Congregation Beth Elohim facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Congregation Beth Elohim |
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Hebrew: בֵּית אֱלֹהִים
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Sanctuary main entrance
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership |
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| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York City, New York |
| Country | United States |
 Location in New York City
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| Architecture | |
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| Architectural type | Synagogue |
| Architectural style | |
| Date established | 1861 (as a congregation) |
| Groundbreaking |
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| Completed |
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| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | West (Sanctuary) |
| Capacity | 1,200 worshippers |
| Dome(s) | One |
| Materials | Cast stone |
Congregation Beth Elohim (which means "House of God" in Hebrew) is a historic synagogue in Brooklyn, New York City. It's also known as the Garfield Temple or the Eighth Avenue Temple. This important building is located at 274 Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue, in the Park Slope neighborhood. It follows Reform Judaism, a modern way of practicing the Jewish faith.
The congregation started in 1861. It was formed by people who wanted a more modern approach to Jewish worship. Over the years, it tried to join with other synagogues, but these attempts didn't work out. The beautiful main synagogue building, built in the Classical Revival style, was finished in 1910. Later, in 1929, the "Jewish Deco" Temple House was added. Both buildings are part of a special historic district in Park Slope. They are recognized as New York City Landmarks and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
During tough times like the Great Depression, the synagogue faced financial problems. Membership numbers went down, but they bounced back after World War II. In the 1960s and 1970s, membership dropped again as families moved away. However, new programs for young children helped bring Jewish families back to the area and made the congregation strong again. By 2006, Beth Elohim had over 1,000 members. In 2009, Newsweek magazine even called it one of America's 25 "Most Vibrant" Jewish congregations. It's also the oldest Brooklyn congregation still using its original name.
Contents
Early Years: Starting on Pearl Street
Congregation Beth Elohim began on September 29, 1861. Forty-one Jewish people from Germany and Bohemia started it. They had left another synagogue, Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes, because they wanted to make their religious practices more modern. The name "Beth Elohim" was chosen by a vote. George Brandenstein became the cantor, leading the services. He also acted like a rabbi, even though he was officially hired as a cantor.
At first, the congregation met at Granada Hall. Men and women sat together, which was different from traditional synagogues. Services were held in German and Hebrew. A few months later, in 1862, they bought a former church building on Pearl Street for $5,100. They spent another $2,000 to fix it up. This new building was dedicated on March 30, 1862, and the synagogue became known as "the Pearl Street synagogue." By 1868, there were 103 members, and almost 100 students attended the Sunday school.
In 1870, Beth Elohim officially started using more modern, "reform" services. They tried to buy a bigger building on Schermerhorn Street for $55,000 to attract more members. But not enough new members joined, so they had to give up the building and return to Pearl Street. Instead, they renovated the Pearl Street building and added an organ and a choir.
In 1882, the congregation decided to replace George Brandenstein. Younger members wanted a change. Solomon Mosche was hired to take his place. In 1883, Beth Elohim tried to merge with two other large Brooklyn synagogues, Baith Israel and Temple Israel. This was the third attempt, but they couldn't agree on how services should be done, so it failed again. Even so, the three synagogues did some activities together, like a picnic. At this time, Beth Elohim still had about 50 members.
In 1884, William Sparger, a 26-year-old from Hungary, became the new rabbi. He brought many changes to the services. He improved the choir, introduced a new prayer book, and started Friday night services. He also made the sermon the most important part of the service. These changes attracted many younger people, and attendance grew a lot.
Moving to State Street
Because of Rabbi Sparger's changes, Beth Elohim quickly outgrew its Pearl Street building. After looking for three years, in 1885, they bought the Congregational Church building at 305 State Street for $28,000. They moved in that same year.
In 1891, Rabbi Sparger left for a synagogue in Manhattan that offered him a higher salary. After he left, Beth Elohim decided to have separate roles for the cantor and the rabbi. They hired G. Taubenhaus as rabbi and Mauritz Weisskopf as cantor.
