Congregation Beth Israel of Houston, the oldest Jewish congregation in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, was founded in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in 1854. It operates the Shlenker School.

History

The congregation was founded in 1854 as an

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 ...

''kehilla'' and legally chartered in 1859. Olitzky, Kerry M.; Raphael, Marc Lee. ''The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook'',

Greenwood Press 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 ...

, June 30, 1996, p. 346 The Orthodox Beth Israel Congregation in Houston opened in a former house that had been converted to a synagogue.Bell, p
216
In 1874 the congregation voted to change their affiliation to

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 ...

, sparking the foundation of Congregation Adath Yeshurun, now known as

Congregation Beth Yeshurun Congregation Beth Yeshurun is a Conservative synagogue in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1891 as Adath Yeshurun, it merged in Congregation Beth El in 1946, taking its current name. In 2002 Beth Yeshurun absorbed the membership of Shearith Israel o ...

. Hyman Judah Schachtel was a past

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 ...

. Beth Israel's Franklin Avenue Temple building was completed in 1874.Anne Nathan Cohen, The Centenary History of Congregation Beth Israel of Houston (Houston, 1954) The temple was at Crawford Street at Franklin Avenue in what is now

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...

. In 1908 the congregation moved into a new temple at Crawford at Lamar Street, in an area that was a Jewish community. After the congregation left the Lamar site, the New Day Temple occupied it. The Grove at

Discovery Green Discovery Green is an public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, bounded by La Branch Street to the west, McKinney Street to the north, Avenida de las Americas to the east, and Lamar Street to the south. The park is adjacent to the George R ...

occupies the former Lamar site.

Maximilian Heller Maximilian Heller (January 31, 1860 – March 30, 1929) was a Czech-born American rabbi. Life Heller was born on January 31, 1860, in Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire, the son of well-to-do wool merchant Simon Heller and Mathilde Kassowitz. He c ...

was rabbi of the congregation from 1886 to 1887. A new temple at Austin Street and Holman Avenue was dedicated in 1925. Originally it was considered to be a part of the Third Ward.Wood, Roger. '' Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues''. 2003,

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

. 1st Edition. p. 73. Rabbi

Henry Barnston Henry Barnston (August 23, 1868 – December 11, 1949) was a British-born Jewish-American rabbi. Life Barnston was born on August 23, 1868 in Dover, England, the son of Rabbi Isidore Jules Barnstein and Eva Mendelsohn. He was born Henry Barnstein ...

served as the Congregation's rabbi from 1900 to 1943, after which he served as rabbi emeritus until his death in 1949. The Moderne style, 1924-built Austin Street building, designed by congregant

Joseph Finger Joseph Finger (7 March 1887 – 6 February 1953) was an Austrian American architect. After immigrating to the United States in 1905, Finger settled in Houston, Texas in 1908, where he would remain for the duration of his life. Finger is best ...

, was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1984 and was awarde
Recorded Texas Historical Landmark
status in 2009. In 1943 Temple Beth Israel announced that people who espoused

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

ideals, observed the laws of ''kashrut'' or favored the perpetuation of Hebrew as a language were not allowed to be members, so Emanu-El was formed by people who disagreed with the decision. As of 1967 Beth Israel accepts people with Zionist beliefs.Bell, p
217
In 1966 the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

purchased the 1920s temple building on Austin Street.Gore, p
8
Quote (from page 8 of ''

Talent Knows no Color Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent may ...

''): << "A former Hebrew temple across the street from San Jacinto had been purchased by the school district in 1966 as an annex for the school's burgeoning enrollment" >>Gore, p
10
Quote (from page 10 of ''

''): << "Denny was given her choice of three district-owned sites in the central city just outside of downtown Houston for the new school: W. D. Cleveland Elementary School to the west; Montrose Elementary School to the southwest; and the former Temple Beth Israel to the south. Denney, with the assistance of Barry Moore, one of her former Lamar drama students who had become an architect, toured all three sites, giving facilities for performance priority over any other consideration. The former Temple Beth Israel, the annex since 1966 for HISD's vocational San Jacinto High School enamed Houston Technical Institute on June 1, 1971 seemed best suited for

HSPVA Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School Distric ...

's temporary use. Despite five years of district neglect, the sanctuary, attached two-story Levy Memorial Hall, and adjacent one-story Mendelsohn Education Building had the essential components for a small arts high school; use of this campus would only be necessary until HISD could pass a bond issue including funds for a new state-of-the-art building (...)" >>. HISD began using that building—at first—as an annex for San Jacinto High School since the school's population was increasing. In the years leading to 1967, the Jewish community was moving to

Meyerland Meyerland is a community in southwest Houston, Texas, outside of the 610 Loop and inside Beltway 8. The neighborhood is named after the Meyer family, who bought and owned 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land in southwest Houston. Meyerland is th ...

. To follow the community, in 1967 the congregation moved to a new temple on North Braeswood Boulevard. The former temple building on Austin Street became the first home of Houston's

High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District. ...

and was renamed the Ruth Denney Theatre. When the high school moved to new quarters, the building became a performance venue for Houston Community College's Central Fine Arts division and was renamed the Heinen Theatre. The historic building is located in

Midtown Houston Midtown is a central neighborhood of Houston, located west-southwest of Downtown. Separated from Downtown by an elevated section of Interstate 45 (the Pierce Elevated), Midtown is characterized by a continuation of Downtown's square grid street ...

. Rabbi David Lyon currently presides over the congregation of Beth Israel.

Properties

Current property

The current synagogue at 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard has a lobby with twelve needlepoints. The design of these needlepoints had inspiration in the

Hadassah Medical Center Hadassah Medical Center ( he, הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem – one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus –, ...

Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

windows. The current synagogue facility has been expanded since its initial construction in order to house a Jewish school.Bell, p
218
The Shlenker School is on the synagogue property. The school is accredited by the

Independent Schools Association of the Southwest The Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) is a nonprofit association of 89 independent schools located in the U.S. states of Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. ISAS is a member of the National Associ ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Texas The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...

, as of 2022, more students attended The Shlenker School than previously. An organization called Prizmah stated in a 2021 report that families with a preference for education in a school setting during a pandemic, as opposed to via the internet, often preferred schools that continued offering such.

Cemetery

The cemetery owned by Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Houston.Davis, Rod.
Houston's really good idea Bus tour celebrates communities that forged a city.
''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

''. Sunday August 3, 2003. Travel 1M. Retrieved on February 11, 2012.

References

* Bell, Roselyn. "Houston." In: Tigay, Alan M. (editor) ''The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights''.

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, January 1, 1994. p. 215-220. , 9781568210780. ** Content also in: Tigay, Alan M. ''Jewish Travel-Prem''.

Broadway Books Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a Division of Random House, Inc., released its first list in Fall, 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquired Rand ...

, January 18, 1987. , 9780385241984. * Gore, Elaine Clift. ''Talent Knows No Color: The History of an Arts Magnet High School'' (Research in curriculum and instruction)

Information Age Publishing Information Age Publishing Inc. (IAP) is a publisher of academic books, primarily in the fields of education and management. It was founded in 1999 by George Johnson and is located in Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most popul ...

, 2007. , 9781593117610.

Notes

External links

Synagogue website

Shlenker School

Congregational history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (Houston, Texas) Conservative synagogues in Texas Jews and Judaism in Houston Religious buildings and structures in Houston Reform synagogues in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Houston Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Religious organizations established in 1854 1854 establishments in Texas Synagogues completed in 1925 1925 establishments in Texas Neoclassical synagogues Synagogues completed in 1967 1967 establishments in Texas Modernist architecture in Texas Midtown, Houston