Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 1376 East Massey Road, 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 (Hebrew for "Children of 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.
Peres was fired in 1860 because he opened a store that conducted business on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath. He was replaced by Simon Tuska, who moved the congregation from Orthodox to Reform practices. Tuska died in 1871, and was succeeded by Max Samfield; under his leadership, the synagogue was one of the founding members of the Union for Reform Judaism. In 1884, Children of Israel completed a new building, and membership grew rapidly. Samfield died in 1915, and was succeeded by Bill Fineshriber, an outspoken supporter of women's suffrage and equal rights for African Americans. The following year the congregation moved to a new building, where membership continued to grow. Fineshriber left in 1924, and was succeeded by Harry Ettelson.
The synagogue experienced difficulty during the Great Depression—membership dropped, the congregational school was closed, and staff had their salaries reduced—but conditions had improved by the late 1930s. In 1943 the synagogue changed its name to Temple Israel, and by the late 1940s membership had almost doubled from its low point in the 1930s. Ettelson retired in 1954, and was succeeded by Jimmy Wax.
Wax became known for his activism during the Civil Rights Movement. Though some members—particularly those whose families had lived in the South for generations—had segregationist views, others were prominent in the fight for Black civil rights. During Wax's tenure, most of Temple Israel's members moved far from the existing synagogue, and in 1976 the congregation constructed its current building, closer to where most members lived. Wax retired in 1978, and was succeeded by Harry Danziger, who brought traditional practices back to the congregation. He retired in 2000, and was succeeded by Micah Greenstein. , Temple Israel has almost 1,450 member families. Greenstein is the Senior Rabbi, and the cantorial soloist is Happie Hoffman.
Early history (1853–1857) Temple Israel was established as the Orthodox Congregation B'nai Israel in 1853 by 36 heads of families, and granted a charter by the state legislature on , 1854.Lewis (1998), p. 24."Congregation Children of Israel", Jewish American Society for History Preservation website; Jewish Living of the South, Vol. 1, No. 10, pp. 8–9. It grew out of Memphis's Hebrew Benevolent Society, established in 1850 by German Jews. The Benevolent Society managed Memphis's Jewish cemetery, supported poor Jews, and conducted High Holy Day services.Lewis (1998), p. 9. The congregation was initially led by part-time cantors.Ringel (2004), p. 4. The first was Jonas Levy, who had been hired as cantor and ritual slaughterer.Lewis (1998), p. 9, Ringel (2004), p. 3; Adler & Samfield (1904), pp. 463–464. Levy was succeeded by H. Judah and then J. Sternheimer. A Hebrew school was also created, directed by Sternheimer.Adler & Samfield (1904), pp. 463–464 write that the "Reverend L. Sternheimer" was the first director of the Hebrew school. Lewis (1998), p. 10; Ringel (2004), p. 4 write that Jacob Peres established the school. In 1857, B'nai Israel hired as organist Christopher Philip Winkler, described by Tim Sharp (Dean of Fine Arts at Rhodes College in Memphis) as the "Dean of Memphis Musicians". Born in Germany in 1824, he had emigrated to the United States at age 16, and moved to Memphis in 1854. There he taught music, performed, and composed works for B'nai Israel's services; by 1894 he had completed over 850 pieces for the congregation.Sharp (2007), pp. 22–24.
In its first decades, the congregation worshiped in various locations in downtown Memphis, near the Mississippi River waterfront. It received a $2,000 (today $) bequest from the estate of New Orleans philanthropist Judah Touro, and used it to purchase a lot on Second Street, but did not feel financially secure enough to build a synagogue, and eventually sold the property.Adler & Samfield (1904), pp. 463–464, History of Temple Israel, Institute of Southern Jewish Life (2006), Ringel (2004), p. 3. The congregation instead held services in members' homes in 1853, and subsequently (until 1857) rented various premises on Front Street.Lewis (1998), p. 9; Olitzky & Raphael (1996), p. 337; Ringel (2004), p. 3. The Touro funds eventually enabled the members to lease the Farmers and Merchants Bank building at Main and Exchange streets in late 1857, which they converted to a synagogue.Ringel (2004), p. 3. Lewis (1998), p. 9; Olitzky & Raphael (1996), p. 337 call it the Merchant and Farmers Bank building, and state it was leased in 1858. Adler & Samfield (1904), pp. 463–464 describe it as "The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank" and state that it was dedicated on , 1858. Funds for the renovation were raised by two committees; one solicited donations from "all the Israelites in this city", while the other's task was "to receive subscriptions from Gentiles". Additional funds were raised by selling members reserved seats in the new sanctuary. An auction was held on , 1858, in which 50 men's seats were sold for $343 (today $), and 44 women's seats for $158 (today $). The renovated premises had seating for 150 men and approximately 50 women.Ringel (2004), p. 3; Lewis (1998), p. 9 states the women's section had seating for 46. In 1860, the congregation contracted to purchase the property; by 1865, it owned it outright and was debt-free.Lewis (1998), p. 9. Ringel (2004), p. 16 states the mortgage was paid off in . On , 2007, 153 years to the day after the congregation received its charter from the State of Tennessee, a historical marker was erected by the Shelby County Historical Commission, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, and Temple Israel, on the corner where the synagogue had once stood. It described the building as the "First Permanent Jewish House of Worship in Tennessee".Ringel (2004), p. 3.
