Temple B'nai Israel is a synagogue in

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...

, established in 1939, composed of Jews, ranging from

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 ...

Orthodox Judaism 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 ...

.Sid Salter (2015)
''Jack Cristil; Voice of the MSU Bulldogs''
University Press of Mississippi, Revised Edition.

History

, had only 20 Jewish residents at the beginning of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, out of 20,000 total residents.Richelle Putnam (2017)
''Mississippi and the Great Depression,''
History Press. Temple B'nai Israel in Tupelo was established on August 24, 1939, with Sol Weiner as its first President.Vicki Reikes Fox, Marcie Cohen Ferris (2002)
''Shalom Y'All; Images of Jewish Life in the American South,''
Algonquin Books. The congregation first met in Tupelo City Hall. In 1945, the congregation added a

holy ark 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 ha- ...

, and was given its first

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

by the

Vine Street Temple A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee. It later rented space on South Spring Street above the Fooks'

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

dealership. In 1949, a student rabbi from

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio, conducted Temple services for the

high holidays The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...

. In 1953, it moved to space over Biggs Furniture Store. A synagogue building was dedicated on September 1, 1957, with then-Mayor James Ballard giving the remarks. The building was funded by Manny Davis, an Okolona sportswear manufacturing businessman, local banks, manufacturing companies, and other businesses, the local community, Jews from across the nation, and 41 percent by

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

Leadership and congregants

Due to its modest size, the Temple does not have a full-time

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 ...

, and instead uses a

lay leader A lay leader is a member of the laity in any congregation who has been chosen as a leader either by their peers or the leadership of the congregation. In most denominations, lay leadership is not an ordained clerical office, and the lay leader's res ...

. Maury Stein was a lay leader of the congregation in the 1960s. Marc Perler has served as a lay leader of the synagogue. In 2011,

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

Bulldog broadcaster

Jack Cristil Jacob Sanford "Jack" Cristil (December 10, 1925 – September 7, 2014) was the long-time radio voice of Mississippi State University Bulldog men's basketball and football. Over his 58-year tenure (1953–2011), Cristil called 636 football game ...

was the lay leader of the congregation. As of 1955 Maurice Stein (who owned a dress shop on Main Street) was president of the synagogue, Len Shane and Linda Levy were later president of the temple, and as of 2020 Leslie Mart was president of Temple B’Nai Israel. Ron Baker serves as its Director of Religious Education. Gloria Lenhoff, who has

Williams Syndrome Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder that affects many parts of the body. Facial features frequently include a broad forehead, underdeveloped chin, short nose, and full cheeks. Mild to moderate intellectual disability is observed in people ...

(which among other things produces an aptitude for music), has served as the

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

of the Temple. Alan Mark Bank, Tupelo's 2010 Outstanding Citizen of the Year, was an active member of the Temple. In 2020, about 35 families were active in the synagogue.

References

External links

Temple B'nai Israel homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:B'Nai Israel (Tupelo, Mississippi) Synagogues in Mississippi Synagogues completed in 1957 Buildings and structures in Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo, Mississippi 1939 establishments in Mississippi