Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth Congregation is a
Modern Orthodox
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
located in suburban
East Memphis
East Memphis is a region of Memphis, Tennessee with several defined and informal subdivisions and neighborhoods such as Colonial Acres, White Station- Yates, Sherwood Forest, Normal Station, High Point Terrace, Belle Meade, Normandy Meadows, St ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
.
History
Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth Congregation (ASBEE) was formed by the 1966 merger of Anshei Sphard and Beth El Emeth, two
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
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* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
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Orthodox congregations with 19th century roots.
Beth El Emeth was formed in 1861 by a group of dissatisfied members from the B'nai Israel Congregation (now
Temple Israel). These members objected to B'nai Israel's move toward
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
. Their new congregation, guided by Rabbi Jacob Peres, who had been B'nai Israel's first rabbi, was committed to maintaining the "''
minhag Polen''" (traditions of the
Polish Jews
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lo ...
).
[Selma S. Lewis, ''A Biblical People in the Bible Belt: The Jewish Community of Memphis, Tennessee, 1840s-1960s'' (]Mercer University Press
Mercer University Press, established in 1979, is a university press operated by Mercer University. The press has published more than 1,600 books, releasing 35-40 titles annually with a 5-person staff.
Mercer is the only Baptist-related instit ...
, 1998), , pp. 11, 25ff., p 78.
Excerpts available
at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
. In its initial years, the shul's leadership would prove to be less than stable. Its first religious leader was Chazan Elya Marcuson, whose stint would be quite brief. In 1863, Beth El Emeth got its first rabbi in Joel Alexander of Brooklyn, New York, who would only preside for three short years until his death in 1866. In the coming years, the rabbinate would be in flux.
By 1872, the shul had acquired a cemetery, which was located south of Central Avenue and north of Cane Creek, according to the Shelby County directory. In the mid-1870s, Ferdinand Leopold Sarner, a former chaplain in the Civil War, became the new rabbi.
The
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
epidemic in Memphis in the late 1870s would deliver a huge blow to the congregation, killing off Peres, Sarner, and much of its membership. In 1880, services were suspended, only to be continued the next year, according to the Shelby County directory. In 1882, the remaining members of the congregation engaged in talks with Bnai Israel in the hope of a merger. Bnai Israel decided that whereas they would not merge as a whole, they would accept members on an individual basis. Beginning in 1884, the congregation would no longer be listed in Shelby County directories. The cemetery would similarly vanish from directories in 1887.
In 1891, Beth El Emeth reappears in the directories on Poplar and Washington in Cochrane Hall. At the same time, there is another shul called Tiferes Israel in the Knights of Pythias Hall. It says in the directories that the reader for the Beth El Emeth was Moses Franklin. In 1893, the directories do not include Beth El Emeth, but it says that Tiferes Israel is located in Cochrane Hall and the reader is Moses Franklin. One can assume that the two congregations merged. The Tiferes Israel cemetery, acquired in 1891, was located on Pigeon Roost Road. The congregation disappears from directories in 1897, in the same year as the Baron Hirsch Congregation begins to appear. In 1898, the Baron Hirsch cemetery is located on Pigeon Roost Road. One can therefore assume that Tiferes Israel (Beth El Emeth) merged with Baron Hirsch, but it is not completely clear.
In 1916, B’nai Israel left its building on Poplar and a group of Orthodox Jews took over the facility, and called themselves Beth El Emeth. For whatever reason, Beth El Emeth does not appear in the directories until 1929. They remained there until 1957. Many things remain unclear: Where did these people who started this new Beth El Emeth come from? Were they a continuation of the 1890s Beth El Emeth? Was the 1890s Beth El Emeth a continuation of the original Beth El Emeth? Pending further evidence, it is unknown.
[Kerry M. Olitzky, Marc Lee Raphael, ''The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook'' (]Greenwood Publishing Group
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 1996), , pp. 335-337.
Excerpts available
at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
.
![Anshei Sphard Cemetery Airways Blvd Memphis TN 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Anshei_Sphard_Cemetery_Airways_Blvd_Memphis_TN_02.jpg)
Anshei Sphard was organized in 1893, chartered in 1904, and located in the Pinch district of Memphis until 1948.
It was originally formed by a group of Polish Jews wishing to observe
Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
traditions. Anshei Sphard purchased land for a cemetery in 1907.
By the 1960s, both congregations found themselves with declining membership as their constituencies progressively moved to the east. By 1966 they had agreed to merge, and in 1970 they opened their new facility in East Memphis.
The congregation is known for its annual
Kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
competition, reportedly the first such Kosher competition in the world. The competition was established in 1988, after members of the congregation first sought to establish an event for Kosher-observant, non-pork-eating Jews as part of the city's large
Memphis in May
Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...
"World Championship Barbecue" contest. By 2011, the contest was attracting thousands of participants, including
Halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
-observant
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s as well as Jews.
In late 2020, the congregation, upon selling their building, moved services to the
Baron Hirsch Congregation, where they are currently renting space for an independent Shabbat morning service.
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.asbee.org
ASBEE World Kosher BBQ Championship
Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the United States
Ashkenazi synagogues
Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee
Jews and Judaism in Memphis, Tennessee
Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States
Orthodox synagogues in Tennessee
Polish-Jewish culture in the United States
Synagogues completed in 1970