synagogue in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is the largest Conservative synagogue in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Jeshurun (Manhattan)</span> Synagogue in New York City

B'nai Jeshurun is a non-denominational Jewish synagogue located at 257 West 88th Street and 270 West 89th Street, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York, United States.

The United Hebrew Congregation is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 13788 Conway Road in Chesterfield, a western suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. It was the first Jewish Congregation established west of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansche Chesed</span> Synagogue in Manhattan, New York

Ansche Chesed is a Conservative synagogue located at West End Avenue and 100th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States.

Congregation B'nai Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 2710 Park Avenue, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Sholom Congregation (Frederick, Maryland)</span> Conservative synagogue, in Frederick, Maryland, US

Beth Sholom Congregation is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 1011 North Market Street, in Frederick, Maryland, in the United States.

Congregation B'nai Amoona is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue, located at 324 South Mason Road, Creve Coeur, Missouri, in the United States. It evolved from a small Orthodox congregation of primarily German-speaking members into an English-speaking Conservative congregation.

Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3100 East Broad Street, in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. Founded as the Orthodox Bene Jeshurun congregation in 1846, the congregation is the oldest Jewish congregation in Columbus, and a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism. Its first religious leader was Simon Lazarus, a clothing merchant who founded what would become Lazarus department stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth El (Bethesda, Maryland)</span> Synagogue located in Bethesda, Maryland, US

Congregation Beth El, officially Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 8215 Old Georgetown Road, in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, in the United States. Located adjacent to the synagogue is a K–12 religious school owned by the congregation that, as of January 2024, had approximately 500 students. The congregation's pre-school had approximately 100 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery</span> Synagogue and cemetery in North Dakota, US

B'nai Israel Synagogue and Montefiore Cemetery in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in the United States, consists of a Reform Jewish congregation and its synagogue; and the congregation's related cemetery. Both the synagogue building and the cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, also called The Sephardic Temple, is an unaffiliated Jewish congregation and synagogue that adopts Sephardi nusach, located at 10500 Wilshire Boulevard, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, in the United States. Established on February 1, 1920 as the "Sephardic Community of Los Angeles", the congregation exists today as the merger of three major Sephardic organizations with approximately 600 member families.

Congregation Kol Ami is a synagogue located in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The synagogue serves both Reform and Conservative congregations that are respectively affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Beth El Congregation is a Conservative Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 8101 Park Heights Avenue, in Pikesville, an outer suburb of greater Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. The congregation was established in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adath Shalom (Philadelphia)</span>

Adath Shalom was a Conservative synagogue located at 607 W Ritner Street, in the Whitman neighborhood of South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The synagogue opened in 1922 and closed in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple B'nai Israel (Oklahoma City)</span>

Temple B'nai Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 4901 North Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the United States. The congregation is the oldest active Jewish congregation in Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Shearith Israel (Baltimore, Maryland)</span> Orthodox synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Congregation Shearith Israel is a historic Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 5835 Park Heights Avenue, in Park Heights, northwest Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Clergy". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved December 10, 2019.[ self-published source? ]
  2. 1 2 Pollak, Suzanne. "B'nai Israel Congregation". Washington Jewish Week. May 22, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Our Mission". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  4. "Leadership". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  5. "Daily Minyan". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  6. "Shabbat Services". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  7. "Holiday Services". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  8. "Mission Statement & Educational Programming [ permanent dead link ]". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  9. 1 2 "Talmud Torah Religious School". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  10. "Adult Education Programs". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  11. "Social Action Programs". B'nai Israel Congregation. Retrieved October 4, 2016.[ self-published source? ]
  12. 1 2 "United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism presents the 2011 winners of the Solomon Schechter Awards for excellence in synagogue programming" (PDF). United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Jews: Migrating from D.C.". The Washington Post. September 4, 1975. p. VA1.
  14. 1 2 Cornell, George W. "President Seeks National Prayers". The Times Union (Albany, New York). January 21, 1989.
  15. Chin, Tyler L. "Rabbi's Departure Filled with Regrets, Anticipation". The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania). August 23, 1989.
  16. 1 2 Miller, S.A. "Candidates told to clean up debate". The Washington Times. October 14, 2002.
  17. 1 2 3 Emery, Chris; Rosen, Jill. "Warm Receptions for the Candidates". The Baltimore Sun October 23, 2006.
  18. 1 2 Brown, Matthew Hay. "Giuliani Talks Tough on Terrorism: Democrats Fail to Grasp Threat, He Says in Rockville". The Baltimore Sun. June 27, 2007.