Temple De Hirsch Sinai is a

Reform Jewish 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 ...

congregation with campuses in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and nearby

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, USA. It was formed as a 1971 merger between the earlier Temple De Hirsch (Seattle, founded 1899) and Temple Sinai (Bellevue, founded 1961) and is the largest Reform congregation in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

.Lee Micklin
Temple de Hirsch - Sinai
HistoryLink, October 30, 1998. Accessed online 2009-10-08. The old Temple De Hirsch building (or Old Sanctuary) was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

on the

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 ...

, but was demolished in 1993. Part of the façade remains.Reuben McKnight
Town Hall: A Case Study
, ''Preservation Seattle'' (newsletter of

Historic Seattle Historic Seattle is a Seattle, Washington public development authority focused on preserving Seattle's architectural heritage.Ohaveth Sholum Congregation, founded 1889, disbanded because of financial hardships after the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

, Seattle's liberal Jews were left without a synagogue. Temple De Hirsch was founded as a specifically Reform synagogue in 1899, named after Jewish philanthropist Baron

Maurice de Hirsch Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth (german: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; french: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), commonly known as Maurice de Hirsch, was a German Jewish financier and phila ...

.Guide to the Temple De Hirsch Sinai Records: 1883-2001
University of Washington Library Special Collections. Accessed online 2009-10-08. Seattle - Old Temple De Hirsch

Construction of a synagogue was begun at Boylston Avenue and Marion Street in Seattle. A

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid in 1901, and a basement was built; the congregation held services in the vestry, but rapid growth of the congregation led to the construction of a larger building at Union Street and 15th Avenue. Construction on the new Temple De Hirsch designed by Seattle-based architect Julian F. Everett was begun in 1907, completed in 1908, and dedicated on the congregation's ninth anniversary, May 29, 1908. An adjacent Temple Center opened in 1924, housing a religion school and other organizations; a wing was added in 1951. This temple building was demolished in 1993 after an unsuccessful attempt to work out a way to repurpose it as an arts venue. That effort did, however, end up salvaging a different former religious building: Seattle's Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, now

Town Hall Seattle Town Hall Seattle, or Town Hall locally, is a cultural center and performance hall located on Seattle, Washington, USA's First Hill at 1119 8th Ave. Built as Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, a Church of Christ, Scientist church, from ...

. The current sanctuary at 16th Avenue and Pike Street—the opposite corner of the same block as the old temple—was completed in 1960. That current building was designed by

B. Marcus Priteca Benjamin Marcus Priteca (23 December 1889 – 1 October 1971) was a Scottish architect. He is best known for designing theatres for Alexander Pantages. Early life Benjamin Marcus Priteca was born into a Jewish family in Glasgow on 23 December 1 ...

, John Detlie, and John Peck. Priteca was a noted theater architect: he designed all of

Alexander Pantages Alexander Pantages (Περικλῆς Ἀλέξανδρος Πανταζής , ''Periklis Alexandros Padazis''; 1867 – February 17, 1936) was a Greek American vaudeville impresario and early motion picture producer. He created a large and p ...

' theaters between 1910 and 1929, as well as the landmark Seattle synagogue, Chevra Bikur Cholim (1912), now the

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (LHPAI) is a cultural, community, and artistic center in the Central District of Seattle, Washington, USA. It was founded in 1969 and named after the writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston H ...

A Ladies Auxiliary (now the Women of Reform Judaism) was formed within months of the congregation's founding; a Temple Men's Club (now the Men of Reform Judaism) followed in 1920. The first rabbi of Temple De Hirsch was Theodore Joseph from

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

. His successor, Samuel Koch, was senior rabbi from 1906 to 1942. During Koch's time, Temple De Hirsch solidified its position as an important and steadily expanding congregation, with a religion school attended not only by children of the congregation but by some whose parents were not Reform Jews. In 1909, Koch established a newsletter, ''Temple Tidings'', initially a weekly and later a monthly (currently bi-monthly) publication. Upon Koch's retirement, he was succeeded by Raphael H. Levine, who served as senior rabbi from 1942 to 1970. Levine was a devoted ecumenicist, co-hosting a television program called ''Challenge'' with a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest and a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

minister. ''Challenge'' aired for 14 years, first on

KOMO-TV KOMO-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue-licensed Univision a ...

and later on

KING-TV KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate ...

