 | |
| Formation | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Type | Reform Judaism |
| Location | |
| Membership | 200 families |
| Website | wrjc |
The Wood River Jewish Community, also known as the WRJC, is a Jewish congregation serving Ketchum, Hailey, Sun Valley, and Bellevue in the Wood River Valley in central Idaho. The congregation is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism.
The first Jewish residents of the Wood River Valley included Simon J. Friedman, Simon M. Friedman, Leopold Werthheimer, and other German immigrants following a mining boom in the 1880s. After a mining bust in the 1890s, most Jewish residents left the valley until the 1950s and 60s, when the success of the Sun Valley Resort attracted Jews once again to settle in the region.
A growing Jewish community, alternatively named the WRJC and “Temple Beth Baldy” after Bald Mountain, celebrated Shabbat and holidays in living rooms and local restaurants including the Sun Valley Lodge. A congregation was formally established in 1983 by Helen and Ben Goldberg, Carlyn Ring, Naomi Fine, and Steven Luber in the Goldberg home. [1]
In 1989, the WRJC received a 150-year-old Torah scroll that had survived the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia. An ark designed by Ketchum-based artist David Hurd was dedicated in 1998 and the Torah scroll was restored in 2003. [2]
| Tenure | Clergy | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 to 2000 | Rabbi Laura Rappaport | part-time |
| 2002 to 2006 | Rabbi Martin Levy | full-time |
| 2006 to 2007 | Rabbi Sheila Goloboy | part-time |
| 2007 to 2008 | Rabbi Barnett Brickner | part-time |
| 2014 to 2017 | Rabbi James Mirel | part-time |
| 2018 to 2023 | Rabbi Cantor Robbi Sherwin | part-time |
| 2024 to present | Rabbi Sam Klein [3] | full-time |
In the 1990s, the WRJC held Jewish religious services in Ketchum’s Presbyterian Church of the Bigwood. In the early 2000s, the congregation began holding services at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church. [4]
In 2023, the WRJC opened a permanent synagogue in Sun Valley’s Elkhorn neighborhood, which is the third synagogue building in Idaho after Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise and Temple Emanuel in Pocatello. [5]
Ketchum is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States. Located in the central part of the state, the population was 3,555 at the 2020 census, up from 2,689 in 2010. Located in the Wood River Valley, Ketchum is adjacent to Sun Valley and the communities share many resources: both sit in the same valley beneath Bald Mountain, with its skiing. The city also draws tourists to its fishing, hiking, trail riding, tennis, shopping, art galleries, and more. The airport for Ketchum, Friedman Memorial Airport, is approximately 15 miles (24 km) south in Hailey.
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The Wood River Valley is a region in south-central Idaho. Located in Blaine County, it is named after the Big Wood and Little Wood Rivers, which flow through the area.
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