B'nai Abraham Synagogue (Brenham, Texas)
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The B'nai Abraham congregation in
Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
, was organized in 1885.


History

Early
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
settlers in the
Washington County, Texas Washington County is a county in Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,805. Its county seat is Brenham, which is located along U.S. Highway 290, 72 miles northwest of Houston. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality of ...
, arrived during the 1860s. B. Levinson, an original founder, arrived in 1861. Alex Simon arrived in 1866. These individuals became active in the business community of Brenham, and as other Jewish settlers arrived, the need for a
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 ...
grew. The present building was constructed in 1893, after the first caught fire in 1892. L. Fink served as first president, F. Susnitsky as vice president, L. Z. Harrison as treasurer, and J. Lewis and Abe Fink as secretaries. The twenty charter members were led by
Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Israel. In the 1990s the synagogue was believed to be the oldest
Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
synagogue to have been in continuous use in Texas.
Leon Toubin Leon Toubin, known locally as "The Last Jew of Brenham", a Jewish Texan civic leader, philanthropist, and historian, is the caretaker of B'nai Abraham Synagogue (Brenham, Texas), which he began attending in the late 1930s as part of the daily miny ...
, a
Jewish Texan Jewish Texans have been a part of the history of Texas since the first European explorers arrived in the region in the 16th century. In 1990, there were around 108,000 adherents to Judaism in Texas. More recent estimates place the number at around ...
community and business leader, is the caretaker of this
place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
.


Relocation

In early 2015, the building was cut into three sections and moved 90 miles west to the
Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
Jewish Community Center in the Northwest Hills neighborhood of
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
. The building was pieced back together and upgraded with new insulation, restrooms, air-conditioning and electrical wiring. The synagogue became the home of the Congregation Tiferet Israel. The move will cause the loss of historic status for the structure.


Architecture

The structure, located on 302 North Park Street, remains an
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
Shul 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 ...
. The projecting structure on the near side is the
Mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
. The white clapboard structure with its pointed arched windows closely resembles the small country churches in the region. Inside the building the
Aron Kodesh A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron h ...
can be seen on the eastern wall and in the center the Bimah where the
Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
was read.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Texas This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Texas. This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Texas. T ...
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Washington County *
History of the Jews in Brenham, Texas The history of the Jews in Brenham, Texas; covers a period of over 140 years. As one of the first areas in Texas, outside of major population centers, to develop a sizable Jewish population, the community boasts many things of historical note. The ...
*
Texas Jewish Historical Society The Texas Jewish Historical Society, (sometimes abbreviated TJHS), which began in 1980, is a society dedicated to the preservation of Jewish history in Texas. History The society was founded in 1980 by Rabbi Jimmy Kessler of Galveston. He publish ...
*
Oldest synagogues in the United States Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...


References


External links

* {{Jews in Texas Jews and Judaism in Brenham, Texas Religious organizations established in 1885 Orthodox synagogues in Texas Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Texas Synagogues completed in 1893 Buildings and structures in Brenham, Texas 1885 establishments in Texas Relocated buildings and structures in Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks