Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas |
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|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism |
| Rite | (Unaffiliated) |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Rabbi Jacob Adler (Emeritus) |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 699 North Sang Avenue, Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Country | United States |
 Location in Arkansas
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| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Synagogue |
| General contractor | Fadil Bayyari |
| Date established | 1981 (as a congregation) |
| Completed | 2009 |
| Site area | 1 acre (4,000 m2) |
Temple Shalom of Northwest Arkansas is a special place for Jewish people in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It's a synagogue, which is a Jewish house of worship and community center. Even though it's a smaller group, it welcomes Jewish people from all different backgrounds and traditions. It's also connected with the Union for Reform Judaism, which is a large Jewish movement.
Contents
How Temple Shalom Started
Temple Shalom began in the 1970s as a small group of Jewish people meeting together. On January 21, 1981, about 30 people met in Fayetteville. They talked with Rabbi Lawrence Jackofsky from Dallas about forming a new Jewish community.
Just a month later, on February 23, 1981, Temple Shalom officially formed. Rabbi Norbert L. Rosenthal, a retired rabbi from Tulsa, Oklahoma, became their first rabbi. The group held a special ceremony on April 25, 1981, to celebrate.
Early Meeting Places
In its early days, Temple Shalom used the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall for their monthly services. This allowed them to have a place to gather and worship.
The synagogue also had a religious school for children. This school had actually started in the 1960s. Parents volunteered their time to organize and teach the classes. The school met at the Sam Barg Hillel House, a place for Jewish college students.
Building a Home for the Community
For many years, Temple Shalom used different spaces for its activities. In 1999, the University of Arkansas Hillel (a Jewish student organization) leased a building from the university. Temple Shalom then rented space in this building.
Growing and Needing More Space
As the community grew, they often needed more room. Larger gatherings continued to be held at the nearby Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. By 2004, Temple Shalom was getting too big for its rented space. Some members decided to start a new congregation, called Congregation Etz Chaim, in Bentonville. This helped ease the need for Temple Shalom to move right away.
However, by 2005, Temple Shalom had grown even more. Nearly 60 families were part of the synagogue. About 30 children attended the religious school, and many celebrated their Bar and Bat Mitzvah there each year. It became clear that they needed their own building. So, a project began in 2005 to build Fayetteville's first synagogue.
A Special Offer to Build
In 2006, something amazing happened. Fadil Bayyari, a local Palestinian Muslim builder from Springdale, offered to build the new synagogue at his own cost. This meant a huge saving of about $250,000 for Temple Shalom. His generous offer gained a lot of attention from local and national news. It showed how different communities could work together.
In 2007, Temple Shalom bought a piece of land, almost 1 acre (about 4,000 square meters). This land was at the corner of Sang Avenue and Cleveland Street. The plan was to build a facility that would be used by Temple Shalom, the University of Arkansas Hillel, and also include a multicultural library. The new building was finished in 2009, giving Temple Shalom a permanent home.
Leaders of Temple Shalom
For many years, Temple Shalom had different visiting rabbis, student rabbis, and cantors. These leaders would visit Fayetteville once a month during the school year to lead services and teach.
In 2006, Jacob Adler became the first full-time rabbi for Temple Shalom. He was a philosophy professor at the University of Arkansas and had recently become a rabbi. Rabbi Adler led the congregation until 2020, helping the community grow and thrive in their new building.
