The United Hebrew Congregation (also Congregation Achdut Yisroel) 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 ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located at 13788 Conway Road in

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, a western suburb of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, in the United States. It was the first Jewish Congregation established west of the

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History

19th century

The United Hebrew Congregation formed on Erev Rosh Hashannah, the evening of September 29, 1837, when ten members rented a room in St. Louis for services. The location was either above a store called "Max’s Grocery and Restaurant" at Second and Spruce Streets, or an "R.A. Mack's" grocery store at 54 N. Front Street. The exact year this

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...

was organized has not been definitely determined. Abraham Weigel, who was to become United Hebrew Congregation's first president, and Nathan Abeles, the first secretary, rented a room over a grocery and held the first

in St. Louis. Louis Bomeisler, a German from Philadelphia, probably conducted the first service in St. Louis for Rosh Hashanah on September 29. He proceeded to order a

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 ...

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

s, and Taleisim for the new group. Twelve men met four years later at the Oracle Coffee House at 2nd and Locust to write the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

for Achdut Yisrael, the United Hebrew Congregation. In 1841, a constitution was adopted based on the laws of Shulhan Aruch, which governs

Orthodox synagogues Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

, and United Hebrew was formally founded, the first Jewish congregation west of the Mississippi. United Hebrew established its first home in 1848 in the former North Baptist Church on Fifth Street near Green Street (now Broadway) between Washington and Lucas. United Hebrew Congregation nearly merged with B'nai El in 1852, but the merger was called off when B'nai El received an unanticipated gift from the estate of Judah Touro, a Jewish philanthropist from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
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. The bequest totaled $3,000 (). In 1855, B'nai El used the funds to build a synagogue at Sixth and Cerre, which may have been the first synagogue building constructed west of the Mississippi River. In 1854, United Hebrew Congregation hired the first documented rabbi to serve in St. Louis, Rabbi Bernard Illowy. His term of service lasted about one year, and in 1856, he left for

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. On June 11, 1853, United Hebrew Congregation formed plans for the construction of a new building.Makovsky, Donald (May 23, 1973).
First United Hebrew Synagogue Site to Be Razed
. ''St. Louis Jewish Light''. p. 18. B'nai El's new building probably encouraged the construction, but perhaps more important was the expiration of United Hebrew Congregation's lease. On August 10, 1855, United Hebrew Congregation bought a lot near the corner of Sixth and St. Charles for $6,240 (). At the time, United Hebrew Congregation not only had a cantor but it also employed a

shohet In Judaism, ''shechita'' (anglicized: ; he, ; ; also transliterated ''shehitah, shechitah, shehita'') is slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to ''kashrut''. Sources states that sheep and cattle should be slaughtered ...

to slaughter animals in accordance with

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

so that local Jewish families would have

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

meat available to eat. In 1857, the congregation moved to a new building next to the Benton Public School on Sixth Street between Locust and St. Charles. The building was built by Joseph Hodgeman, who had recently built a new hospital wing. It had a circular-shaped skylight in its center with a

star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

in its designs. The building was ultimately built for $22,000 (. It was consecrated on June 17, 1859, with Rabbi Morris J. Raphall of New York officiating. At the time, there were approximately 600 to 700 Jewish people living in St. Louis, of which about 150 to 200 were members of United Hebrew Congregation. In 1880, United Hebrew Congregation's moved the dead bodies buried at its original burial ground at Jefferson Avenue and Gratiot Street to a new cemetery at Mount Olive near Clayton.A Dead Exodus: Removing the Bones from the Old Hebrew Graveyard
. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. February 5, 1880. p. 2. The old burial ground had been established in 1837 and was a small lot of approximately , with relatively shallow graves that often contained multiple dead bodies.

20th century

United Hebrew moved steadily westward, next to Twenty-first and Olive Streets in 1879, and then in 1903 into a remodeled Mount Cabanne Church at the southwest corner of Kingshighway and Von Versen (after 1917, Enright). In 1927, the United Hebrew Congregation dedicated a new home at 225 S. Skinker. Designed by the architectural firm of Maritz and Young with consulting architect Gabriel Ferrand, the notable,

Byzantine revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Ortho ...

structure was said to be one of the three largest synagogues in the nation. The United Hebrew Congregation worshiped there for 62 years until 1989. An educational building, also designed by Maritz and Young, was added in the early 1950s. The

Missouri Historical Society The Missouri Historical Society was founded in St. Louis on August 11, 1866. Founding members created the historical society "for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state". Organization The Missouri Historica ...

purchased the historic Skinker building in early 1989. It is now the Society's library and research center. As its membership continued to move to the suburbs, United Hebrew Congregation purchased land at Conway and Woods Mill Roads in the West St. Louis County suburbs of Town and Country and

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", derived ...

. The Religious and Hebrew schools began operating there in 1977. The administration and sanctuary moved to the Conway site after the construction (1986–1989) of a notable

Pietro Belluschi Pietro Belluschi (August 18, 1899 – February 14, 1994) was an Italian-American architect. A leading figure in modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based up ...

building.

21st century

The United Hebrew Congregation is a member of the

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established ...

. It is the furthest west large reform congregation in

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on t ...

. The congregation contains a

religious school A religious school is a school that either has a religious component in its operations or its curriculum, or exists primarily for the purpose of teaching aspects of a particular religion. Children A school can either be of two types, though the sa ...

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...

, early childhood center, and

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

. Programs include

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

(including a

North American Federation of Temple Youth NFTY: The Reform Jewish Youth Movement (formerly known as the North American Federation for Temple Youth, often referred to simply as NFTY, commonly pronounced ''"nifty"'') is the organized youth movement of Reform Judaism in North America. Fun ...

group calle
UHTYG

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

, and bible study. The congregation is a member of the Synaplex initiative. The senior rabbi is Brigitte Rosenberg. Ronald Eichaker serves as

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 ...

. Rick Recht is the

artist in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

. The rabbi emeritus is Howard Kaplansky. The cantor emeritus is Murray Hochberg.

Torah

In 2006, United Hebrew Congregation commissioned a

to be written by a woman

soferet A sofer, sopher, sofer SeTaM, or sofer ST"M ( he, סופר סת״ם, "scribe"; plural of is , ; female: ) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Sifrei Kodesh (holy scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (ST"M, , is an abbreviation of the ...

. On September 9, 2007, the Torah was dedicated, and

Jen Taylor Friedman Jen Taylor Friedman is a '' soferet'' (Jewish ritual scribe). On September 9, 2007, she became the first woman known to have completed a Torah scroll. Taylor Friedman's ''sefer Torah'' was commissioned bUnited Hebrew Congregation a Reform temple in ...

became the first woman known to have written a complete Torah scroll.

Rabbinic leaders

United Hebrew Congregation's rabbinic leaders have been as follows.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Synagogues in the United States 1841 establishments in Missouri 20th-century synagogues in the United States Byzantine Revival architecture in Missouri Byzantine Revival synagogues Jewish organizations established in 1841 Jews and Judaism in St. Louis Modernist architecture in Missouri Modernist synagogues Pietro Belluschi buildings Reform synagogues in Missouri Religious buildings and structures in St. Louis Synagogues completed in 1857 Synagogues completed in 1879 Synagogues completed in 1903 Synagogues completed in 1927 Synagogues completed in 1989