Rabbi Taubenhaus was born in Warsaw and was very smart. He could read Hebrew at age four and studied the Talmud at six. He had served in other synagogues before coming to Beth Elohim. His brother Joseph also became a rabbi at Baith Israel, the synagogue Beth Elohim had originally broken away from.
By the time Taubenhaus was hired, Beth Elohim was seen as a leading Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn. The congregation was very open-minded about Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). For example, when another rabbi was removed from his synagogue for eating ham, Taubenhaus said his congregation wouldn't do the same to him.
In 1895, Samuel Radnitz became the new cantor and served until 1944. By 1900, English had replaced German in services and official records. The synagogue had 106 members, and its Sunday School had about 300 students. Rabbi Taubenhaus left in 1901. The next year, Alexander Lyons became the first American-born rabbi for the congregation. He served for 37 years until he passed away in 1939.
In 1907, the women's auxiliary group was started. Before this, even though men and women sat together, women had little say in how the synagogue was run. That year, the congregation had 110 families and its school had 15 teachers and 200 students.
Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue: New Buildings and Growth
New Buildings (1908–1929)
In 1908, the congregation bought a large piece of land at Garfield Place and Eighth Avenue. They planned to build a new synagogue there that could seat 1,500 people. The cost was expected to be $100,000. The building was designed by Simon Eisendrath and B. Horowitz. Construction started in 1909 and finished in 1910.
The new synagogue was built in the Classical Revival style. It had five sides, representing the five books of Moses. The main worship area, called the sanctuary, could hold 1,200 people and had a large dome. The entrance faced the corner, and above it, carved in stone, were the words: "MINE HOUSE SHALL BE AN HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE." The basement had classrooms, an auditorium, and offices. The old State Street building was sold.
By 1919, Beth Elohim had 133 member families. The school, which met once a week, had 305 students and 16 teachers. In 1925, there were talks about merging with Union Temple, another synagogue. The merger was even announced, but younger members worried about losing their synagogue's unique identity. So, the plan was canceled.
Instead of merging, the congregation raised money for a second building. In 1928–1929, they built the six-story Temple House across the street from the main sanctuary. This building was designed by Mortimer Freehof and David Levy. It had a unique "Jewish Deco" style, mixing Romanesque Revival and Art Deco designs. A cool feature was a carving of Moses holding the Tablets of Law on the roof. The building also had symbols like the Star of David, the Menorah, and the Lion of Judah. Names of important figures from the Hebrew Bible were carved on one side, and Bible verses on another. Inside, the Temple House had a chapel, a ballroom, social halls, classrooms, offices, a library, handball courts, a gym, and even a swimming pool!
Rabbi Lyons was very active in the community during these years. He worked to improve conditions in crowded city apartments and spoke out against unfair practices. He also helped create the Eastern Council of Reform Rabbis.
Challenges and Changes (1930s–1950s)
In 1931, Isaac Landman joined Rabbi Lyons as a rabbi at Beth Elohim. Rabbi Landman was born in Russia and came to the U.S. in 1890. He was known for trying to bring different faiths together. He also edited a large Jewish encyclopedia.
During the Great Depression, many people lost their jobs and money. Synagogue membership went down a lot, and the congregation struggled to pay its mortgage. But Beth Elohim still offered adult education classes, teaching about the Bible and Jewish life. In 1937, Rabbi Lyons was elected "rabbi for life."
In 1938, Rabbi Lyons spoke out against Adolf Hitler's unfair ideas about race. He encouraged people to stop buying German goods. Rabbi Lyons passed away the next year, and Rabbi Landman became the sole rabbi.
After World War II, the synagogue's situation improved. However, in 1946, the bank threatened to take over the buildings because the mortgage hadn't been paid for years. The congregation worked hard to renegotiate the loan and pay it off completely.
