Congregation Beth Emeth

Last updated

Congregation Beth Emeth
Religion
Affiliation Reform Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status Synagogue
StatusActive
Location
Location100 Academy Road, Albany, Albany County, New York 12208
CountryUnited States
USA New York relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in New York
Geographic coordinates 42°38′48″N73°47′04″W / 42.646776°N 73.78444°W / 42.646776; -73.78444
Architecture
Architect(s)
TypeSynagogue
Date established1885 (as a congregation)
Completed
  • 1887 (Lancaster & S. Swan Sts.)
  • 1957 (Academy Road)
Website
bethemethalbany.org

Congregation Beth Emeth (transliterated from Hebrew as "House of Truth") is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 100 Academy Road, in Albany, Albany County, New York, in the United States. Established in 1885, it is the fourth oldest Reform congregation in the United States. [1]

Contents

History

The congregation was formed in 1885 with the merger of a 'dwindling' Orthodox congregation, Anshe Emeth ("People of Truth") and a 'growing' Reform congregation, Beth El ("House of God"). [2] Reform pioneer Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise led Beth El from 1846 to 1850 where he conducted a day school which included public school curriculum, religion & Hebrew. Due to tensions between more Orthodox congregants and the Rabbi, Anshe Emeth was created by Rabbi Wise supporters where he then led from 1850 to 1854 before relocating to Cincinnati. [3]

In 1897 the newly merged congregation elected Dr. Alexander Lyons as the new Rabbi.

Martin A. Meyer served as rabbi from 1903 to 1906, [4] :517 and Samuel H. Goldenson served as rabbi from 1907 to 1918. [4] :19–20 After Rabbi Samuel the congregation was led by Rabbi Eli Mayer, Rabbi Marius Ranson, Rabbi Bernard J. Bamberger, Rabbi Samuel Wolk, Rabbi Alvin S. Roth, Rabbi Bernard H. Bloom, Rabbi Martin I. Silverman and most recently Rabbi Scott L. Shpeen.

Architecture

The congregation's 1887 building, located at Lancaster and South Swan Streets in Albany, is considered to be one of the few surviving 19th-century synagogues in the United States. [5] The architect was Adolph Fleischman, with help from Isaac Perry. [6] The building is in Richardson Romanesque style. As of 1993 it was the home of the Wilborn Temple First Church of God in Christ. [6]

In June of 1953 the building committee ratified the decision to move from Lancaster and Swan to 17 acres (6.9 ha) up town. [1] The congregation's 1957 building was designed by Percival Goodman. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Mayer Wise</span> Bohemian-born American rabbi, editor and author (1819-1900)

Isaac Mayer Wise was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America".

The history of Jews in Ohio dates back to 1817, when Joseph Jonas, a pioneer, came from England and made his home in Cincinnati. He drew after him a number of English Jews, who held Orthodox-style divine service for the first time in Ohio in 1819, and, as the community grew, organized themselves in 1824 into the first Jewish congregation of the Ohio Valley, the B'ne Israel. This English immigration was followed in the next two decades by the coming of German immigrants who, in contrast, were mostly Reform Jews. A Bavarian, Simson Thorman, settled in 1837 in Cleveland, then a considerable town, which thus became the second place in the state where Jews settled. Thorman was soon followed by countrymen of his, who in 1839 organized themselves into a congregation called the Israelitish Society. The same decade saw an influx of German Jews into Cincinnati, and these in 1841 founded the Bene Yeshurun congregation. To these two communities the Jewish history of Ohio was confined for the first half of the 19th century. In 1850 Ohio had six congregations: four in Cincinnati and two in Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Mikveh Israel</span> Synagogue in Philadelphia

Congregation Mikveh Israel, is a Sephardic Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 44 North Fourth Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation traces its history from 1740. Mikveh Israel is a Spanish and Portuguese congregation that follows the rite of the Amsterdam esnoga. It is the oldest synagogue in Philadelphia, and the longest running in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Anshe Hesed</span> Reform Jewish synagogue in Pennsylvania, US

Temple Anshe Hesed is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 5401 Old Zuck Road in Erie, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The congregation is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Beth El (Detroit)</span> Reform synagogue in Michigan, United States

Temple Beth El is a Reform synagogue located at 7400 Telegraph Road, in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, in the United States. Beth El was founded in 1850 in the city of Detroit, and is the oldest Jewish congregation in Michigan. Temple Beth El was a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism in 1873, and hosted the meeting in 1889 during which the Central Conference of American Rabbis was established.

