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Congregation Beth Israel ( he, בית ישראל) is a
, Synagogue website, About CBI. Retrieved August 1, 2014.History of CBI
, Synagogue website, About CBI. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
Beth Israel's first building still stands in Heritage Park, which is adjacent to
"Temple Beth Israel"
''The Journal of San Diego History'', Fall 1981, Volume 27, Number 4. it was used by the Congregation until 1926, when the Congregation moved to its second, larger building at Third and Laurel. At the time the congregation numbered around 60 families. The Third and Laurel site occupied a full city block, and included a number of structures. In addition to the synagogue building, there was an adjacent social hall, a school building, and a number of small apartments. When the congregation moved in early 2001, it retained the school and social hall. Beth Israel purchased a lot in University City in 1993. Construction on new facilities there began in January 2000 and were dedicated in October 2001. The site comprises five buildings totaling more than . Jonathan Stein, who was Senior Rabbi at the synagogue, became Senior Rabbi at
Official web-site for Heritage Park
which includes a photo and information for Temple Beth Israel (1889) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (San Diego, California) Jews and Judaism in San Diego Reform synagogues in California Religious organizations established in 1887 Synagogues preserved as museums Religious buildings and structures in San Diego Landmarks in San Diego 1887 establishments in California Synagogues completed in 1889 Synagogues completed in 1926 Synagogues completed in 2001
Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
synagogue located at 9001 Towne Centre Drive in San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. Formally incorporated in 1887, Beth Israel traces its roots back to 1861. It is San Diego's largest and oldest Jewish congregation.About CBI introduction, Synagogue website, About CBI. Retrieved August 1, 2014.History of CBI
, Synagogue website, About CBI. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
History
Jew
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""T ...
s first came to San Diego in 1850, and organized High Holiday services each year. In 1861, led by Marcus Schiller, they organized a congregation called "Adath Yeshurun". In early 1887 they formally incorporated under the name "Beth Israel".
Beth Israel's first building still stands in Heritage Park, which is adjacent to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings ...
. The wooden building was erected in 1889 at Second Avenue and Beech Street, in the wake of a boom in economic activity and population that resulted from the November 1885 completion of the California Southern Railroad
The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between wh ...
connecting San Diego to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...
in Barstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the In ...
. Services were first held there on September 25, 1889. One of the oldest synagogue buildings in the American West,Schwartz, Henry"Temple Beth Israel"
''The Journal of San Diego History'', Fall 1981, Volume 27, Number 4. it was used by the Congregation until 1926, when the Congregation moved to its second, larger building at Third and Laurel. At the time the congregation numbered around 60 families. The Third and Laurel site occupied a full city block, and included a number of structures. In addition to the synagogue building, there was an adjacent social hall, a school building, and a number of small apartments. When the congregation moved in early 2001, it retained the school and social hall. Beth Israel purchased a lot in University City in 1993. Construction on new facilities there began in January 2000 and were dedicated in October 2001. The site comprises five buildings totaling more than . Jonathan Stein, who was Senior Rabbi at the synagogue, became Senior Rabbi at
Temple Shaaray Tefila
Temple Shaaray Tefila ( – ''Gates of Prayer'') is a traditionally oriented Reform synagogue located at 250 East 79th Street (at the corner of 2nd Avenue) on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City.
The synagogue was founded in 184 ...
on New York City's Upper East Side.
Current status
Beth Israel has over 2,000 members and nearly 1,100 households, making it San Diego's largest and oldest Jewish congregation. The clergy includes Senior Rabbi Jason Nevarez, Rabbi/Cantor Arlene Bernstein, and Associate Rabbi Jeremy Gimbel. In June 2019, Senior Rabbi Michael Berk became Beth Israel's Rabbi Emeritus.Notes
External links
Official web-site for Heritage Park
which includes a photo and information for Temple Beth Israel (1889) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beth Israel (San Diego, California) Jews and Judaism in San Diego Reform synagogues in California Religious organizations established in 1887 Synagogues preserved as museums Religious buildings and structures in San Diego Landmarks in San Diego 1887 establishments in California Synagogues completed in 1889 Synagogues completed in 1926 Synagogues completed in 2001