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.
Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes, more commonly known as the Kane Street Synagogue, is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 236 Kane Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It is currently the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Brooklyn.
Adath Jeshurun Congregation is a Conservative Jewish synagogue located in Minnetonka, Minnesota with about 1,200 members. Founded in 1884, it is a founding member of the United Synagogue of America, a founding member of the Women's League for Conservative Judaism, and "the oldest affiliate of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism west of Chicago.
Temple Sinai is a Reform synagogue located at 2808 Summit Street in Oakland, California, United States. Founded in 1875, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in the East San Francisco Bay region.
Congregation Beth Israel is a Jewish congregation located at 10460 North 56th Street in Scottsdale, Arizona. Formally incorporated in 1920, it affiliated with the Reform Judaism in 1935.
Congregation Beth Israel Judea is a Reform synagogue located at 625 Brotherhood Way in San Francisco, California. It is the result of the merger of the Conservative Congregation Beth Israel and the Reform Temple Judea.
Congregation Ahavath Chesed is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Florida and one of the first formally incorporated.
The Fifth Avenue Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 5 East 62nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Jonathan V. Plaut, was a Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Jackson, MI.
Sinai Temple in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California is the oldest and largest Conservative Jewish congregation in the greater Los Angeles area. Architect Sidney Eisenshtat designed the current synagogue building, constructed in 1956 and expanded in 1998. Since 1997, the senior rabbi has been David Wolpe, the Rabbi Emeritus has been Zvi Dershowitz, and since 2008, the head school rabbi has been Andrew Feig.
Temple Israel is the oldest synagogue in Columbus, Ohio, and a founding member of the Union for Reform Judaism. Formed as early as 1846 as the Orthodox Bene Jeshurun congregation, its first religious leader was Simon Lazarus, a clothing merchant who founded what would become Lazarus department stores.
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.
Stephen Wise Temple is a large Reform Jewish congregation in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1964 by the late Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin, with 35 families, the congregation grew rapidly. At various times in its history it has been stated to be the largest, or one of the largest, Jewish congregations in the world, at one time having a membership of about 3,000 families, six rabbis, two cantors and two cantorial interns, and four schools on three campuses. As of 1994 it was the second-largest synagogue in the United States. The community was founded as the Stephen S. Wise Temple. In 2014 it was renamed the Stephen Wise Temple.
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.
Temple Israel of the City of New York is a Reform congregation in Manhattan. It was incorporated in 1873 by German Jews.
Congregation Dorshei Emet is a Reconstructionist synagogue in Hampstead, Quebec. It was founded in 1960 by Lavy Becker, who served as volunteer rabbi. Ron Aigen was hired as the congregation's first paid rabbi in 1976, and Heather Batchelor was hired as the first cantor in 2009.
Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple is a Reform Jewish temple in Beachwood, Ohio, the oldest existing Jewish congregation in the Cleveland area. The name Anshe Chesed is Hebrew for "People of Loving Kindness". The congregation's membership exceeded 2,000 families in the mid-1990s.
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation is a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation moved into its present synagogue building in 1953. It merged with Congregation Or L'Simcha in 2010, bringing its membership to 530 families.