The Park Synagogue is a Conservative synagogue located at 27500 Shaker Boulevard, Pepper Pike, Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Beth Israel Congregation is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5315 Old Canton Road in Jackson, Mississippi, in the United States. Organized in 1860 by Jews of German background, it is the only Jewish synagogue in Jackson. Beth Israel built the first synagogue in Mississippi in 1867, and, after it burned down, its 1874 replacement was at one time the oldest religious building in Jackson.

Congregation Beth Israel is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Berkeley, California, in the United States. Established in 1924 as the Berkeley Hebrew Center, it traces its origins to the First Hebrew Congregation of Berkeley, founded in 1909. It was Berkeley's first synagogue and remains its oldest. Lay-led for four decades, it hired its first rabbi, Saul Berman, in 1963.

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 Reform Jewish synagogue located at 615 Court Street, Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1849 by German Jews, its 1856 synagogue building was the smallest in the United States. The congregation was originally Orthodox, but rapidly moved to "Classical Reform". In the 1930s and 1940s an influx of more traditional Eastern European Jews prompted a change from Classical Reform to Traditional Reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (New Orleans)</span> Synagogue in New Orleans, United States

Congregation Beth Israel is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 4004 West Esplanade Avenue, Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Anshe Amunim (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)</span> Reform synagogue and Jewish congregation in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US

Temple Anshe Amunim is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 26 Broad Street, in Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in the United States. The congregation was founded by German Jewish immigrants in 1869 as Orthodox, and adopted Reform practice in 1879. It is the second-oldest Reform congregation in the United States and its temple is the oldest synagogue building in Western Massachusetts. In 1904, Anshe Amunim joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. It is also affiliated with the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom</span> Orthodox synagogue in New York

Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 284 Rodney Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in New York City, New York, in the United States. The congregation follows the Ashkenazi rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilborn Temple First Church of God in Christ</span>

Wilborn Temple First Church of God in Christ Inc. is a Pentecostal church in Albany, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Shaare Emeth</span> Reform synagogue in Creve Coeur, Missouri, United Stares

Congregation Shaare Emeth is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 11645 Ladue Road, in Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun</span> Jewish synagogue in River Hills, Wisconsin, US

Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun, abbreviated as CEEBJ, is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 2020 West Brown Deer Road, River Hills, Wisconsin, in the United States. The congregation was founded in 1847 and the current synagogue completed in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Anshai Emeth</span> Reform synagogue in Peoria, Illinois, United States

Congregation Anshai Emeth is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5614 North University Street, in Peoria, Illinois, in the United States. Established in 1859, the synagogue is the second oldest Jewish congregation in Illinois, and as of 2019 has the largest membership of any Jewish congregation in Peoria.

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

Temple Beth-El was a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 945 Fifth Avenue and 76th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, in the United States. The synagogue operated between 1891 until c. 1929, and was demolished in 1947. The Temple Beth-El congregation merged with Congregation Emanu-El of New York in 1927.

The Mikveh Israel Cemetery Beth-El-Emeth at 55th and Market Streets is a Jewish cemetery in West Philadelphia founded in 1850 and dedicated in 1857 by Isaac Leeser’s Congregation Beth-El-Emeth as Beth-El-Emeth Cemetery.

References

  1. 1 2 Snyder, Patricia, ed. (n.d.). "Our history" (PDF). Congregation Beth Emeth. Retrieved December 29, 2023.[ self-published source? ]
  2. Waite, Diana S. (1993). Albany architecture: a guide to the city. Preservation League of New York State. p. 135.
  3. "Isaac Mayer Wise". Jewish Virtual Library.
  4. 1 2 Landman, Isaac, ed. (1942). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York, N.Y.: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 517 via Google Books.
  5. Gordon, Mark W. (1996). "Rediscovering Jewish Infrastructure: Update on United States Nineteenth Century Synagogues". American Jewish History (2019 article update ed.). 84 (1): 20–27.
  6. 1 2 3 Waite, Diana S. Architects in Albany. Mount Ida Press. p. 70.
  7. "History". Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany, NY. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2010.[ self-published source? ]