transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
from
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
as "God is with us"), is a
Reform
Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, located at 2100 Highland Avenue South, in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, in the United States.
History
The community that would become Temple Emanu-El first held
Rosh Hashana
Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autu ...
and
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
celebrations in 1881. The temple's founding president and
lay
Lay or LAY may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
* Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
* Lay, Iran, a village
* Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
* Lay Dam, Alaba ...
leader was Samuel Ullman, a businessman, poet, and humanitarian.
Before the synagogue was built, the community met at the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000 ...
for the public worship services. Land for the synagogue was purchased in 1884, and construction began in 1886. The building, located on the southeast corner of 5th Avenue North and 17th Street, was inaugurated on January 24, 1889. The building was a mix of Romanesque,
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language
** Gothic ( ...
, and
Moorish
The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
revival elements, with a corner tower and at least three turrets, all with bulbous
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.
The word derives, via Ital ...
s.
In 1912, the congregation moved to a new sanctuary at 2100 Highland Avenue South, designed by
William C. Weston
William C. Weston (April 28, 1866 – September 19, 1932) was a New Zealand-born American architect. Weston practiced architecture in Birmingham, Alabama from 1901 until 1915 and in Detroit until his death in 1932.
Life and career
William Crow ...
in the Neoclassical style. An extensive renovation and expansion of the building occurred in 2004, costing $17 million. The
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...
was updated and restored, and other buildings for congregational and community functions were rebuilt.
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, led the congregation for 45 years, from 1895 to 1940. Rabbi Milton Grafman, one of the signers of " A Call for Unity", led the congregation from 1941 to 1975. Rabbi Jonathan Miller served the congregation from winter 1991 to summer 2017. Rabbi Adam Wright has served the congregation since July 2019.
See also
*
List of synagogues in the United States
This is a list of notable synagogues in the United States.
By state
Alabama
* Temple Beth-El, Anniston
* Temple Beth-El, Birmingham
* Temple Emanu-El, Birmingham
* Knesseth Israel, Birmingham
* Temple B'nai Sholom, Huntsville
* Sha’ar ...