Membership in B'nai Israel was restricted to men, and attendance at the (at least) quarterly meetings was mandatory. Men who missed a meeting without a reasonable excuse were fined.Ringel (2004), pp. 3–4. In 1857 the fine was $0.50 (today $). The members also instituted rules intended to guard the image of the small Jewish congregation in the eyes of the much larger Christian community. New members had to be approved by a secret ballot, and existing members could blackball candidates. A member could also be suspended or expelled if he acted in a disreputable manner.
B'nai Israel was the only Jewish congregation in Memphis, and from the time it was established members were split between traditionalists and reformers.Lewis (1998), p. 10. When remodeling their new building, the congregation voted eighteen to fourteen to maintain traditional separate seating for men and women.History of Temple Israel, Institute of Southern Jewish Life (2006). By 1858, with enough funds to hire a full-time spiritual leader, they consulted Rabbi Isaac Leeser, the leader of America's Orthodox Jewish community, but were also in contact with Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, the leader of America's fledgling Reform movement, who had dedicated B'nai Israel's sanctuary earlier that year.For accumulating enough funds, see Ringel (2004), p. 4. For consulting with both Leeser and Wise, see Lewis (1998), pp. 9–10. The members had advertised for their first spiritual leader in Wise's newspaper, The Israelite (along with other English-language Jewish newspapers) at the same time they advertised for a kosher butcher. Leeser recommended Jacob J. Peres, an Orthodox rabbi.Lewis (1998), pp. 9–10, Ringel (2004), p. 4.
Peres era (1858–1860)
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Peres had been a child prodigy who, before turning eighteen, had edited a Hebrew grammar, as well as a volume of proverbs written in five languages. Upon graduation from high school, he had been given a stipend by William I of the Netherlands to attend the Netherlands Israelitish Seminary, where he pursued both secular and rabbinic studies. He was well-versed in mathematics, language, literature and law, and co-founded Peres and Micou, a legal firm.
B'nai Israel hired Peres in December 1858 as cantor and teacher, in English and German, at an annual salary of $600 (today $) with perquisites of $400. By comparison, the kosher butcher's salary was $300, not including what he earned killing poultry. Peres also ran the Hebrew school and the choir, and was in effect the rabbi. Under his leadership, the membership took a serious interest in the plight of Jews around the world. For example, at a congregational meeting in , they gathered money from the members present and B'nai Israel's treasury to assist suffering Moroccan Jews, and created a committee to raise funds throughout Memphis on their behalf. The congregation also moved more towards Orthodoxy, and passed a rule stating that only those members who were Sabbath observant could receive Torah honors on the High Holy Days.Ringel (2004), pp. 4–5.
Peres did not find his wages sufficient to support himself, his wife, and his four children. To supplement his income, he opened a grocery store and a commission business (selling others' goods on consignment) with his brother. As Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) was also the busiest day for commerce, he decided to keep his business open on that day—something forbidden by Jewish law, and at odds with the rule he had championed. Some of congregants objected, and at B'nai Israel's quarterly meeting, charges were brought against him; at a subsequent trial at a Jewish court, he was convicted and fired. In response, he sued the congregation in a civil court for lost wages and libel. The precedent-setting case, which reached the Tennessee Supreme Court, was decided in his favor as regards the lost income, but against him regarding libel. The court's ruling was that "a religious institution is sovereign; that its laws and regulations are supreme; and that its policies and practices may not be challenged by a legal action in a court of law". In a letter to Rabbi Isaac Leeser in 1862, Peres claimed that he had been framed and that the store was actually run by his brother, just under his name. He writes that the synagogue had accused him of opening on the Sabbath "in order to get rid of me".Gershwind-Bennett Isaac Leeser Digitization Project http://leeser.library.upenn.edu/documentDisplay.php?id=LSDCBx2FF9_19
After Peres's dismissal, the members began a search for what they called a "Moderate Reform" rabbi. This time, they consulted Wise, not Leeser. The position was advertised in Wise's newspaper as a "Teacher, Preacher, and Reader", paying $1,000 (today $) per year. Qualifications included the ability to "instruct children in Hebrew, lecture once a week in German or English and read the Prayers properly".Lewis (1998), p. 11. In 1860, they hired Simon Tuska.Lewis (1998), p. 25. Peres stayed in Memphis, and the theological tensions within the congregation were resolved when forty of the more traditional members departed; with Peres as their spiritual leader, they formed the Orthodox Beth El Emeth congregation in the early 1860s.Lewis (1998), p. 11 gives the year as 1861. Ringel (2004), p. 6 gives it as 1862. This division process was common to many American congregations of the time.
Tuska era (1860–1870)