Eugene Sack joined Rabbi Landman as a rabbi in 1946. Rabbi Sack had served as an army chaplain during World War II. He was also involved in discussions about the future of a Jewish homeland. Rabbi Landman passed away suddenly in 1946, and Rabbi Sack led Beth Elohim for the next 35 years. Richard Harvey also became the cantor in the 1940s.
After the war, Beth Elohim made an important change: women were allowed to become full members. This meant they could vote and hold leadership positions. Jeanette Marks was elected as a trustee. At this time, more Jewish families from Eastern Europe started joining the congregation.
In the late 1940s, the main sanctuary's ceiling cracked and needed repairs. The pulpit was also rebuilt. The basement of the synagogue often flooded because of an underground stream. This problem was fixed in the 1950s by installing special valves and a concrete floor. By 1953, Beth Elohim had grown to over 700 families, and the religious school had over 550 students. But in the 1960s, membership started to decline as young families moved to the suburbs.
Re-birth and Modern Times (1970s–Present)
By 1970, the congregation was facing difficulties again, with fewer members. But the community came up with a great idea: they started one of the first nursery schools in the neighborhood. This, along with a movement to restore old brownstone homes in Park Slope, helped bring young Jewish families back to the synagogue. One of these families was that of Gerald I. Weider, a young rabbi who joined Beth Elohim in 1978.
Rabbi Weider focused on programs and services for Jewish families living in the city. Under his leadership, Beth Elohim opened after-school and early childhood centers in 1978, and a day camp the next year. All these programs were held in the Temple House.
In the 1970s, under Rabbi Weider, services also started to include more traditional practices. Some members began wearing head coverings, and some Hebrew prayers were added back to the Sabbath service. The synagogue buildings were recognized as important historic landmarks in 1973 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
In 1985, Rabbi Weider and Beth Elohim worked with other local synagogues to propose opening a liberal Jewish day school in Brooklyn. The school, which would be for children from all types of Judaism, opened in 1995. It started with first grade and grew to 38 students before moving to a new location and becoming independent as the "Hannah Senesh Community Day School."
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Beth Elohim's buildings were repaired and updated many times. The sanctuary ceiling cracked in the early 1980s, and services had to be held in the Temple House for a while. The congregation launched a "Save our Sanctuary" campaign to raise money for repairs. They also restored a beautiful stained-glass window and painted the main sanctuary. In the 1990s, they did more renovations, making the synagogue entrance accessible for people with disabilities and adding new classrooms.
In 2001, Janet Leuchter joined as cantor. She had graduated from Hebrew Union College in 1999.
Recent Events (Since 2006)
Rabbi Weider retired as senior rabbi in 2006 after 28 years of service. Andy Bachman took his place. At that time, Beth Elohim had over 500 members. In 2007, the synagogue won an award for being a great place for learning.
In 2009, Beth Elohim was known as the largest and most active Reform congregation in Brooklyn. Important members included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. In April 2009, Newsweek magazine named Beth Elohim one of America's 25 "Most Vibrant" Jewish congregations.
In September 2009, just before the holiday of Yom Kippur, a part of the sanctuary ceiling fell. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the sanctuary had to be closed. A nearby church, Old First Reformed Church, offered its space for the holiday services, and over 1,000 people attended there.
As of 2012, Beth Elohim was still the oldest Brooklyn congregation operating under its original name. Its pulpit (the place where the rabbi speaks) was the oldest in continuous use in any Brooklyn synagogue.
Andy Bachman became the senior rabbi in 2006. He had worked at Beth Elohim before as an educator. He believed in bringing more traditional practices back to the Reform movement. He and his wife, Rachel Altstein, helped attract many young adults to the synagogue. In 2007, he was named one of The Forward's "Forward 50," a list of influential Jewish people.
On September 22, 2013, Beth Elohim celebrated its 150th anniversary. They also dedicated a new Sefer Torah (Torah scroll). Members said it was the first Torah in New York City to be completed by a woman.
In June 2015, Andy Bachman left Beth Elohim. In July 2015, Rachel Timoner became the new Senior Rabbi.
Images for kids
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Sanctuary main entrance