, both in Seattle. Rabbi Levine also founded the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, the ecumenical Camp Brotherhood, a religious, educational, and cultural center for Christians and Jews, and co-founded

Camp Swig Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

, an educational and recreational camp for Jewish youth, and played a significant role in the expansion of Children's Orthopedic Hospital, now

Seattle Children's Seattle Children's, formerly Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, formerly Children's Orthopedic Hospital, is a children's hospital in the Laurelhurst neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The hospital specializes in the care of infa ...

. Rabbi Levine's successor, Earl S. Starr, was senior rabbi from 1970. He saw through the merger of congregations and remained senior rabbi of Temple De Hirsch Sinai until 2001. Like all of his predecessors at Temple De Hirsch, he carried on a long tradition of community service and outreach. Temple De Hirsch has at least two claims to fame in the history of music.

Samuel E. Goldfarb Samuel Eliezer Goldfarb ( he, שמואל אליעזר גולדפרב, June 18, 1891 – October 22, 1978), was an Americans, American composer, arranger, choir conductor, music director, cantor, piano accompanist, and educator. Life Religiou ...

, co-composer of the Hanukkah song "

I Have a Little Dreidel "I Have a Little Dreidel" (also known as "The Dreidel Song" or "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel") is a children's Hanukkah song in the English-speaking world that also exists in a Yiddish version called "Ikh Bin A Kleyner Dreydl", (Yiddish: Lit: I a ...

" was music director of Temple De Hirsch from 1930 to 1968. Using a

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

that allowed youth to "graduate" from one level of

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

to another, he created one of the country's finest temple choirs. Perhaps more unusually,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

played his first professional gig as a musician in the Temple De Hirsch basement; he was fired mid-performance for his wild playing. Bellevue, WA - Temple De Hirsch Sinai 01

Bellevue, WA - Temple De Hirsch Sinai 01

Seattle - Home of Peace Mausoleum - interior 01

Temple De Hirsch Sinai retained both the Temple De Hirsch facility (its "Seattle Campus") and the Temple Sinai facility (its "Bellevue campus"). The original Bellevue facility was sold in 2001, when a new facility was constructed in the Eastgate area of Bellevue. Rabbi Starr served as senior rabbi until his retirement in July 2001, when he was succeeded by Daniel A. Weiner, who currently holds the position. The Seattle building shares facilities with a local private school, the

Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences (commonly referred to as Seattle Academy or SAAS) is a coed independent middle and high school located on Seattle, Washington's urban Capitol Hill. As of 2020, school review website Niche ranks Seattle Acade ...

, and the Bellevue facility shares facilities with the Emerald Heights Academy.

Temple De Hirsch Sinai Library

The Temple De Hirsch Sinai Libraries were founded in 1908 and continue to provide a wealth of information for the congregation and community. In both Seattle and Bellevue sites, it currently contains over 10,000 books, periodicals and CDs. It specializes in materials on Judaism, History, Culture, Holiday and the Holocaust. The Benjamin Zukor Children's Library composes about one third of the total library collection and is spread over both library sites. It contains fiction and non-fiction for children and teens. An online catalog, hours, and events can be found at lib.tdhs-nw.org.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Hirsch Sinai Reform synagogues in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Bellevue, Washington Jews and Judaism in Seattle Religious buildings and structures in Seattle Queen Anne, Seattle National Register of Historic Places in Seattle Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places Religious organizations established in 1899 1899 establishments in Washington (state) Jewish organizations established in 1961 Jewish organizations established in 1971 Synagogues completed in 1908 1908 establishments in Washington (state) 1960 establishments in Washington (state) Synagogues completed in 1960