Beth El Synagogue is a Jewish congregation in

St. Louis Park, Minnesota St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Min ...

, a suburb immediately west of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. It is affiliated with the

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...

History

In 1920 individuals started a group to meet on Friday nights to partake in services. This group was called the Young People's Synagogue and A.M. Heller served as

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 ...

. As the group expanded with more individuals it was hard to meet in a classroom. It was then discussed and decided that a synagogue would be built and the name of it would be Beth El. In November 1922, a house and lot were purchased. To begin, the daily services were held in the little house. By June 1925, ground was broken and in September the cornerstone containing the names of the 25 original members was laid. A new building was built on March 14–21, 1926. Activities in that location included Women's League, Young People's League,

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah ( he, תלמוד תורה, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary educat ...

classes, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts. The first confirmation class graduated in 1926. In 1930, Men's Club was organized and our Shofar (monthly bulletin) began publication. Aleph Preschool, began in 1939. As the number of families joining the synagogue was growing, there needed to be more room. On March 14, 1948, the Bet Hamidrash and Community House were built. In the early 1950s, Beth El Memorial Park was purchased and constructed. The Board approved the purchase of land in St. Louis Park. Ground was broken for the Youth and Activities Building on September 17, 1961. Activities continued at both buildings, youth and educational activities at the new building, all others at the other location. On June 7, 1968, the final service at 1349 Penn North was held and the building was sold to the city of Minneapolis on June 10. In the fall of 1968, groundbreaking occurred in St. Louis Park. In the new building, High Holiday services were held in Convention Hall. The new synagogue building was opened in 1970.

External links

Official web site

References

{{Reflist Conservative synagogues in Minnesota Synagogues completed in 1970 Jewish organizations established in 1920 1920 establishments in Minnesota St. Louis Park, Minnesota